From the abstract: "The population of Spanish-speaking preschoolers in the United States continues to increase and there is a significant need to develop psychometrically sound early language and literacy screening measures to accurately capture children's ability in Spanish. In this paper, we describe the innovative design and calibration process of the new Individual Growth and Development Indicators-Español (IGDIs-E). We developed and tested two Spanish oral language measures: Identificación de los Dibujos/Picture Naming and Verbos (Expresivo)/Expressive Verbs with 976 Spanish-speaking preschoolers (4-5-years old; 50% female) across five states. Children were tested in Spanish in fall, winter, and spring across two academic years. Results provide evidence that the new IGDIs-E are psychometrically sound with no significant bias between genders and dialects of Spanish spoken in the United States. Cumulative results, the utility of the final measures, and the implications for data-based decision making with Spanish-speaking preschoolers is discussed." Citation: Durán, L. K., Wackerle-Hollman, A. K., Kohlmeier, T. L., Brunner, S. K., Palma, J., & Callard, C. H. (2019). Individual Growth and Development Indicators-Español: Innovation in the development of Spanish oral language general outcome measures. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 48, 155-172The research study is available online: <https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED596096.pdf>.

From the abstract: "Little research has been conducted to assess the validity of computer-based instruments used to access reading progress in the classroom. The current study evaluates the ability of the Star Reading program to predict subtest scores on the WJ IV ACH. Star Reading assessment was able to predict performace below the tenth percentile on reading subtest of the WJ IV ACH. The study provides a model for school psychologist to evaluate the computer-based asessments used in their schools."Citation: Stroebel, S. S., Jennings, R. L., Lucas-Adkins, C., & Basford, A. (2019, February). Evaluating the predictive validity of the STAR Reading program. Poster session presented at the National Association of School Psychologists Annual Convention, Atlanta, GA.

From the abstract: "Spanish speakers in the United States are a steadily increasing population, up by 233% since 1980. Given the growing population of dual language learners (DLLs) and the large numbers of Spanish-speaking children enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs, addressing the educational needs of preschool-aged DLLs has become a national imperative. Specifically, the intersection of this growing population and the dearth of appropriate assessment tools to evaluate DLLs early language and literacy skills creates a need for assessments that accurately measure preschool performance. This manuscript reports on the iterative design process of a measure of Spanish phonological awareness for preschool-aged DLLs: Spanish Individual Growth and Development Indicators (S-IGDI) Primeros Sonidos. We employed measure design framework to develop the measure and tested item function within a study of 970, 4-5 year old DLLs. Results, including item level analyses and evidence regarding construct and criterion validity are reported."Citation: Wackerle-Hollman, A., Durán, L., Brunner, S., Palma, J., Kohlmeier, T., & Rodriguez, M. C. (2019). Developing a measure of Spanish phonological awareness for preschool age children: Spanish Individual Growth and Development Indicators. Educational Assessment, 24(1), 33-56. The research study is available online: <https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED595878.pdf>.

From the abstract: "The purpose of this quantitative causal comparative study was to examine to what extent if any, there was a difference in academic and recreational reading motivation and reading achievement between third grade students who participated in the Accelerated Reading curriculum (AR) (reading software management system), as defined in definitions and students who did not. This study investigated a sample of 137 third-grade students in a suburban school in central Florida. One group of 69 third grade students participated in the AR curriculum in year 2015-2016, while a demographically similar group of 68 students did not participate in the AR curriculum. Quantitative methodology and causal comparative design were used to investigate if any differences in two groups of students existed on three dependent variables (academic reading motivation, recreational reading motivation, and FSA reading scores), as a result of participation or no participation in an AR curriculum. Students either participated in an AR curriculum group or a group with no exposure to an AR curriculum, and all third-grade students were compared on the three dependent variables. Data analysis in the study involved the use of a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) statistical model. The results in this study will add to the knowledge available for educators to assist in determining the most effective use of limited instructional funds."Citation: Sierra, K. E. (2018). A quantitative causal-comparative study of the effect of accelerated reading on elementary school students' reading achievement and motivation (13425288) [Doctoral dissertation, Grand Canyon University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.

To develop Pathway to Proficiency reports for Tennessee Star Reading Enterprise and Star Math Enterprise schools, we linked our scaled scores with the scaled scores from Tennessee's achievement test. This technical report details the statistical method behind the process of linking Tennessee's state test (TNReady) and Star Reading and Star Math scaled scores. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R52834>.

From the abstract: "Over the past few decades, digital technologies have dramatically altered the learning tools available to students and teachers. myON is considered one of the key reading intervention programs that have contributed significantly in improving elementary school students' reading ability.The goal of this study is to understand how elementary school students acquired and utilized the digital book libraries through usability research. This involved understanding how the students use myON to find key information about a book and their experiences when interacting with myON website.The research results show that 97% of success in task completion indicated that the website was effective which enables participants to complete their tasks successfully. The overall satisfaction score was above the average, indicating that the majority of the participants were satisfied with using the website. The common consensus among the participants was that myON was appropriate for enabling students to read different books online."Citation: Alfageh, D., & Demir, F. (2018). The usability evaluation of a digital book application for elementary school students. International Journal of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(18), 27-33.The full article is available online: <http://www.ijahss.com/Paper/03082018/1079495654.pdf>.

This technical report details the statistical method behind the process of linking the SAT and Star Reading and Star Math scaled scores.The report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R61746>.

From the abstract: "Implementation fidelity or integrity is a key variable in evidence-based interventions, but is rarely assessed by student response or over a long period. This study related implementation fidelity in independent book reading to tested reading achievement over a year. The sample of 852,295 students in 3243 primary and secondary schools was reduced by schools providing incomplete data and the discarding of mid-year data. Achievement was measured pre-post by STAR Reading, a computerised item-banked adaptive test of reading accuracy and comprehension. Implementation fidelity was measured by variables from the computerised Accelerated Reader (AR) software, which analyses comprehension of a real book the student has chosen by a quiz. Results compared key variables for the four regions of the UK, local authorities and best performing schools. Computerised methods offer an interesting alternative to teacher behaviour for investigating implementation and outcomes. This study showed stronger links between implementation and outcomes at an individual level than when all data is aggregated, and that student response is at least as good an implementation index as teacher behaviour. The implications for practice, policy and future research were outlined."Citation: Topping, K. J. (2018). Implementation fidelity and pupil achievement in book reading: Variation between regions, local authorities and schools. Research Papers in Education, 33(5), 620-641.

From the report: "The 2018 surveys documented that teachers and students believed Flocabulary contributed to high academic engagement and positively influenced student learning in the classroom. Students particularly enjoyed the use of music and visuals in Flocabulary videos."The full study is available online: <https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.flocabulary.com/school-and-district/Engagement%20Paper_October%202018.pdf>

From the abstract: "The increasing use of computerized adaptive tests (CATs) to collect information about students' academic growth or their response to academic interventions has led to a number of questions pertaining to the use of these measures for the purpose of progress monitoring. Star Reading is an example of a CAT-based assessment with considerable validity evidence to support its use for progress monitoring. However, additional validity evidence could be gathered to strengthen the use and interpretation of Star Reading data for progress monitoring. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to focus on three aspects of progress monitoring that will benefit Star Reading users. The specific research questions to be answered are: ( a ) how robust are the estimation methods in producing meaningful progress monitoring slopes in the presence of outliers; ( b ) what is the length of the time interval needed to use Star Reading for the purpose of progress monitoring; and ( c ) how many data points are needed to use Star Reading for the purpose of progress monitoring? The first research question was examined using a Monte Carlo simulation study. The second and third research questions were examined using real data from 6,396,145 students who took the Star Reading assessment during the 2014-2015 school year. Results suggest that the Theil-Sen estimator is the most robust estimator of student growth when using Star Reading. In addition, it appears that five data points and a progress monitoring window of approximately 20 weeks appear to be the minimum parameters for Star Reading to be used for the purpose of progress monitoring. Implications for practice include adapting the parameters for progress monitoring according to a student's current grade-level performance in reading."Citation: Bulut, O., & Cormier, D. C. (2018). Validity evidence for progress monitoring with Star Reading: Slope estimates, administration frequency, and number of data points. Frontiers in Education, 3.The full journal article is available online: <https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2018.00068>.

To develop Pathway to Proficiency reports for Alaska Star Reading Enterprise and Star Math Enterprise schools on the Renaissance Place hosted platform, we linked our scaled scores with the scaled scores from Alaska's achievement test. This technical report details the statistical method behind the process of linking Alaska's state test (PEAKS) and Star Reading and Star Math scaled scores.NOTE: The cut-score equivalents presented are preliminary estimates of the Star Reading and Star Math scores corresponding with each PEAKS performance level and will be refined as more data become available. To learn more about the next steps for the PEAKS linking study or contribute data to support this linking project, please contact the Research Department at research@renaissance.com. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R53465>.

From the abstract: "STAR (Star Reading and Star Math), the products from a software company, Renaissance, are used for screening and progress-monitoring overtime. An alignment was completed by Renaissance between STAR and MCA, the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment, for grades 3 through 8. This research study will help contribute to the research of alignment between STAR and MCA. This research is predicting the expected STAR scores by season for student proficiency in MCA reading and math at 50% and 90% probability levels. The STAR scores needed to achieve 50% and 90% chance of MCA proficiency for each season will be calculated in this study. Overall, the STAR scores needed are increasing overtime. When a student is predicted to be non-proficient, this student will receive extra help. It is important to prevent the chances of predicting the wrong students to be MCA proficiency because they will not receive extra supports. For this purpose, a better probability cutoff (75%) will be suggested through this study."Citation: Cha, L. X. (2018). Alignment between STAR and MCA for grades 10 and 11.The Full Report is available online: <https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=school_district_data>.

From the executive summary: "The Blended Learning program at a large school district in the northeastern United States showed encouraging results with Freckle (formerly Front Row) in the 2017/2018 school year. It was shown, with statistical significance, that each day of using Freckle improved student MAP scores in both Math and ELA, and using Freckle for 50 or more days in Math and 40 or more days in ELA are projected to increase results by 12.5% and 11.3% respectively, while controlling for teacher or school."Citation: Freckle Education. (2018). Each day of Freckle usage leads to increased math and ELA test scores in a large district. San Francisco, CA: Author.The research study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R63355>.