Accelerated Reader is a progress-monitoring system that provides feedback on the comprehension of books and other materials that students have read. It also tracks student reading over time. Currently, more than 180,000 different Accelerated Reader quizzes have been developed and are in use. This report provides reliability and validity data for Accelerated Reader quizzes. The reliability analyses use a large database of nearly 1 million quiz records. Validity is established through correlations with scores from 24 standardized reading tests and through a study that confirms that the quizzes are effective at discriminating between instances of students having read the book versus not having read the book. The report also includes descriptions of the purpose and intended classroom use of Accelerated Reader, descriptions of the types of quizzes, and the processes for quiz development. The report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R35806>.

To develop Pathway to Proficiency reports for Arizona Star Reading and Star Math schools, we linked our scaled scores with the scaled scores from Arizona's achievement test. This technical report details the statistical method behind the process of linking Arizona's state test (ASSA formerly AzMERIT, AzM2) and Star Reading and Star Math scaled scores. This a only a name change for the 2022-2023 school year.The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R45738>.

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>.

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>

DETAILS: Location: 24 U.S. states; Design: Analysis of Reading Practice Database; Sample: 50,823 students in grades 1-12 at 139 schools; Measure: Star Reading; Duration: 1 school year. RESULTS: This study of Accelerated Reader indicated that increased time spent reading leads to gains in reading achievement for all students regardless of prior ability, but only when the reading is highly successful. Regression analysis revealed that the single most important factor influencing both time spent reading and average percent correct is a student's teacher. Students in 2nd- through 8th-grade Renaissance Model- and Master-certified classrooms consistently outperformed students in non-certified classrooms and low-implementing classrooms. Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of the Full Report. Information about a newly updated version of the report is available online: <http://research.renaissance.com/research/474.asp>.

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>

DETAILS: Location: 24 U.S. states; Design: Independent, correlational, peer-reviewed; Sample: 45,670 students in grades 1-12 at 139 schools; Measure: Star Reading; Duration: 1 school year. RESULTS: To explore whether different balances of fiction/nonfiction reading and challenge might help explain differences in reading achievement between genders, data on students who independently read more than 3 million books were analyzed. Moderate (rather than high or low) levels of challenge were positively associated with achievement gain, but nonfiction was generally more challenging than fiction. Nonfiction reading was negatively correlated with successful comprehension and reading achievement gain. Overall, boys appeared to read less than girls, but proportionately more nonfiction. In the upper grades, boys also had lower reading achievement than girls. Differences between classes in promoting successful comprehension of nonfiction were evident, suggesting intervention could improve achievement. Implications for research and practice were explored. PLEASE NOTE: Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of this peer-reviewed journal article: Topping, K. J., Samuels, J., & Paul, T. (2008). Independent reading: The relationship of challenge, non-fiction and gender to achievement. British Educational Research Journal, 34(4), 505-524.

DETAILS: Location: 24 U.S. states; Design: Independent, correlational, peer-reviewed; Sample: 50,823 students in grades 1-12 at 139 schools; Measure: Star Reading; Duration: 1 school year. RESULTS: This study elaborated on the "what works?" question by exploring the effects of variability in program implementation quality on achievement. Particularly, the effects of computerized assessment in reading on achievement were investigated, analyzing data on students who read more than 3 million books. When minimum implementation quality criteria were met, the positive effect of computerized assessment was higher in the earlier grades and for lower achieving students. Implementation quality tended to decline at higher grade levels. With higher implementation quality, reading achievement gains were higher for students of all levels of achievement and across all grades, but especially in the upper grades. Very high gains and effect sizes were evident with very high implementation quality, particularly in grades 1-4. Implications for practice, the interpretation of research, and policy were noted. PLEASE NOTE: Email research@renaissance.com to rquest a copy of this peer-reviewed journal article: Topping, K. J., Samuels, J., & Paul, T. (2007). Computerized assessment of independent reading: Effects of implementation quality on achievement gain. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 18(2), 191-208.

DETAILS: Location: KY, AZ, CA, MS, SC, AR, CO, GA, NV, NM, and TN; Design: Independent, correlational; Sample: 47 local model literacy initiative programs; Measure: Star Reading; Duration: 1 school year. RESULTS: During the 2005-2006 school year, Save the Children supported several local programs in its model literacy initiative. Twenty of the sites operated for the first time that year, while 15 began operation in the spring of the 2004-2005 school year, and the remaining 12 began during the 2003-2004 school year. Services at the sites included delivery of integrated in-school, after-school, and summer-school literacy activities 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 2005-06. During the 2005-06 school year, the proportion of participants reading at a level appropriate for their grade level or above increased. On the initial Star Reading test, 21.8% 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 27.3% were reading at grade level. The average pre-post change in Star Reading scores was 3.9 NCEs, which was statistically significant. Report available online: <https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED498796.pdf>.

DETAILS: Location: 24 U.S. states; Design: Independent, correlational, peer-reviewed; Sample: 45,670 students in grades 1-12 at 139 schools Measure: Star Reading; Duration: 1 school year. RESULTS: Does reading practice make perfect? Or is reading achievement related to the quality of practice as well as the quantity? To answer these questions, data for students who read more than 3 million books were analyzed. Measures largely of quantity (engaged reading volume) and purely of quality (success in reading comprehension) showed a positive relationship with achievement gain at all levels of achievement. However, both high quantity and high quality in combination were necessary for high achievement gains, especially for older students. Both were weakly associated with student initial reading achievement, but more strongly associated with the class in which the student was enrolled, possibly suggesting the properties of teacher intervention in guiding independent reading were important. Implications for theory building, research, and practice were explored. PLEASE NOTE: Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of this peer-reviewed journal article: Topping, K. J., Samuels, J., & Paul, T. (2007). Does practice make perfect? Independent reading quantity, quality and student achievement. Learning and Instruction, 17, 253-264.

DETAILS: Location: Arizona; Design: Independent, correlational, peer-reviewed; Sample: 239 students in grades 3-6; Measure: Patterns of Adaptive Scale (PALS); Duration: 1 school year. RESULTS: This study examined the effect of Accelerated Reader and best classroom practices on the goal orientations of students at an urban, Title I elementary school. Thirty-six percent of the student body qualified for free or reduced-price lunch, and 24% of the students came from a minority background. Researchers used an adapted version of PALS to measure both the goal orientation of the students, as well as how the students perceived their teachers goal orientations. The results indicated that students using Accelerated Reader were less performance oriented (both performance-approach and performance-avoid) by the end of the year, while mastery goal orientation (learning for the sake of learning) remained consistently high. The researchers also found that students who perceived the goals of their teachers as being performance-approach or -avoid oriented tended to hold similar personal goals. When teachers were perceived as holding mastery-oriented goals, the students tended to be both more mastery oriented and more performance oriented, possibly due to students inability to differentiate between trying to learn and trying to get a high score in response to teacher encouragement to just try. PLEASE NOTE: The Summary of this peer-reviewed journal article: Husman, J., Brem, S., & Duggan, M. A. (2005). Student goal orientation and formative assessment. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 9(3), 355-359. is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R354421>. The Full Article is also available online: <http://www.rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/5oct3047l5.htm>.

DETAILS: Location: Arizona; Design: Independent, quasi-experimental; Sample: 300 students at 2 matched elementary schools; Measures: Star Reading, Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-9), Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales (PALS); Duration: 3 years. RESULTS: This study examined the long-term effect of Accelerated Reader and best classroom practices on the reading performance and Motivation of students at an urban, Title I elementary school. The researchers built upon Sadusky and Brem, 2002 (available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R40784>), which examined 5 years of SAT-9 and Accelerated Reader data, as well as feedback from students, teachers, and parents gathered through surveys/focus groups. Students lacking at least 2 consecutive years of test data were excluded, strengthening the evidence that the Accelerated Reader school outperformed the control school. Administering an adapted version of PALS to the students 3 times, the authors found that students participating in Accelerated Reader maintained a high level of mastery-oriented motivation (learning for learning's sake) toward reading while becoming less performance-oriented (working for the grade), that students tended to be performance oriented if they perceived their teachers to be, and that perceived mastery orientation of teachers was associated with both mastery- and performance-orientation in students. AUTHORS: Jenefer Husman, PhD and Sarah Brem, PhD. Report available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R40770>.