From the abstract: "Nearpod contracted with LearnPlatform by Instructure, a third-party edtech research company, to examine whether usage of Nearpod was associated with improved outcomes for students during the 2021-22 school year in a large urban district. LearnPlatform designed the study to satisfy Level III requirements (Promising Evidence) according to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015; USDE, 2016)."The study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R67132>.

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 case study details the reading achievement growth the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) attributes to the district's use of Accelerated Reader. Since districtwide implementation of Accelerated Reader in Cleveland during the 2008-09 school year, the percent of students scoring Proficient on the Ohio Achievement Assessments (OAA) has been on the rise, and a closer look at the data shows students who used Accelerated Reader saw their scaled score points improve an average of 0.13 points for every book read, 0.57 points for every additional minute of daily engaged reading time (ERT), and 0.66 points for every additional average percent correct (APC). Also included are powerful quotes from the educators using Accelerated Reader. REPORTING EDUCATOR: Eric Gordon, Chief Academic Officer. The report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R45891>.

DETAILS: Location: McKinney, Texas; Design: Independent, quasi-experimental, peer-reviewed; Sample: nine elementary and two middle schools, and matched controls; Measures: Texas Learning Index (TLI), Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS); Duration: 5 years. RESULTS: This retrospective, longitudinal study compared student achievement as measured by the TLI and TAAS between students using Renaissance progress-monitoring tools and matched controls. Researchers found statistically significant, positive effects of Accelerated Reader/Accelerated Math software and best practices on reading and mathematics achievement for elementary students, and on mathematics achievement for middle school students. Students in high-implementation schools scored even higher than comparison schools or low-implementation schools. PLEASE NOTE: The Summary of two publications: 1) peer-reviewed journal article: Nunnery, J. A., & Ross, S. M. (2007). The effects of the School Renaissance program on student achievement in reading and mathematics. Research in the Schools, 14(1), 40-59., and 2) the technical report: Nunnery, J. A., Ross, S. M., & Goldfeder, E. (2003). The effect of School Renaissance on TAAS scores in the McKinney ISD. Memphis, TN: University of Memphis, Center for Research in Educational Policy. Is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R39640>. A copy of the Full Article is available online: <https://web.archive.org/web/20130722102850/http://www.memphis.edu/crep/pdfs/Effects_of_School_Renaissance-JournalArticle.pdf>. The Full Technical Report is available online: <https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED500027.pdf>.

DETAILS: Location: New York, NY; Denver, CO; and Monroe, LA Design: Independent, correlational; Sample: 10,617 students in grades 1-12 at 43 schools; Measures: Star Reading, Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP), Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP); Duration: 1 school year. RESULTS: The Carmel Hill Fund Education Program uses Accelerated Reader as its primary means to help schools improve. A collaboration between The Carmel Hill Fund and Renaissance's Research Department, this report examines the impact of Accelerated Reader on student achievement and teacher and principal opinions during the 2005-2006 academic year. Findings were confirmed by an independent, external statistician. Overall, data from Accelerated Reader, Star Reading, the CSAP, the LEAP, and educator surveys indicated that Carmel Hill is successfully helping disadvantaged schools improve student reading performance. Report available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R38852>

DETAILS: District Profile: 3,679 students in grades K-12; Demographics: Urban fringe, Free/reduced lunch: 36.9%; Race/Ethnicity: Black/African American: 28%, Hispanic/Latino: 6%, White: 65%, Other: 1%; Measure: Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP); Duration: 1999-2003. RESULTS: Milford High School began using Accelerated Reader in spring 2000; by fall, all five schools in the district had implemented Accelerated Reader. Then, the district piloted Accelerated Math in a summer school program, and because of its success all schools implemented the software in fall 2000. Eventually, as funds became available, Milford expanded its implementation to include Accelerated Writer and StandardsMaster. In the last 4 years, the percentage of students in the district meeting or exceeding state standards on the DSTP has increased an average of 16.0 points in math and 15.3 points in reading. The implementation of Renaissance tools has also positively impacted student attitudes toward reading, and library circulation has more than tripled. REPORTING EDUCATORS: Robert Smith, superintendent; Mary Herrera, director of elementary and special education; Robert Sutcliffe, director of secondary education; and Gene Kerns, reading and writing instructional specialist. (Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of this study from the Renaissance Research Department.)

From the abstract: "The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Accelerated Reader (AR) program when used as a supplement to teacher-directed instruction. A pretest-posttest, quasi-experimental design was used to determine the reading practice and comprehension gains of 6th-grade students over the course of one trimester. The study investigated three research questions: (a) does the Accelerated Reader program lead to statistically significant gains in reading practice, (b) does AR lead to statistically significant gains in reading comprehension scores, and (c) is there a statistically significant correlation between reading practice and reading comprehension? Two 6th-grade teams, consisting of 121 students from two suburban middle schools in Oregon, participated in the study. Groups were selected with respect to demographic and achievement similarities, teacher qualification and experience, and access to program components and materials. Both groups received direct instruction and were provided time for silent, sustained reading. The treatment group was also provided access to AR program components, including novels, software, and quizzes. Student Daily Reading Logs were used to record weekly reading times and provided pretest and posttest reading practice scores. The Test of Reading Comprehension, 3rd edition (TORC-3), was used as the pretest and posttest for reading comprehension. A repeated measures, mixed design ANOVA was used for analysis with questions one and two. Interaction scores by group and time showed a statistically significant difference (p < .05) for the treatment group in Question 1, suggesting that AR may be an effective supplement for increasing reading practice. An ANOVA analysis for reading comprehension demonstrated similar results with significant differences (p < .05) for the treatment group's posttest scores on the TORC-3. These findings suggest that AR may be an effective supplement for increasing reading comprehension. Question 3 utilized three, Pearson r correlations. These results yielded weak, non-significant correlations between gain scores in reading practice times and comprehension for control, treatment, and combined groups. These findings suggest that implementation levels may not be a significant factor in program efficacy. Continued research is needed to substantiate these results and further isolate specific program effects with middle school students of differing abilities and demographics."Reference: Hagerman, T. E. (2003). A quasi-experimental study on the effects of Accelerated Reader at middle school (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Oregon, Eugene. For information on how to obtain a copy of this report, email Renaissance Research Department at research@renaissance.com.

DETAILS: School Profile: 78 students in grades: 6-8; Demographics: Title I: 100%, Urban Inner City, Free or reduced lunch: 95%, Limited English proficiency: 80%; Race/Ethnicity: Black or African American: 2%, Hispanic or Latino: 98%. RESULTS: Reading scores increased by 16.8 NCEs and language arts scores increased by 23.6 NCEs in 3 years for students using Accelerated Reader with best practices. REPORTING EDUCATOR: Gordon Hannon, principal. (Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of this study from the Renaissance Research Department.)