From the abstract: "Ongoing expansion of early education services in the United States is often rooted in these programs' contribution to development that promotes later academic and behavioral competence. Multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS, sometimes referred to as Response to Intervention), represent one increasingly common resource to promote desired outcomes for all children. MTSS requires seasonal screening of all students and progress monitoring of those selected for more intensive intervention. This study explores development and evaluation of measures for these uses, designed specifically to assess the language and early literacy development of 3-year-old children. Results from assessment of 449 children describe measure reliability, growth across three seasonal screenings, development of criterion-referenced benchmarks, and variations in growth for children at different levels of initial performance. Results are discussed in terms of normative versus criterion-referenced standards for building MTSS assessment systems as well as future directions for research, policy, and practice."Citation: McConnell, S. R., Wackerle-Hollman, A. K., Albano, A. D., Lease, E. M., Elmquist, M., & Will, K. K. (2024). Growth and utility of language and early literacy measures for young children. Journal of Early Intervention, 46(4), 526–543.

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>.

The included tables summarize cutoff scores for private schools interested in being nominated for the National Blue Ribbon Schools Award by the Council for American Private Education (CAPE).The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R67701>.

The Phase II evaluation of Lalilo, independently conducted by WestEd, focused on the program’s impact on first grade students' literacy skills and reading attitudes. The quasi-experimental study involved 29 teachers and their students, divided into treatment and comparison groups. Results included detecting that Lalilo had a large significant positive impact on students’ oral reading fluency skills. This is an important outcome because fluency is both a critical component of literacy and a strong predictor of later reading success. Effects were particularly strong for students needing the most support. Teachers and students reported high satisfaction with the program, and in particular teachers highlighted its effectiveness in improving both student engagement and reading skills.Citation: Soo Ping Chow, A., Nilsen, K., Cruz, J., & Ciancio, D. (2024). Impact and implementation evaluation of Lalilo: Phase II report. WestEd.The executive summary is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R67886>.(Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of the full study from the Renaissance Research Department.)

This technical report details the statistical method behind the process of linking Texas' state test (STAAR Spanish) and Star Reading Spanish and Star Math Spanish Unified Scale Scores.The Full Report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R62044>.

From the Introduction: "To provide optimal power and usefulness within our Star Assessments and many of our practice products, Renaissance takes a unique approach to content creation through the development of custom learning progressions. In general, learning progressions are descriptions of successively more sophisticated ways of thinking about key disciplinary concepts and practices across multiple grades, which outline intermediate steps toward expertise (Pellegrino, 2011). Learning progressions lay out in words and examples what it means to move toward more expert understanding (Wilson & Bertenthal 2005) in a subject area. While not unlike a traditional scope and sequence, learning progressions are far more thoughtfully developed and emphasize a holistic, cross-grades focus."The Full Report is available online: <https://renaissance.widen.net/s/jdm9kgx5cw/780549-lpfocusskills-whitepaper>.

From the introduction: "In the spring of 2024, Renaissance undertook a special study to gather further reliability and validity evidence for its four Star CBM rapid automatic naming (RAN) measures. These four assessments measure a student’s ability to rapid name colors (Rapid Color Naming (RCN), pictures (Rapid Picture Naming (RPN)), letters (Rapid Letter Naming (RLN)), and numbers (Rapid Number Naming (RNN)). The four RAN measures each have two test forms and are offered in grades K through 3."The study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R67673>.

This document contains updated classifaction accuracy for Star Early Literacy.The study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R67671>.

The purpose of this study was to statistically link the Star Reading unified scale to the Ohio State Test (OST) reading subscore scale to establish a score equivalent to the promotion benchmark of 50. As an approved alternate assessment, schools may use the Star Reading Third Grade Proficiency Assessment as evidence of meeting the benchmark. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R60626>.

To develop Pathway to Proficiency reports for Florida Star Reading and Star Math schools, we linked our scaled scores with the scaled scores from Florida's achievement test. This technical report details the statistical method behind the process of linking Florida's state test (FAST) and Star Reading and Star Math scaled scores. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R45709>.

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>.

To develop Pathway to Proficiency reports for Texas Star Reading and Star Math schools, we linked our scaled scores with the scaled scores from Texas' achievement test. This technical report details the statistical method behind the process of linking Texas' state test (STAAR) and Star Reading and Star Math scaled scores. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R45735>.

To develop Pathway to Proficiency reports for New Hampshire Star Reading and Star Math, we linked our scaled scores with the scaled scores from the New Hampshire achievement test. This technical report details the statistical method behind the process of linking NH SAS tests and Star Reading and Star Math scaled scores. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R58546>.