Independent Study Shows Achieve3000 Significantly Improves Students’ Literacy Growth
Lakewood, NJ (PRWEB) November 18, 2015 -- The results of a randomized control trial study conducted by Magnolia Consulting, an independent evaluation consulting firm, has confirmed that Achieve3000’s programs are extremely effective at improving students’ literacy skills.
“We have a long-standing track record of accelerating reading gains for all students,” said Saki Dodelson, CEO and founder of Achieve3000. “For more than fourteen years, we’ve been meeting kids one-on-one, at their individual reading levels, and preparing them for college and career success. We’re thrilled that Magnolia’s study – an independent, randomized control trial study, which is the gold standard for rigorous educational research – shows the positive and dramatic impact of our solutions on student learning outcomes. It really is an unquestionable demonstration of the effectiveness of our patented methodology.”
Achieve3000 offers cloud-based, differentiated learning solutions that deliver grade-appropriate lessons to the entire class, while simultaneously tailoring them according to each student’s precise reading level. The company offers solutions for learners of all ages, from pre-kindergartners to adult learners, and serves approximately two million students worldwide.
Magnolia Consulting conducted the study with third-, sixth- and ninth-grade teachers and students in the United States during the 2014-15 school year. The participating schools represented a variety of school types from across the country, and the 1,012 students represented a diverse mix of ethnicities as well as English language learners and students with disabilities.
Within each grade, evaluators randomly assigned half of participating teachers to an Achieve3000 solution and half to the control group. At the beginning of the school year, teachers in both groups administered the Gates MacGinite Reading Test, fourth edition (GMRT-4) – a widely used and highly respected third-party reading assessment that evaluates students’ skills in the areas of vocabulary, reading comprehension and total reading – as a pre-test. The test was administered again at the end of the school year as a post-test. Additionally, teachers in the Achieve3000 user group administered the program’s proprietary LevelSet™ assessment, which evaluates students’ individual reading levels using the Lexile® Framework for Reading, as a pre-test at the beginning and as a post-test the end of the school year to provide a summative measurement of student growth.
Magnolia’s study revealed that Achieve3000 users did significantly better over the course of the school year and performed better than students in the control group on the GMRT-4. Overall, the learning gains of students who used Achieve3000 were statistically significant and substantively important for all areas assessed: the GMRT-4 Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, and Total Reading tests, as well as the LevelSet Lexile reading assessment. Across grades, Achieve3000 had a statistically significant positive impact on GMRT-4 Reading Comprehension and Total Reading when compared to study schools’ standard English language arts curricula.
The effect size associated with use of Achieve3000 was high for a typical education evaluation. On the GRMT-4 Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension and Total Reading tests, the effect sizes were 0.43, 0.47 and 0.48 respectively. Additionally, students made an average LevelSet Lexile gain of 110 points (an effect size of 0.33).
For more information on the Magnolia Consulting study, interested parties can request a download of the report at http://www.achieve3000.com/how-it-works.
About Achieve3000, Inc.
Achieve3000 is the leader in online differentiated literacy instruction, serving over two million students worldwide. For nearly 15 years, the company has been reaching students at their individual reading levels to deliver significant learning gains, with many making double to triple the expected gains in a single school year. Based on decades of scientific research, Achieve3000’s solutions – Smarty Ants (for grades PreK-1), KidBiz3000 (for grades 2-5), TeenBiz3000 (for grades 6-8), Empower3000 (for grades 9-12), Spark3000 (for adult learners), and eScience3000 (for grades 6-8) – support core curriculum, Response to Intervention, English language learner, and special education instructional models as well as 21st-century education initiatives. From learning how to read to workforce readiness, Achieve3000 empowers all learners to develop the college and career literacy skills needed for academic, professional, and personal success. The company is based in Lakewood, N.J. Learn more about Achieve3000 online at http://www.achieve3000.com or by calling 888-968-6822.
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Jim O'Neill, ACHIEVE3000, http://www.achieve3000.com, +1 512-962-0869, [email protected]
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