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CFG Evaluation
The NSRF program has grown from an initial cohort of eighty Critical Friends Groups in sixty schools in 1995 to more than 1000 CFGs in nine hundred schools in 2002. To provide concrete information about how, and how well, CFGs are working, the Annenberg Institute for School Reform commissioned a two year study of CFGs that was started during the 1997-98 school year to determine their effectivness in meeting interim and long-term objectives.

The institute conducted a theory-based evaluation, which assumes that every program is based on a theory about how and why it will work. The theory about how and why CFGs will work is that teachers or activities, seek each others advice about professional issues and problems, and count on most staff members to help out anywhere, anytime; became more thoughtful about the connections among curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy as they participated in the CFG activities; have higher expectations for students than do teachers who do not participate; effectively challenge traditional norms and definitions of time, privacy, and adult learning.

You can read the results of this study published by Phi Delta Kappa in their December 2000 Research Bulletin at http://www.pdkintl.org/edres/resbul28.htm.