The Department of Education’s Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) Program RFP begins by saying that IAL “supports high-quality programs designed to develop and improve literacy skills for children and students from birth through 12th grade within the attendance boundaries of high-need local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools.” Have you ever seen a Federal department—or a foundation, for that matter—request “low-quality programs?” Or even “medium-quality programs?”
Neither have I. Which means the Department of Education could accomplish the same goal—that is, expressing the goal of the program—with fewer words. That’s a component of good writing, and good writing could be considered a component of literacy. Of course, one could always submit a proposal stating that the applicant is not only going to implement a low-quality program, but is also going to Take the Money and Run.*
* A fun 1969 film from when Woody Allen still made funny movies.