To develop Pathway to Proficiency reports for Massachusetts Star Reading and Star Math schools, we linked our scaled scores with the scaled scores from Massachusetts' achievement test. This technical report details the statistical method behind the process of linking Massachusetts' state test (Next-Generation MCAS) and Star Reading and Star Math scaled scores.The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R53639>.

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>.

From the study: "The study followed a quasi-experimental pretest/posttest design. Eight schools in six different states agreed to participate. One or more teachers in each of the eight schools agreed to useThe Word Up Project during the 2008-2009 academic year. The goal was to determine if the vocabulary achievement of students who received instruction using The Word Up Project increased significantly by the end of the school year."The full ssummary of this study is available online: <https://flocabulary.s3.amazonaws.com/pdfs/flat/efficacy-study-summary.pdf>

From the report: "Flocabulary, an educational publisher, contracted with the Educational Research Institute of America (ERIA) to conduct an instructional validation study of its grades 3 to 8 language arts program, The Word Up Project, in eight school sites across the country. Flocabulary sought to determine the extent to which The Word Up Project, a program designed to support students’ vocabulary development, reading comprehension, and critical thinking skills, improves students' language arts skills as measured by state language arts tests."The full ssummary of this study is available online: <https://flocabulary.s3.amazonaws.com/pdfs/flat/state-test-study-summary.pdf>

DETAILS: School Profile: 687 students in grades pre-K-6; Demographics: Rural, Free/reduced Lunch: 12%; Race/Ethnicity: Hispanic or Latino: 0.6%, Black or African American: 1.6%, Asian or Pacific Islander: 0.1%, White: 97.1%, American Indian or Alaska Native: 0.6%. RESULTS: After adopting Accelerated Reader with best practices, the number of 4th-grade students demonstrating proficiency in reading on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test increased 37 points in just 1 year. REPORTING EDUCATOR: Virginia Cutler, Title I director and reading specialist. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R13205>.