Beginning in 1999, this evaluation conducted by MDRC follows the implementation of First Things First (FTF) in schools in Texas, Missouri, and Mississippi. Findings focused on the level and quality of implementation of FTF's three major components at each of the "scale-up" sites.
Researchers found variations in implementation across sites, but reported that by the end of the first implementation year most schools had the basic structural components of FTF in place, small personalized learning communities and the Family and Student Advocate System. Later evaluations would investigate the success of schools in impacting student outcomes as they committed further attention to the third major FTF component: instructional improvement.
