Star Early Literacy, Star Reading, and Star Math have been rated highly by the National Center on Response to Intervention as screening assessments. The Full Review is available online: <https://web.archive.org/web/20181224051733/https://rti4success.org/resources/tools-charts/screening-tools-chart>.

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>

From the report: "The following report contains the results for the Year One evaluation study of a school transformation model developed by SetPoint, a consortium of JBHM Education Group and Renaissance, Inc., which was implemented in three Arkansas schools. The three schools received School Improvement Grants from the Arkansas Department of Education to implement a school transformation model and chose SetPoint to assist them. The schools were all in the sixth year of school improvement for restructuring. The evaluation was a process and outcomes study addressing SetPoint's implementation, teacher and principal outcomes, student outcomes, and contextual variables that affect implementation. An overview of SetPoint, the schools, and the evaluation are followed by Year One results." (Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of this study from the Renaissance Research Department.)

This independent, experimental study compared the reading attainment and intrinsic motivation to read between Intervention Group 1 (Life Boat Literacy), Intervention Group 2 (Accelerated Reader), and a control group. The results of this research found that the group using Accelerated Reader had statistically significant gains in both reading attainment and reading self efficacy compared to the control group and the group using Life Boat Literacy. Accelerated Reader "increased both reading attainment and the intrinsic motivation to read by one standard deviation unit compared to other pupils of a similar age and ability." Citation: Hall, A. (2011). Raising reading attainment and reading self efficacy in an all girls' secondary school; new whole language approaches vs. tried and tested synthetic phonics (Unpublished dissertation). Durham University School of Education, Durham, England. (Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of this study from the Renaissance Research Department.)

From the abstract: "Success in early literacy activities is associated with improved educational outcomes, including reduced dropout risk, in-grade retention, and special education referrals. When considering programs that will work for a particular school and context; cost-effectiveness analysis may provide useful information for decision makers.The study provides information about the cost-effectiveness of four early literacy programs that the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), a government agency that evaluates effectiveness research in education, has determined show evidence of effectiveness: Accelerated Reader, Classwide Peer Tutoring, Reading Recovery, and Success for All. By using meta-analytic techniques to combine effect sizes for different studies and weighting literacy outcomes, the study provides new information about the relative effectiveness of early literacy programs. In particular, by weighting literacy outcomes, the study casts new light upon the relative importance of different kinds of literacy outcomes for creating successful beginning readers. Costs are often ignored, but are a necessary consideration given budget constraints. Rigorous measurement of program costs and presentation of cost-effectiveness ratios provides information about the relative cost-effectiveness of four "effective" programs.Using meta-analytic results with confidence intervals, Accelerated Reader -- a relatively small add-on software program -- appears to be more cost-effective than Reading Recovery, a one-to-one tutoring program. Using point estimates for all four programs, Accelerated Reader and Classwide Peer Tutoring, two relatively small add-on programs, appear to be more cost-effective options than Reading Recovery and Success for All, two relatively more intensive interventions. Cost-effectiveness analysis should be one tool considered by decision makers, considered alongside goals for different subpopulations, individual contexts, and needs." Citation: Simon, J. (2011). A cost-effectiveness analysis of early literacy interventions (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Columbia University, New York. The full report is available online: <https://doi.org/10.7916/D8N303WV>.

From the Abstract: "The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the Accelerated Reader program on elementary students' reading TAKS scores in an urban predominantly Hispanic Title I school. Namely, the study investigated the relationship among the amount of time spent reading, amount of reading, average AR test scores, and students' reaching AR goal in the Accelerated Reader Program, and students' reading achievement, as measured by the state high stakes standardized test, Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test. Archival data contained AR reading records and TAKS reading scores for 300 elementary students in an urban predominantly Hispanic Title I school during 2007- 2008 and 2008-2009 school years was analyzed. A correlation design was utilized for this ex-post facto study to determine if a correlation exists between the reading achievement of the students, as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skill reading tests and the implementation of Accelerated Reader Program as measured by Engaged time in reading, AR points, AR average scores, and AR goal. The results showed there are low to moderate correlation between the Accelerated Reader program's major components AR Engaged Time, AR points, AR average correct, AR goal, and The TAKS reading test. Surprisingly, we found very 1 provocative results; 100% of the students who did not pass TAKS-Reading also did not reach their AR Goal; 100% of the students who reach their AR goals also passed TAKS reading tests." The full report is available online: <http://hdl.handle.net/10657/447>.

Political and technical debates about using student achievement data in evaluating teacher performance have shifted from whether to how. There is general agreement that multiple measures should be used, but in practice, virtually all systems discussed so far depend on one data source: annual summative state tests. In this paper, we suggest that assessment systems already in place in most school systems have the potential, if used appropriately, to supply additional estimates of teacher, principal, and school impact on student learning. "Short-cycle interim assessments"---such as Star Early Literacy, Star Reading, and Star Math---can deliver additional insights with relatively little cost or delay. Equally important, they can do so while continuing to serve the broader goal for which they are primarily intended: helping to improve educator effectiveness and advance student learning. AUTHOR: Michael H. Baum. The policy brief is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R53142>.

DETAILS: Location: Florida; Design: Independent, realibility and validity research; Sample: 1,077 students in Grade 6, 7, and 8; Measure: Star Reading, Scholastic Reading Inventory-Interactive, and Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test; Duration: 4 months.RESULTS: This peer-reviewed journal article from Bob Algozzine, Chuang Wang, and Anatoli Boukhtiarov at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte examined the extent to which an interim progress monitoring assessment in reading (Star Reading) could predict later performance on a high-stakes test (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test). Star Reading was found to be a good predictor of FCAT. CITATION: Algozzine, B., Wang, C., & Boukhtiarov, A. (2011). A comparison of progress monitoring scores and end-of-grade achievement. New Waves-Educational Research & Development, 14(1), 3-21. The Full Article is available online: <http://www.viethconsulting.com/members/publication/new_waves_article.php?aid=19290171>

NCRTI finds that Star Early Literacy, Star Reading, and Star Math are high quality general outcome measures for progress monitoring tools. The Full Reviews are available online: <https://web.archive.org/web/20120813035500/http:/www.rti4success.org/pdf/progressMonitoringGOM.pdf>.

NCRTI finds that Star Early Literacy, Star Reading, and Star Math are high quality general outcome measures for progress monitoring tools. The Full Reviews are available online: <https://web.archive.org/web/20120813035500/http:/www.rti4success.org/pdf/progressMonitoringGOM.pdf>.

NCRTI finds that Star Early Literacy, Star Reading, and Star Math are high quality general outcome measures for progress monitoring tools. The Full Reviews are available online: <https://web.archive.org/web/20120813035500/http:/www.rti4success.org/pdf/progressMonitoringGOM.pdf>.

Today's students are digital natives, they want their learning to be personalized similar to their world around them. Personalized reading puts the student at the center of the learning environment, because it is based on students' interests and preferences, takes into account students' level of ability, and accommodates students' individual learning styles and strengths. The report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R63034>.

Traditionally, critical thinking was thought of as a set of skills to be taught. However, more recent research suggests that it is a natural capacity to be exercised and strengthened; thought-provoking and challenging experiences facilitate the development of higher-order thinking skills. Encouraging reading practice at the appropriate level is one of the most powerful activities teachers can use to provide such experiences and foster critical thinking in their students. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R11839>.