Achieve3000 Middle School Report

districtsbelieveteachersbelievestudentsbelieveparentsbelieve

National Middle SchoolLexile Study

National Middle 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 1,224

Number of Students 86,292


1

Executive SummaryIn a national study of middle school students using TeenBiz3000, students nearly doubled their expected growth norms.

■ Key Findings

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

• Students reading two or more years below grade level at the beginning of the school year made gains of nearly double the expected growth norms, effectively closing the gap for the most struggling readers.

• Students who completed at least two reading ses-sions per week made the highest Lexile gains on average, nearly two-and-a-half times the expected growth norms.

• According to national data, middle school English Language Learners made more than double their expected Lexile gains and gained an average of 169 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.

Lexi

le P

oint

s

125

100

75

50

25

0

Students exceeded their “expected” Lexile gains by 43 points


2

Lexi

le P

oint

s

Grades6 7 8

Results that Count: Achieve3000 Increases Middle School Student Performance at All Levels

6th-grade students exceeded their “expected” Lexile gains by 47 points

Students across all middle 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 TeenBiz 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


3

Lexi

le P

oint

s

0

160

120

80

40

Lexi

le P

oint

s

Grades

Closing the Gap: Results with Our Most Struggling ReadersAccording to national data, middle school students reading two or more years below grade level made nearly double the expected Lexile reading gains.

Below-Level readers using TeenBiz averaged a Lexile gain of 118 points

6th-grade students exceeded their expected Lexile gains by 67 points

55-point Lexile gain; this is nearly double the expected Lexile growth

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


4

Lexi

le P

oint

sLe

xile

Poi

nts

85-point Lexile gain above the average expected growth; this is more than double the expected Lexile growth of 84 points

37-point Lexile gain above the average expected growth; this is more than one-and-a-half times the expected Lexile growth of 65 points

Closing the Gap: English Language LearnersIn a study of middle school English Language Learners, students made more than double the expected Lexile reading gains.

Closing the Gap: Special Education StudentsIn a study of middle school Special Education students, students made more than one-and-a-half times the expected Lexile gains.

Average Lexile gain of 169 points



5

* 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. Middle school students who used the program at least twice weekly made the highest Lexile gains, nearly two-and-a-half times the expect-ed growth norms.

Frequency of Usage Results for Middle 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 80 points Average Lexile gain of 106 points Average Lexile gain of 121 points

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

56-point Lexile gain abovethe average expected growth; this is more than double the expected growth

71-point Lexile gain above the average expected growth; this is nearly two-and-a-half 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.


6

Effect of Usage for Middle School English Language Learners

Effect of Usage for Middle School Special Education Students

Students using program less than twice weekly:


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

Students using program at least twice weekly:


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

Students using program less than twice weekly:


78-point Lexile gain above the average expected growth; this is nearly double the expected growth

Students using program at least twice weekly:




7

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 Middle 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 75 points Average Lexile gain of 107 points

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

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


8

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

Effect of Quality of Program Use on Middle School Special Education









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





9

Lexi

le P

oint

s

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 All Middle School Students

■ Key Findings:

• Students completing at least one Reading Connec-tions article per week over the course of the school year averaged Lexile gains of 122 points, nearly two-and-a-half times the expected growth.

• Students completing at least one Reading Connec-tions article per week had more than one-and-a-quarter times the Lexile growth compared to students completing less than one Reading Connections article per week, with average Lexile gains of 28 points more for the school year.


10

Lexi

le P

oint

s

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 Middle School Students

■ Key Findings:

• Students who completed less than one Thought Question per week averaged gains of 90 Lexile points, nearly double the expected Lexile growth.

• Students who completed between one and two Thought Questions per week averaged Lexile gains of 114 Lexile points, nearly two-and-a-half times the expected Lexile growth.

• Students who completed at least two Thought Ques-tions per week averaged Lexile gains of 128 Lexile points, more than two-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 less than one per week by 38 Lexile points.


11

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.

Middle SchoolsAfter School Usage

69%

69% of Achieve3000 middle school students across the nation logged in after school hours. These students logged in 1,096,864 times after school during the 2009-2010 school year


12

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 21418354 2 10709177.06 454.483 .000

Within Groups 2.0E+009 86289 23563.409

Total 2.1E+009 86291

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 -26.240(*) 1.175 .000 -29.05 -23.43

80+ -41.576(*) 1.660 .000 -45.55 -37.60

40–791-39 26.240(*) 1.175 .000 23.43 29.05

80+ -15.336(*) 1.788 .000 -19.62 -11.06

80+1-39 41.576(*) 1.660 .000 37.60 45.55

40-79 15.336(*) 1.788 .000 11.06 19.62

* 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.


13

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

-30.666 86290 .000 -32.212 1.050 -34.271 -30.153

Equal variancesnot assumed

-30.823 84249.227 .000 -32.212 1.045 -34.260 -30.164

Group Statistics

AverageActivity Score

N Mean Std. DeviationStd. Error

Mean

Actual LexileGain

Less than 65% or greater than 90%

38734 74.92 149.211 .758

Between 65% and90%, inclusive

47558 107.13 156.862 .719

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