Evaluating the Department of Education's Field Readers: Were They Qualified?

This article, which appeared in the GAO Review, Vol. 19, Issue 4, Fall 1984, described a study which GAO conducted, in response to a congressional request, to determine if the outside experts, which the Department of Education hired to assess grant proposals under the Women's Educational Equity Act program in 1982, were qualified to review and score the proposals. The study was requested because of allegations that the selection process was tainted by right wing bias. Although there was some question as to whether GAO should become involved in the review, it analyzed and assessed certain descriptive information on the field readers and determined that: (1) 20 percent of the field readers hired in 1982 did not meet the selection criteria, while in 1981, only 1 percent of the field readers failed to meet the criteria; (2) in 1982, less minorities were hired as readers and most of the readers were hired from the midwest and southeast; and (3) less readers were employed by nonprofit organizations, more were self-employed individuals, and more were unemployed individuals.