The purpose of this study was the examine the patterns of reading achievement growth for students using myON. Results showed that students who spent more time on myON (per session and number of sessions) experienced more growth in Star Reading. And how students use myON affects student growth. Gains were shown in student growth percentiles (SGP), and analyses are presented for the general population, struggling readers, English Language Learners, and students at Title I schools. The research study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R62687>.(Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of the 2019 or 2024 report Special report: Trends in student outcome measures: myON and student achievement from the Renaissance Research Department.)

About What Kidsa are Reading 2025 Our very own Gene Kerns penned the Introduction to this year's report, which shares the reading habits of 5 million K--12 students, from 21,259 schools across all 50 states and DC, who read 173 million books during the 2023--2024 school year. This year's report explores the importance of kids spending 15 minutes on reading practice daily--a manageable amount for busy readers that our data show is the sweet spot to see real gains in terms of literacy achievement and vocabulary exposure. Two new report features highlight our findings, The Magic of 15 Purposeful Minutes spread on pp. 8--9, and the research questions and answers found in our four new Inspired to Read spreads kicking off each section of the report: What Kids are Reading is organized by grade range, with each section beginning with an Inspired to Read spread bursting with reading motivation. At the top of these pages, we've included two book lists: (1) Recognizing Resilience, featuring an array of stories whose characters display grit and tenacity, allowing readers to feel seen as well as broaden their understanding and empathy for others, and (2) Series Sets, where we've highlighted a book series for each grade level that was read by students who also favored a series from the Top Print list for that grade. Spanning the bottom of these pages, we explore The Magic of 15 Purposeful Minutes by examining the impact of kids spending just 15 minutes per day reading, using data from our Accelerated Reader database for the 2023--2024 school year. The following page begins with a Teacher Recommendation, from a reading survey conducted in January 2025 of educators spanning all grade levels, who answered a short series of questions regarding student book reading. Then, a map displaying Signature Books, that ranked higher in popularity in each state than they did nationwide, and four Fresh Finds, comprising books that kids first quizzed on during Fall 2024. Each individual grade level includes a Highest Rated book that received the most stars from kids in that grade who opted to rate books on a 4-point scale after reading and quizzing. Next up, two ranked booklists, Top Print (from Accelerated Reader) and Popular Digital (from myON), both display books by series, where appropriate, to allow as many unique authors and titles on the lists as possible. The myON books also do not repeat from grade to grade to include even more distinct titles. Finally, each grade level features a curated list of Authentic Spanish texts. The Full Report and additional information is available online: <https://www.renaissance.com/wkar>.

Early literacy practice with Lalilo was associated with higher levels of growth in general literacy achievement. Students who used Lalilo more intensively and for a longer period experienced the most growth in their literacy skills. Less intense and less frequent use of Lalilo was associated with relatively less achievement growth, but even lighter use was associated with more growth relative to students who did not use the program at all. These results remained consistent across struggling readers, English language Learners, and students from Title I schools.The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R63694>.

This study explores the impact of Accelerated Reader on student reading achievement and growth. Accelerated Reader is designed to motivate, monitor, and manage students' independent reading practice and support their stamina and skill growth through wide reading. Research-based guidelines, goal-setting features, and tools for matching students with appropriate texts promote dynamic reading practice that is shown to optimize academic growth. For this study, we drew upon a sample of over 1.8 million students from the 2023-2024 school year. The findings indicate that students using Accelerated Reader, particularly at recommended levels, showed significantly higher growth compared to non-users. Struggling readers and English Language Learners also benefited from Accelerated Reader. The study concludes that Accelerated Reader is an effective tool for boosting reading skills and closing achievement gaps, with higher fidelity in usage leading to better outcomes.The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R58148>.

To explore how myON use relates to progress in general reading ability, we drew upon a sample of 76,622 UK pupils from the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years. Results indicated that myON use was associated with improved student outcomes, and more frequent programme use was associated with accelerated academic progress.The research study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R67912>.

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>.

This study examined patterns of academic growth and performance according to the extent of individualised reading practice accomplished by students. We drew upon large databases comprised of thousands of UK students in year groups 1-13 to compare independent reading practice as tracked by Accelerated Reader (AR) with the typical performance of students who do not use the programme. The study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R67533>.

These Freckle for Math and Freckle for ELA studies involved more than 420,000 students from Grades K-12 (math) and Grades K-12 (ELA). The studies examined Freckle usage, normative achievement on Star Assessments, and growth in general math or reading ability (Star Student Growth Percentile) over the fall-to-spring period in the 2022-2023 school year. Practice with Freckle was associated with a greater percentage of students meeting Star proficiency benchmarks at the end of the year compared to the beginning of the year, and higher levels of growth in general math or reading ability. These positive outcomes increased as students engaged in practice that met or exceeded Freckle usage guidelines and as students used the program for a larger portion of the school year.The full study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R67477>.

This study examined patterns of expected National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) readiness according to the extent of individualised reading practice accomplished by students using the Accelerated Reader (AR) program. We drew upon a large database of thousands of Australian students to compare independent reading practice as tracked by AR with the typical performance of students who do not use the programme. The study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R66928>.

From the introduction: "This analysis is the fourth in a series of reports produced by the Education Policy Institute, working in partnership with Renaissance. The purpose of this research programme is to ensure that policy makers and schools have access to robust data on the performance of different pupil groups, so that support is targeted effectively to those who need it most as we continue to recover from the pandemic. Our previous reports examined outcomes in Renaissance Star Reading and Renaissance Star Maths assessments before, during, and after the pandemic across all pupils and for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. This included examining how the disadvantage gap - the difference in outcomes between pupils from low-income backgrounds and their peers - had changed between 2017/18 and 2022/23." The full report is available online: <https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PUBLICATION-3_Final_v2.pdf>.

From the introduction: "This analysis is the second in a series of reports produced by the Education Policy Institute, working in partnership with Renaissance. The purpose of this research programme is to ensure that schools and policy makers have access to robust data on the performance of different pupil groups, so that support is targeted effectively to those who need it most as we continue to recover from the pandemic. The purpose of this report is to provide benchmarking data to users of Renaissance Star Reading and Renaissance Star Maths assessments. It allows users to see how outcomes for their pupils compare to all pupils nationally - both against averages at different points in the academic year and across the whole attainment distribution. It also shows how these results have changed over time so that schools can better understand the patterns of attainment that they are seeing." The full report is available online: <https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/FINAL_Benchmarking_report.pdf>.

From the introduction: "This analysis is the second in a series of reports produced by the Education Policy Institute, working in partnership with Renaissance. The purpose of this research programme is to ensure that policy makers and schools have access to robust data on the performance of different pupil groups, so that support is targeted effectively to those who need it most as we continue to recover from the pandemic. The purpose of this report is to explore the outcomes of pupils from low-income backgrounds in Renaissance's Star Reading and Star Maths assessments. We know from previous analysis that pupils from low-income backgrounds suffered disproportionately from the effects of the pandemic and experienced a greater degree of lost learning. This has been confirmed by measures from statutory assessments in primary schools and GCSE and equivalent qualifications in secondary schools which have shown that the disadvantage gap increased to its widest level in a decade." The full report is available online: <https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FINAL_Disadvantage_report.pdf>.

"In 2021, WestEd partnered with Renaissance Learning to examine the impact of Lalilo on literacy achievement and reading attitudes among first grade students, and to develop an understanding of the link between Lalilo implementation, contextual factors, and program impact. Nineteen first grade teachers and reading specialists, and their students, were recruited to use Lalilo during the 2022-23 school year. This brief provides findings from the evaluation that relate to educators’ impressions of the Lalilo student program and educator dashboard, educators’ reported implementation of Lalilo, and educators’ perceptions of the impact of Lalilo on literacy achievement and student motivation and attitudes towards reading."Citation: Soo Ping Chow, A., Nilsen, K., Boxerman, J., Cruz, J., & Ciancio, D. (2023). Impact and implementation evaluation of Lalilo: Phase 1 brief. WestEd. The study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R67209>.