DETAILS: Location: San Manuel, Arizona; Design: Independent, correlational; Sample: Students in grades 7 and 8; Measure: Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test; Duration: 1 year. RESULTS: After implementing Accelerated Reader, 7th- and 8th-grade students showed statistically significant improvement in vocabulary and total scores on Gates-MacGinitie Reading pre- and posttests. AUTHOR: G. Goodman. Report available online: <https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED427299.pdf>.

Research shows that properly designed reward programs enhance intrinsic motivation by providing positive feedback about student achievement. Accelerated Reader itself is not a reading reward program; it is a progress-monitoring system that provides quantitative and qualitative information about student reading. Teachers and librarians can use this information in a variety of ways. Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of this study from the Renaissance Research Department.

DETAILS: Design: Correlational; Sample: Data for 659,214 students in grades K-12. RESULTS: This study of reading is one of the largest ever conducted and collected reading performance data for 659,214 K-12 students. Key findings concluded students spend only seven minutes per day practicing reading, and reading practice declines markedly after 5th grade. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R11830>.

Accelerated Reader and best practices are examples of a controlled closed-loop feedback system that provides a rich source of well-differentiated information about reading practice and information. This feedback provides teachers, students, and parents with information about students levels of quality, quantity, and challenge in reading practice and is used to help students choose appropriate books to maximize reading growth. (Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of this study from the Renaissance Research Department.)

DETAILS: Location: Cherryville and Gastonia, North Carolina; Design: Independent, quasi-experimental, peer-reviewed; Sample: 100 students in grade 9; Measure: California Achievement Test (CAT) Duration: 5 years. RESULTS: This study showed that a randomly selected sample of students using Accelerated Reader gained 72 points from pretest (3rd grade) to the posttest (8th grade) on the CAT. In contrast, randomly selected students from the control school gained only 42 points during the same span of time. The students using Accelerated Reader started off with lower average pretest scores than the control group and still demonstrated greater acceleration in learning over their counterparts. Additionally, students that used Accelerated Reader read more books and spent more time reading than the students at the other school. PLEASE NOTE: The Summary of this peer-reviewed journal article: Peak, J. P., & Dewalt, M. W. (1994). Reading achievement: Effects of computerized reading management and enrichment. ERS Spectrum, 12(1), 31-35 is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R11822>. For a copy of the Full Article, email the Renaissance Research Department: research@renaissance.com

DETAILS: Design: Independent, correlational. RESULTS: After implementing strategies including Accelerated Reader, 82% of targeted 6th- through 8th-grade underachievers improved reading comprehension achievement on the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) with a mean growth of 8.36 NCEs. AUTHOR: T. Turner. Report available online: <https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED372374.pdf>.

DETAILS: Location: Throughout the US; Design: Correlational; Sample: Reading and math standardized test scores for 10,124 students in grades 1-9 at 136 schools; Duration: 1 school year. RESULTS: Reading and math standardized test data were collected for 10,124 students. Reading improvement ranged from 1.3 to 26.9 percentiles per 100 Accelerated Reader points of literature-based reading practice, and math improvement ranged from 1.9 to 11.7 percentiles per 100 points of reading practice. Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of this study from the Renaissance Research Department.

DETAILS: Location: Effingham, South Carolina; Design: Independent, correlational; Sample: 17 students in 5th grade; Duration: 11 weeks. RESULTS: Reading attitudes of unmotivated, uninterested 5th-grade students improved after using Accelerated Reader for 11 weeks. AUTHOR: Deloris McKnight. The Summary of this study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R11821>. The Full Report is also available online: <https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED350582.pdf>.

DETAILS: Location: Throughout the US; Design: Correlational; Sample: 4,498 students in grades 1-9 at 64 schools; Duration: 1 school year. RESULTS: Reading practice data and standardized test scores for 4,498 students were collected and analyzed. Results indicated that growth in ability was directly related to the amount of reading practice (book reading) students do. Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of this study from the Renaissance Research Department.