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districts believe teachers believe students believe parents believe National High School Lexile Study

Achieve3000 High School Lexile Study

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KidBiz3000®, TeenBiz3000®, and Empower3000™:The first Web-based, differentiated literacy solutionsthat reach every student at his or her Lexile® level.Powered by a proprietary software engine that distributesgrade–appropriate assignments to the entireclass, but tailors them according to each student’sreading level, Achieve3000 Solutions enables teachersto move their students up surely and steadily,level by level.These research–based solutions extend teachers’reach without increasing workloads or time demandsand are proven to accelerate reading comprehension,fluency, writing proficiency, vocabularydevelopment, and high-stakes test scores.In a national study of high school students using Empower3000, students more than tripled their expected growthnorms.

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Page 1: Achieve3000 High School Lexile Study

districtsbelieveteachersbelievestudentsbelieveparentsbelieve

National High SchoolLexile Study

Page 2: Achieve3000 High School Lexile Study

National High School Lexile Study

National Lexile Study

Achieve3000® SolutionsKidBiz3000®, TeenBiz3000®, and Empower3000™: The first Web-based, differentiated literacy solutions that reach every student at his or her Lexile® level. Powered by a proprietary software engine that dis-tributes grade–appropriate assignments to the entire class, but tailors them according to each student’s reading level, Achieve3000 Solutions enables teach-ers to move their students up surely and steadily, level by level.

These research–based solutions extend teachers’ reach without increasing workloads or time de-mands and are proven to accelerate reading com-prehension, fluency, writing proficiency, vocabulary development, and high-stakes test scores.

Number of Schools 700

Number of Students 54,158

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Executive SummaryIn a national study of high school students using Empower3000, students more than tripled their expected growth norms.

■ Key Findings

• Students at all grade levels made significant gains compared to gains expected with “normal” instruc-tion, more than tripling the expected growth norms.

• Students reading two or more years below grade level at the beginning of the school year made gains of nearly three-and-a-half times the expected growth norms, effectively closing the gap for the most strug-gling readers.

• Students who completed at least two reading ses-sions per week made the highest Lexile gains on average, more than four times the expected growth norms.

• According to national data, high school English Lan-guage Learners made nearly three-and-a-half times their expected Lexile gains and gained an average of 237 Lexile points.

• The quality of the work and the number of reading sessions that students submit on Achieve3000 are statistically significant predictors of their Lexile performance.

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Students exceeded their “expected” Lexile gains by 68 points

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Grades9 10 11 12

Results that Count: Achieve3000 IncreasesHigh School Student Performance at All Levels

9th-grade students exceeded their expected Lexile gains by 71 points

Students across all high school grade levels and populations made significant gains in Lexile reading performance over and above the gains expected with regular instruction.

■ The Assessment Measure

Developed by Achieve3000 in conjunction with Meta-Metrics Inc., LevelSet offers a scientific means of match-ing students to informational texts.

LevelSet is administered up to three times yearly—an initial assessment to establish a baseline score (based on the Lexile Framework®) at the beginning of the school year, an interim assessment halfway through the school year, and a post-assessment at the end of the school year—providing a summative measurement of student progress. The Lexile Framework is a scientific approach

to reading and text measurement that has become the most widely adopted reading measure in use today. Developed by MetaMetrics Inc., Lexile measures are the result of more than 20 years of ongoing research.

A key advantage of the Lexile scale is that the Lexile Framework measures both text and reader using the same scale. This means that the ability to comprehend and the material being comprehended are being evalu-ated by the same criteria, lending it greater scientific validity.

MethodologyLexile Measurement of Reading Growth:

To determine the effects of Empower on the literacy development of students, Achieve3000 designed a study measuring student Lexile growth with a pre- and a post-test using the LevelSet™ assessment. LevelSet,

developed in partnership with MetaMetrics™, delivers a Lexile score for the student. The actual growth achieved is compared to the expected yearly growth norms, a MetaMetrics calculation.1

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Grades9 10 11 12

Closing the Gap: Results with Our Most Struggling ReadersAccording to national data, high school students reading two or more years below grade level made nearly three-and-a-half times the expected Lexile reading gains.

Struggling readers across all grade levels using Empower3000 made significant growth over and above that expected with normal instruction.

Average Lexile gain of 126 points

10th-grade students exceeded their expected Lexile gains by 93 points

88-point Lexile gain; this is nearly three-and-a-half times the expected Lexile growth.

Below-level readers across all high school grade levels and populations made significant gains in Lexile reading performance over and above the gains expected with regular instruction.

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167-point Lexile gain above the average expected growth; this is nearly three-and-a-half times the expected Lexile growth of 70 points

47-point Lexile gain above the average expected growth; this is nearly double the expected Lexile growth of 59 points.

Closing the Gap: English Language LearnersIn a study of high school English Language Learners, students made nearly three-and-a-half times the expected Lexile reading gains.

Closing the Gap: Special Education StudentsIn a study of high school Special Education students, students made nearly double the expected Lexile gains.

Average Lexile gain of 237 points

Average Lexile gain of 106 points

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* The number of reading sessions that a student completes on Achieve3000 is a predictor of his or her Lexile performance gains.

Effect of Frequency of Program Use on Lexile Gains Number of Reading Sessions CompletedAchieve3000 found a statistically significant relationship between the number of reading sessions completed on Achieve3000 Solutions and student nonfiction Lexile/reading growth. High school students who used the program at least twice weekly made the highest Lexile gains, more than four times the expected growth norms.

Frequency of Usage Results for High School Students

Students using program less than once weekly:

Students using program at least once weekly:

Students using programat least twice weekly:

Average Lexile gain of 89 points Average Lexile gain of 107 points Average Lexile gain of 128 points

58-point Lexile gain above the average expected growth; this is nearly triple the expected growth

76-point Lexile gain above the average expected growth; this is nearly three-and-a-half times the expected growth

97-point Lexile gain above the average expected growth; this is more than four times the expected growth

In order to assess the effect of the frequency of use on student Lexile gains, Achieve3000 assigned students from within its study to one of the following categories:

• Group 1 (1–39): Fewer than 40 reading sessions completed over the 10-month school year; fewer than one reading session weekly.

• Group 2 (40–79): 40-79 read-ing sessions completed over the 10-month school year; between one and two reading sessions weekly.

• Group 3 (80+): 80 or more read-ing sessions completed over the 10-month school year; two or more reading sessions weekly.

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Effect of Usage for High School English Language Learners

Effect of Usage for High School Special Education Students

Students using programless than once weekly:

Average Lexile gain of 216 points

146-point Lexile gain above the average expected growth; this is more than triple the expected growth

Students using program be-tween once and twice weekly:

Average Lexile gain of 258 points

188-point Lexile gain above the average expected growth; this is more than three-and-a-half times the expected growth

Students using program atleast twice weekly:

Average Lexile gain of 289 points

219-point Lexile gain above the average expected growth; this is more than four times the expected growth

Students using program less than twice weekly:

Average Lexile gain of 95 points

36-point Lexile gain above the average expected growth; this is more than one-and-a-half times the expected growth

Students using program at least twice weekly:

Average Lexile gain of 186 points

127-point Lexile gain above the average expected growth; this is more than triple the expected growth

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Effect of Quality of Program Use on Lexile Gains Reading Activity ScoresIn addition to analyzing the frequency of use, Achieve3000 also analyzed the quality of program use. The multiple-choice activity is a critical component of the Five-Step Literacy Routine and is a simple indicator of the degree to which students are applying themselves to the program. This formative assessment allows progress monitoring of overall understanding of the text read.

Quality of Usage Results for High School Students

To assess the effect of the quality of use on student Lexile gains, Achieve3000 assigned students from within its study to one of the following categories:

• Group 1 (Less than 65% or greater than 90%): Students who averaged less than 65% or greater than 90% on the multiple-choice portion of the Five-Step Literacy Routine.

• Group 2 (Between 65% and 90%, inclusive): Students who averaged between 65% and 90%, inclusive, on the multiple-choice portion of the Five-Step Literacy Routine. A score within this range typically indicates that the student is applying himself to his work and reading in his instructional zone. Achieve3000 recommends that teach-ers monitor student scores to ensure performance in this range.

Students averaging less than65% or greater than 90%:

Students averaging between65% and 90%, inclusive:

Average Lexile gain of 82 points Average Lexile gain of 115 points

51-point Lexile gain above the average expected growth; this is more than two-and-a-half times the expected growth

84-point Lexile gain above the aver-age expected growth; this is more than three-and-a-half times the expected growth

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Effect of Quality of Program Use on High School English Language Learners

Effect of Quality of Program Use on High School Special Education

Students averaging less than65% or greater than 90%:

Average Lexile gain of 216 points

146-point Lexile gain above the averageexpected growth; this is more than triplethe expected growth

Students averaging between65% and 90%, inclusive:

Average Lexile gain of 281 points

211-point Lexile gain above the averageexpected growth; this is more than fourtimes the expected growth

Students averaging less than65% or greater than 90%:

Average Lexile gain of 101 points

42-point Lexile gain above the averageexpected growth; this is more than one-and-a-half times the expected growth

Students averaging between65% and 90%, inclusive:

Average Lexile gain of 127 points

68-point Lexile gain above the aver-age expected growth; this is more than double the expected growth

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Reading Connections: Explicit Reading Comprehension Strategy Instruction and ApplicationAchieve3000 provides explicit instruction on the seven key comprehension strategies for informational text. Two new features of the program, the Lesson Plans and the Reading Connections, help address this need. The Lesson Plans that provide this direct, explicit instruction are available within the Learning Center, and one lesson plan is always attached to the daily article. Within each article, students are encouraged to ap-ply the strategies of summarization and generating questions.

Reading Connections Results for High School Students

■ Key Findings:

• Students completing 15 or more Reading Connections over the course of the school year averaged Lexile gains of 120 points, nearly four times the expected growth.

• Students completing 15 or more Reading Connections had one-and-a-quarter times the Lexile growth com-pared to students not completing Reading Connec-tions, with average Lexile gains of 24 points more for the school year.

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Graded Thought Questions: The Reading-Writing ConnectionResearch shows a direct connection between reading and writing. Writing instruction helps improve reading comprehension. The Thought Question is the fourth step in the Five-Step Literacy Routine and purposefully engages students in a formal writing process that allows them to apply knowledge they have acquired and express their thoughts through writing.

Thought Questions Results for All High School Students

■ Key Findings:

• Students who completed fewer than one Thought Question per week averaged gains of 98 Lexile points, more than triple the expected Lexile growth.

• Students who completed between one and two Thought Questions per week averaged Lexile gains of 115 Lexile points, more than three-and-a-half times the expected Lexile growth.

• Students who completed at least two Thought Ques-tions per week averaged Lexile gains of 137 Lexile points, nearly four-and-a-half times the expected Lexile growth.

• Completing Thought Questions is associated with significant gains in Lexile reading scores, with students completing two or more per week outperforming students completing fewer than one per week by 39 Lexile points.

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After School UsageResearch on adolescent literacy suggests that the amount of reading students do during out-of-school hours is an accurate predictor of their in-school academic achievement. If after-school programs can mo-tivate young people to read more and explore their interests through reading, this research suggests that academic performance will improve.

High SchoolsAfter School Usage

64%

64% of Achieve3000 high school students across the nation logged in after school hours. These students logged in 540,101 times after school during the 2009-2010 school year.

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AppendixReferring to Page 5: Effect of Frequency of Program Use on Lexile Gains

When a comparison of means was performed between the three usage categories (1–39, 40-79, 80+), a sta-tistically significant difference was found between each

group (p = .05). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to compare the group means.

ANOVA – Lexile Gains

Sum of Squares

dfMean

SquareF Sig.

Between Groups 8998483 2 4499241.687 134.284 .000

Within Groups 1.8E+009 54155 33505.456

Total 1.8E+009 54157

A Bonferroni post-hoc test found that all three groups were statistically significantly different from each other (see below).

Bonferroni Test - Multiple ComparisonsDependent Variable: Actual Lexile Gain

(I) Overall Reading Sessions

(J) Overall Reading Sessions Groups

Mean Differ-ence (I-J)

Std. Error Sig.95% Confidence Interval

Lower Bound Upper Bound

1–3940-79 -17.983(*) 1.734 .000 -22.13 -13.83

80+ -39.056(*) 2.645 .000 -45.39 -32.72

40–791-39 17.983(*) 1.734 .000 13.83 22.13

80+ -21.073(*) 2.802 .000 -27.78 -14.36

80+1-39 39.056(*) 2.645 .000 32.72 45.39

40-79 21.073(*) 2.802 .000 14.36 27.78

* The mean difference is significant at the .05 level.

Endnotes:¹ Normal Growth—Using MetaMetrics’ findings on expected yearly growth norms, Achieve3000 calculated the expected Lexile gain for each student. This calcula-tion was based on the length of time from the student’s pre- to post-test as well as the student’s initial reading level. Achieve3000 first used MetaMetrics’ expected

growth norms to calculate the expected monthly growth for a student at that reading level. Achieve3000 then multiplied the expected monthly growth by the number of months the student spent on the program to arrive at an “expected Lexile gain” score for each student.

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Referring to Page 7: Effect of Quality of Program Use on Lexile Gains

When a comparison of means was performed between the two usage categories (less than 65% or greater than 90%; between 65% and 90%, inclusive) a statisti-cally significant difference was found between the usage

groups (p = .05). The students who averaged between 65% and 90%, inclusive, on their activities made signifi-cantly higher Lexile gains.

Independent Samples Test – Lexile Gains

t-test for Equality of Means

t dfSig.

(2-tailed)Mean Dif-ference

Std. Error Difference

95% Confidence Inter-val of the Difference

Equal variances assumed

-21.259 54156 .000 -33.400 1.571 -36.480 -30.321

Equal variancesnot assumed

-21.282 54129.718 .000 -33.400 1.569 -36.477 -30.324

Group Statistics

AverageActivity Score

N Mean Std. DeviationStd. Error

Mean

Actual LexileGain

Less than 65% or greater than 90%

26282 81.61 179.242 1.106

Between 65% and90%, inclusive

27876 115.01 185.970 1.114

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To learn more about Achieve3000 and its proven solutions, call 888-968-6822 or e-mail [email protected]