These Freckle for Math and Freckle for ELA studies involved more than 420,000 students from Grades K-12 (math) and Grades K-12 (ELA). The studies examined Freckle usage, normative achievement on Star Assessments, and growth in general math or reading ability (Star Student Growth Percentile) over the fall-to-spring period in the 2022-2023 school year. Practice with Freckle was associated with a greater percentage of students meeting Star proficiency benchmarks at the end of the year compared to the beginning of the year, and higher levels of growth in general math or reading ability. These positive outcomes increased as students engaged in practice that met or exceeded Freckle usage guidelines and as students used the program for a larger portion of the school year.The full study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R67477>.

This document examines the evidence base for Freckle for Math that meets the requirements of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R62566>.

From the abstract: "The present study compared the diagnostic accuracy of a single computer adaptive test (CAT), Star Reading or Star Math, and a combination of the two in a gated screening framework to predict end-of-year proficiency in reading and math. Participants included 13,009 students in Grades 3-8 who had at least one fall screening score and end-of-year state test score in reading and math. First, diagnostic accuracy statistics were evaluated for a single screening measure to predict proficiency on end-of-year tests. Second, a gated screening framework was simulated to examine the diagnostic accuracy of a combination of screening measures (i.e., scores from the CATs and the end-of-year test). The diagnostic accuracy of each screening method was compared. Results suggest that diagnostic accuracy did not improve for the gated screening method when compared to the single screening method. The gated screening method tended to yield low sensitivity values (M?=?0.42, range?=?0.3-0.48) and high specificity values (M?=?0.97, range?=?0.9-0.99). The only condition to reach acceptable sensitivity and specificity (>0.70) was a single reading screener predicting reading outcomes. Sample specific cut-scores from receiver operating curve (ROC) analyses led to improved diagnostic accuracy outcomes relative to all other methods."Citation: Forcht, E. R., & Van Norman, E. R. (2024). Comparison of screening methods for computer adaptive tests to predict reading and math performance. Psychology in the Schools, 61(4), 1590–1610The full article is available online: <https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.23132>.

From the abstract: "Renaissance contracted with LearnPlatform, a third-party edtech research company, to examine the impact of Freckle usage on student math outcomes. LearnPlatform designed the study to satisfy Level II requirements (Moderate Evidence) according to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)."The full study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R67497>.

This study examined patterns of expected National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) readiness according to the extent of individualised reading practice accomplished by students using the Accelerated Reader (AR) program. We drew upon a large database of thousands of Australian students to compare independent reading practice as tracked by AR with the typical performance of students who do not use the programme. The study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R66928>.

From the introduction: "This analysis is the fourth in a series of reports produced by the Education Policy Institute, working in partnership with Renaissance. The purpose of this research programme is to ensure that policy makers and schools have access to robust data on the performance of different pupil groups, so that support is targeted effectively to those who need it most as we continue to recover from the pandemic. Our previous reports examined outcomes in Renaissance Star Reading and Renaissance Star Maths assessments before, during, and after the pandemic across all pupils and for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. This included examining how the disadvantage gap - the difference in outcomes between pupils from low-income backgrounds and their peers - had changed between 2017/18 and 2022/23." The full report is available online: <https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PUBLICATION-3_Final_v2.pdf>.

From the introduction: "In the spring of 2023, the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee (SC EOC), in collaboration with the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE), partnered with Education Analytics (EA) to complete a level-linking study between the South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Assessment (SC READY) in Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) and Renaissance Learning's Star interim assessments in Mathematics and Reading, respectively. This report outlines the methodology used by EA and the outcomes of the linking study. The goal of this report is to statistically connect the SC READY and Star assessments' scale scores in grades 3-8 to facilitate further comparisons of proficiency status on these two assessments." The full study is available online: <https://eoc.sc.gov/sites/eoc/files/Documents/2023%20EA%20Linking%20Studies/SC%20READY%20and%20STAR%20Linking%20Study%20Technical%20Report%20Final.pdf>.The brief is available online: <https://eoc.sc.gov/sites/eoc/files/Documents/2023%20EA%20Linking%20Studies/SC%20READY%20and%20STAR%20Linking%20Study%20User%20Friendly%20Brief.pdf>.

From the introduction: "This analysis is the second in a series of reports produced by the Education Policy Institute, working in partnership with Renaissance. The purpose of this research programme is to ensure that schools and policy makers have access to robust data on the performance of different pupil groups, so that support is targeted effectively to those who need it most as we continue to recover from the pandemic. The purpose of this report is to provide benchmarking data to users of Renaissance Star Reading and Renaissance Star Maths assessments. It allows users to see how outcomes for their pupils compare to all pupils nationally - both against averages at different points in the academic year and across the whole attainment distribution. It also shows how these results have changed over time so that schools can better understand the patterns of attainment that they are seeing." The full report is available online: <https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/FINAL_Benchmarking_report.pdf>.

From the introduction: "This analysis is the second in a series of reports produced by the Education Policy Institute, working in partnership with Renaissance. The purpose of this research programme is to ensure that policy makers and schools have access to robust data on the performance of different pupil groups, so that support is targeted effectively to those who need it most as we continue to recover from the pandemic. The purpose of this report is to explore the outcomes of pupils from low-income backgrounds in Renaissance's Star Reading and Star Maths assessments. We know from previous analysis that pupils from low-income backgrounds suffered disproportionately from the effects of the pandemic and experienced a greater degree of lost learning. This has been confirmed by measures from statutory assessments in primary schools and GCSE and equivalent qualifications in secondary schools which have shown that the disadvantage gap increased to its widest level in a decade." The full report is available online: <https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FINAL_Disadvantage_report.pdf>.

Frome the abstract: " One often used approach to increase students' reading frequency is investing in independent silent reading (ISR) at schools: regularly scheduling time during which students read silently in books of their own choice. However, evidence for the impact of ISR is inconclusive and there appear to be important barriers to its effects on students' reading frequency, motivation, and proficiency: particularly struggling readers have difficulties choosing appropriate books, simply allotting time for reading does not guarantee that students read, ISR lacks accountability, and students are not always given the opportunity to interact about what they read. The aim of the current meta-analysis was to test whether additions to ISR that aim to overcome these barriers contribute to the effects of ISR on students' reading. Using outcomes of 51 effect studies covering 56 samples of students in primary and secondary education, we established a small but significant positive short-term intervention effect on overall reading proficiency (Cohen's d = 0.27). We additionally found that additions to ISR were particularly effective for students at risk of reading failure; for stronger readers, effects were absent. Finally, we found a negative effect of help or instruction by the teacher, which suggests that activities during reading might interfere with students' engagement with texts."Citation: Merke, S., Ganushchak, L., & van Steensel, R. (2024). Effects of additions to independent silent reading on students' reading proficiency, motivation, and behavior: Results of a meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 42. The study is available online: <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2023.100572>.

From the abstract: "Nearpod contracted with LearnPlatform, a third-party edtech research company, to examine the impact of Nearpod on learning outcomes. LearnPlatform designed the study to satisfy Level II requirements (Moderate Evidence) according to Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)."The study is available online: <https://news.nearpod.com/Nearpod-ESSA-Level-II-Report.pdf>.

FastBridge CBMreading has been rated highly by the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) as academic screening assessment. The Full Review is available online: <https://charts.intensiveintervention.org/ascreening>.

FastBridge Adaptive Math (aMath) has been rated highly by the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) as academic screening assessment. The Full Review is available online: <https://charts.intensiveintervention.org/ascreening>.