DETAILS: School Profile: 600 students in grades: K-3; Demographics: Rural, Title I, Limited English proficiency: 8%, Free/reduced lunch: 57%, Mobility: 22%; Race/Ethnicity: Black or African American: 10.0%, White: 76.0%, Hispanic or Latino: 11.5%, Asian or Pacific Islander: 0.5%, American Indian or Alaska Native: 2.0%. RESULTS: The schools implementation of Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math helped to increase the percentage of students who Met Standard and received Commended Performance in reading, mathematics, and all subjects tested on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). REPORTING EDUCATOR: Linda Staton, principal. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R36620>.

DETAILS: School Profile: 390 students in grades pre-K-5; Demographics: Rural, Title I, targeted assistance, Free/reduced lunch: 54%, Mobility: 7%; Race/Ethnicity: Asian/Pacific Islander: 3%, Black/African American: 8%, Hispanic/Latino: 1%, White: 88%; Measure: Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS). Duration: 1998-2005. RESULTS: At Hawthorne Elementary, since fully implementing Accelerated Reader, Accelerated Math, and MathFacts in a Flash, in tandem with Renaissance's research-based best practices, students scores on the ITBS have risen dramatically. Most notably, since fall of 2003, more than 90% of students have scored proficient in reading, and from 2001 to 2005 the percent of students proficient in math has grown 25.9%. As a result, Hawthorne Elementary welcomes visitors from the district and community and has become an example for implementations at other elementary schools. REPORTING EDUCATOR: Sharon Kokemuller, principal. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R38272>.

DETAILS: Location: Memphis, Tennessee; Design: Independent, experimental, peer-reviewed; Sample: 1,665 students and 76 teachers at 11 elementary schools; Measures: Star Early Literacy, Star Reading; Duration: 1 school year. RESULTS: In this study, teachers at urban elementary schools were randomly assigned to use or not use Accelerated Reader. Star Early Literacy and Star Reading results showed significant gains and moderate to large effect sizes in grades K-2 and small to moderate effect sizes in grades 3-6. Eighty-three percent of the students in grades 3-6 were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Students with learning disabilities benefited most in classrooms with high-implementation of Accelerated Reader compared to those in low- or no-implementation classrooms. PLEASE NOTE: The Summary of this peer-reviewed journal article: Nunnery, J. A., Ross, S. M., & McDonald, A. (2006). A randomized experimental evaluation of the impact of Accelerated Reader/Reading Renaissance implementation on reading achievement in grades 3 to 6. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 11(1), 1-18. is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R37112>. For a copy of the Full Article, email the Renaissance Research Department: research@renaissance.com. The initial report upon which this article is based, Ross, S. M., Nunnery, J., & Goldfeder, E. (2004). A randomized experiment on the effects of Accelerated Reader/Reading Renaissance in an urban school district: Final evaluation report. Memphis, TN: University of Memphis, Center for Research in Educational Policy, is also available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R40767>.

DETAILS: Location: 30 U.S. states; Design: Predictive validity study; Sample: Grades K-2 at 130 schools; Measures: Star Early Literacy, Star Reading; Duration: 2 school years. RESULTS: The early assessment of pre-reading or early literacy skills is vitally important in a comprehensive educational approach. This research investigated the predictive validity of scores from Star Early Literacy, a computer-adaptive test of early literacy skills, with evidence for its utility in monitoring student progress across the academic year. The assessment measures the main domains of skills known to be prerequisites for later reading skills, such as phonics, phonemic awareness, text comprehension, and vocabulary. Students from 2 consecutive school years spanning grades K-2 were assessed on early literacy skills 3 times across the initial school year, and then 2 grades later were assessed on reading skills. Results provided strong evidence for both predictive validity and use as a monitor of student progress. AUTHORS: Joseph Betts, PhD, MMIS and James R. McBride, PhD. Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of this study from the Renaissance Research Department.

Star Reading was favorably reviewed by SEDL. The Full Review is available online: <http://www.sedl.org/reading/rad/>, search for Star Reading.

DETAILS: Design: Independent, correlational. RESULTS: This report is parallel to Rudd and Wade, 2006 (available online: <https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/SRY01/SRY01.pdf>), which examined the impact of Accelerated Reader on reading achievement. Overall, the mean gain in reading ability was statistically significant. Gains in reading scores were statistically significant in 12 out of 15 classes. The average percentage correct (APC) varied and was considerably below the 85% minimum Renaissance recommends. The higher APC, the higher mean scaled score gain, and the APC was even more crucial if the amount of reading was small. AUTHORS: Keith J. Topping, PhD. Report available online: <https://web.archive.org/web/20110516030644/http://www.dundee.ac.uk/eswce/research/projects/lis/download/accelerated-reader.doc>

In May of 2002, the University of Oregon published the Analysis of Reading Assessment Instruments for K-3. In the executive summary of their final report, the University of Oregon Assessment Committee identified some of the limitations of their work. "The most conspicuous limitation to the Assessment Committee's effort is the limited number of assessment instruments analyzed, coded, reviewed, and evaluated. Clearly, more assessment instruments must be reviewed and evaluated" (p. 10). The University of Oregon could not evaluate Star Early Literacy (SEL), because it was released after the Oregon Committee began their work. For this reason, researchers from the UW-Madison reviewed SEL using the same rigorous methodologies used by the Oregon group. In order to replicate the process as closely as possible, they analyzed how the Oregon Committee evaluated other instruments, including DIBELS and TPRI. Then, following the same procedures, the researchers reviewed SEL separately using the Analysis of Reading Assessment Instruments for K-3. After completing the reviews, an inter-rater reliability check was performed to identify discrepancies, and the researchers then discussed and resolved any discrepancies between the two reviews. Through the analysis, researchers found SEL to be a reliable and valid instrument, like the other assessments reviewed by the University of Oregon. UTHORS: Geoffrey D. Borman, PhD and N. Maritza Dowling, PhD. Report available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R40792>

DETAILS: School Profile: 250 students in grades: K-1, 4-6; Demographics: Inner-city school, Title I, Limited English proficiency: 1.3%, Free or reduced lunch: 74%; Race/Ethnicity: Black or African American: 53.1%, White: 29.8%, Hispanic or Latino: 14.5%, Asian or Pacific Islander: 2.2% American Indian or Alaska Native: 0.4%. RESULTS: Since implementing Accelerated Reader with best practices, the percentage of 5th-grade students meeting or exceeding reading state standards jumped from 64.7% in 2003 to 83.5% in 2005 on the Deleware State Testing Program. REPORTING EDUCATOR: Diane D'Angelo, English language arts instructional coach. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R35318>.

DETAILS: 452 students in grades: Pre-K-5; Demographics: Rural, Title I: 24%, Free/reduced lunch: 49%, Mobility: 15%, Limited English proficiency: .4%; Race/Ethnicity: Black or African American: 8%, White: 81%, Hispanic or Latino: 10%, Asian or Pacific Islander: 1%. RESULTS: After using Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math with best practices, Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) reading and math scores increased, and library circulation increased by 56.5%. REPORTING EDUCATOR: Vicki Stephenson, principal. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R34891>.

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>.

Schoolzone works to support teachers by providing pedagogically sound reviews of educational products. Teachers in the United Kingdom are asked to use a tool in their classrooms and then write an in-depth report on their findings. The evaluator found Accelerated Reader to be motivational for students, easy to use, and helpful to teachers in monitoring student reading. AUTHOR: L. Strachan, Schoolzone.

DETAILS: Design: Independent, correlational. RESULTS: This analysis confirms that increased integrity of Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math implementations, according to Renaissance's best classroom practices, increases the probability that students will attain higher performance levels on state tests in reading and math. Data from 3 large districts in Delaware, Texas (see Nunnery & Ross, 2007, available online: <https://www.proquest.com/openview/88005a34ff3261b276410e2cc64e9da5/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=10235>), and Mississippi (see Ross & Nunnery, 2005, available online: <https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED484275.pdf>.) were analyzed. AUTHOR: Daniel Bolt, PhD. A Summary of this analysis is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R34890>.

DETAILS: Location: Pascagoula and Biloxi, Mississippi; Design: Independent, quasi-experimental; Sample: 10,000 students in grades 3-8, 23 treatment/18 control schools; Measures: Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT), Mississippi Writing Assessment; Duration: 2 years. RESULTS: This report is the 2nd year of Ross and Nunnery, 2005 (available online: <http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED484275.pdf>.), which was designed to compare the achievement of students in schools in 2 school districts implementing Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math to students in matched control schools. The schools from one district began implementing Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math in January 2002, and the schools from the other district began implementation in August 2000. Thus, this analysis of 2004 achievement data relates to the 2nd and 4th full years of implementation at all schools. Results show that although program effects were not as strong and consistent as the prior school year (Ross & Nunnery, 2005), they remained generally positive: 16 out of 20 computed effect size estimates were positive. Supplementary analyses examined outcomes separately by school district, and examined the relationship of student-level implementation measures to achievement effects. Overall, these results indicate generally positive and sustainable impacts of Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math on student performance in program-independent, high-stakes testing. However, these impacts were predominantly evident in the district that implemented for 4 years and only minimally so in the district that implemented for 2 years, thus suggesting that sustained implementation was critical to success. AUTHORS: Steven M. Ross, PhD and John A. Nunnery, PhD. Report available online: <https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED500028.pdf>.