Argues that national intervention endeavors should contain evaluation requirements that are sufficiently flexible to allow a range of rigorous evaluation designs. Uses the recent America Reads Challenge and research and evaluation efforts conducted independently at three university sites to illustrate the possibilities and pitfalls in engaging in…

College-bound students who score poorly on the American College Test (ACT) exam (16 or below) are usually required to take an examination that measures the ability to read and interpret college level material since this ability is a significant variable in the prediction of academic success. Many of these underprepared students need specific help…