This large Freckle for Math study involved more than 250,000 students from Grades 3-5 and examined Freckle for Math usage and growth in general math ability (Star Student Growth Percentile) over the fall-to-spring period in the 2022-2023 school year. Students in grades 3-5 who used Freckle for Math at or above recommended levels experienced significantly greater growth than students using the program below recommended levels or not at all, particularly if the recommended usage spanned a larger portion of the school year. Using Freckle for Math at or above recommended usage levels promoted significantly greater growth among students in different educational settings (e.g., urban/suburban/rural, economically disadvantaged school classified as Title I), and among students using the program in small groups and large groups. Using Freckle for Math at or above recommended usage levels also promoted significantly greater growth for students of differing characteristics, including at risk students who struggle with math and English Language Learners.The full study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R67897>.

From the abstract: "As teacher shortages become greater and student needs increase, schools are trying to find ways to implement Tier II interventions to a growing population of students with fewer qualified adults. Many schools are turning to technology-mediated interventions to meet the needs of students. This study compared the effectiveness of the technology-mediated intervention Freckle to teacher-directed instruction interventions on the overall performance of students on their yearly growth on the Fastbridge aMath test. The study found that both interventions had a similar effect on overall performance, with the technology-mediated intervention being slightly less effective for those students that have trouble with self-directed instruction."Citation: Den Hartog, K. (2023). Teacher-directed interventions vs. Freckle: A study in the efficacy of Tier II Interventions [Master's thesis, Dordt University].The study is available online: <https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1171&context=med_theses>.

From the summary: "After rolling out a 1:1 Chromebook initiative, Eastside Elementary in Hendry County, Florida faced a challenge: how could they best utilize their new technology to maximize student growth? And how could they leverage technology to support English Language Learners (ELL) students? The district wanted to increase student engagement while keeping teachers in control of their classrooms. After Nearpod trained Eastside teachers on its interactive platform, not only did ELL students benefit, but all students experienced Nearpod’s transformative effects on learning."The full article is available online: <https://news.nearpod.com/pdf/Nearpod's+Impact+on+Student+Achievement+v14.pdf>.

From the abstract: "The purpose of the study was twofold. The first purpose of the study was to determine if a correlation existed between the Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading (STAR), created and distributed by Renaissance, and the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement Test in Math and Reading for grade 3, grade 4, and grade 5. The second purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the percentile category of the STAR test and the TCAP test. The factor variable, identified as the percentile category, included three levels: Urgent Intervention, Intervention, and At/Beyond Benchmark. The dependent variable was the TCAP score. The study included 3rd-grade, 4th-grade, and 5th-grade students during the 2016-2017 school year who had taken the STAR reading and STAR math assessments and had taken the TCAP reading and TCAP math assessment.Based on the findings of this study, a strong correlational relationship does exist between the STAR and TCAP assessments. Overall, the strong correlation between the STAR and the TCAP were consistent across Math and Reading in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. Since the ANOVA was significant, a post hoc multiple comparisons was conducted to evaluate pairwise difference among the means of the three groups. Overall, the At/Beyond Benchmark group was significantly higher than both the Urgent Intervention group and the Intervention group in Math and Reading for 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade. There was not a significant difference between the Urgent Intervention group and the Intervention group, the exception was 5th grade math." Citation: Sampson, B. (2018). TCAP assessment in correlation with and as compared by STAR Assessment (Doctoral dissertation). East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. The full report is available online: <https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4810&context=etd>.

From the abstract: "WestEd--a nonpartisan, nonprofit research, development, and service agency--partnered with Freckle to explore whether students who use Freckle exhibitdifferent mathematics achievement outcomes than students who do not use Freckle. A rural school shared data on Freckle adoption and student scores on the Northwest Evaluation Association's (NWEA) Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) in mathematics with Freckle. WestEd used these data to conduct an independent analysis to determine whether or not Freckle use was associated with higher NWEA MAP test scores. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that using Frecklein the classroom results in higher achievement in mathematics. Limitations to the study and future research directions are also discussed."Citation: Freckle Education, & WestEd. (2016). Exploratory analysis of students' mathematics achievement after using Freckle. San Francisco, CA: Freckle Education.The research study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R63353>.

From the abstract: "This Action Research examines the effects of using an interactive, adaptive software program, Freckle Math (formerly Front Row), in helping a sixth grade teacher to differentiate mathematics. Ten students who go to a parochial school in a rural, midwestern community were included in the study. The data collection tools included a pre-research reflection, a journal of teacher observations, a daily student questionnaire, computer generated reports, a midresearch reflection, and a post-research reflection. Overall, this research showed an average growth of 1.74 years, or 44.9 percent with regard to grade level equivalency. This growth indicates the students' ability to perform mathematics skills independently. Due to the integration of Front Row, the students were more engaged in activities and showed growth on their achievement. This helped narrow existing gaps on the Common Core State Standards foundational domains. However, future research would consider other adaptive, technology integration tools to aid in mathematics differentiation."Citation: Morales, A. (2016). Using technology to aid in the differentiation of mathematics in a sixth grade classroom (Action research report). Saint Catherine University, St. Paul, Minnesota.The research study is available online: <https://sophia.stkate.edu/maed/147/>.

DETAILS: Location: 19 U.S. states, 1 Canadian province; Design: Correlational; Sample: 29 elementary, middle, and high schools; Measure: Library circulation measurements; Duration: Data spans 2-6 years. RESULTS: A number of research studies document the positive impact of Accelerated Reader on student reading achievement, motivation, and the amount of reading. One would expect that the combination of improved student motivation and teacher encouragement to read would affect library circulation. The purpose of this report was to review and summarize existing research on Accelerated Reader where library circulation was reported, which included 25 case studies, 3 journal articles, and 1 dissertation. The results showed that it is reasonable to conclude that students read more books while using Accelerated Reader, and are perhaps more motivated to read than before their schools implemented the program, so it can be expected that library circulation will increase. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R37737>.

This study found that there was a strong correlation between Star Reading and third grade communications arts Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) scores (r=.695). CITATION: Moore, D. J. (2012). A case study of the analysis of factors that occur with reading proficiency in rural district in Southeast Missouri [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Missouri-Columbia.The full report is available online: <https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10355/33091/Research.pdf>.The Summary of this study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R57666>

This peer-reviewed journal article reported the concurrent, predictive, and diagnostic accuracy of a computer-adaptive test (Star Math) and curriculum-based measurements (CBM; both computation and concepts/application measures) for universal screening in mathematics among students in first through fourth grade. Correlational analyses indicated moderate to strong relationships over time for each measure, with correlations between Star Math and CBM measures across the three assessment periods low to moderate, with the strongest relationships between the Star Math and CBM concepts/application measure. Relationships to the state assessment for math for third- and fourth-graders was found to be stronger for the Star Math measure than for either the CBM computation or concepts/application measures, with the Star Math measure the only significant predictor of the state assessment. Diagnostic accuracy indices found all measures to produce acceptable levels of specificity but limited levels of sensitivity. The study offered one of the first direct comparisons of Star Math and CBM measures in screening for mathematics. Implications of using Star Math and CBM measures in conducting screening in elementary mathematics were discussed.Citation: Shapiro, E. S., & Gebhardt, S. N. (2012). Comparing computer-adaptive and curriculum-based measurement methods of assessment. School Psychology Review, 41(3), 295-305. The full article is available online: <https://search.proquest.com/docview/1197769261>.

DETAILS: Location: KY, AZ, CA, MS, SC, AR, CO, NV, NM, LA, AL, WV, and TN; Design: Independent, correlational; Sample: 140 local model literacy initiative programs; Measure: Star Reading, Star Early Literacy; Duration: 1 school year. RESULTS: During the 2010-11 school year, Save the Children supported several local programs in its model literacy initiative. Services at the 140 sites included the delivery of integrated in-school and afterschool literacy activities for children including using Accelerated Reader. This report describes implementation of the literacy model at each site, the characteristics of participating children, and the learning results achieved during 2010-11. During the 2010-11 school year, the proportion of participants reading at a level appropriate for their grade level or above increased. On the initial Star Reading test, 12% of students were at grade level or higher--a normal curve equivalent (NCE) score of 50 or more. The final Star Reading test showed that 29% were reading at grade level. The average pre-post change in Star Reading scores was 8.2 NCEs, which was statistically significant. AUTHORS: Richard N. White, Andrea S. Palmiter, Beth Sinclair, and Elizabeth R. Reisner. Report available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R61745>

From the report: "This study was designed to compare the changes in performance on the Star Reading assessment of students participating in the Save the Children literacy program during the 2009-10 school year to changes among nonparticipating students in the same schools. For this analysis, scores were obtained from 18 elementary schools across the country. These schools were selected because both participating and nonparticipating students used Renaissance's Accelerated Reader and Star Reading software during the school day and because there were sufficient numbers of students in the participant and nonparticipating groups (at least 20 students in each group) at all 18 schools. Participants received Save the Children Developing Reader programming as described previously, including GIRP, fluency building, and read-aloud, while nonparticipants did not. Star Reading assessment scores and data on AR quiz performance were collected and analyzed for both groups of students." Among the key findings are that the participants had greater NCE gains, a greater increase in the percent of students reading at grade level, read more books, and performed better on AR activities than did matched nonparticipants. AUTHORS: Rebecca A. Romash, Richard N. White, and Elizabeth R. Reisner. Report available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R53346>

DETAILS: Location: KY, AZ, CA, MS, SC, AR, CO, GA, NV, NM, LA, AL, and TN; Design: Independent, correlational; Sample: 122 local model literacy initiative programs; Measure: Star Reading, Star Early Literacy; Duration: 1 school year. RESULTS: During the 2009-10 school year, Save the Children supported several local programs in its model literacy initiative. Eighty-four of the 122 sites continued to offer literacy programming begun in 2003-04 through 2006-07, 24 during 2008-09, and 14 sites operated for the first time in 2009-10. Services at the 122 sites included the delivery of integrated in-school and afterschool literacy activities for children including using Accelerated Reader. This report describes implementation of the literacy model at each site, the characteristics of participating children, and the learning results achieved during 2009-10. During the 2009-10 school year, the proportion of participants reading at a level appropriate for their grade level or above increased. On the initial Star Reading test, 16% of students were at grade level or higher--a normal curve equivalent (NCE) score of 50 or more. The final Star Reading test showed that 29% were reading at grade level. The average pre-post change in Star Reading scores was 7.4 NCEs, which was statistically significant. AUTHORS: Richard N. White, Elizabeth A. White, Andrea S. Palmiter, and Elizabeth R. Reisner. Report available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R53347>

DETAILS: Location: KY, AZ, CA, MS, SC, AR, CO, GA, NV, NM, LA, and TN; Design: Independent, correlational; Sample: 118 local model literacy initiative programs; Measure: Star Reading, Star Early Literacy; Duration: 1 school year. RESULTS: During the 2008-09 school year, Save the Children supported several local programs in its model literacy initiative. Twenty of the 118 sites continued to offer literacy programming begun in 2003-04 or 2004-05, fifty-one began operating during 2005-2006 or 2006-07, 19 during 2007-08, and 26 sites operated for the first time in 2008-09. Services at the 118 sites included the delivery of integrated in-school and afterschool literacy activities for children including using Accelerated Reader. This report describes implementation of the literacy model at each site, the characteristics of participating children, and the learning results achieved during 2008-09. During the 2008-09 school year, the proportion of participants reading at a level appropriate for their grade level or above increased. On the initial Star Reading test, 16% of students were at grade level or higher--a normal curve equivalent (NCE) score of 50 or more. The final Star Reading test showed that 29% were reading at grade level. The average pre-post change in Star Reading scores was 5.8 NCEs, which was statistically significant. AUTHORS: Andrea S. Palmiter, Erickson R. Arcaira, Richard N. White, and Elizabeth R. Reisner. Report available online: <https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED508135.pdf>