The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) reading and academic progress in the programs of Istation and Star Renaissance (Star Ren) in fourth grade special education students. Special education students in the selected school district appear to produce inconsistent passing scores from year-to-year on the reading state assessment as they transition from elementary to middle school. Reported STAAR reading scores from special education students reveal a more dramatic academic gap from year-to-year. Students in fourth grade are transitioning from learning to read to reading to learn and may struggle to comprehend the text, which is a necessary skill for students as they progress. Students with a deficiency in decoding or comprehension will not be successful in reading. The study addressed the predictive ability of the programs Istation and Star Ren when utilized with special education students to improve their reading skills and the success of their yearly STAAR reading assessment. The researcher utilized a mixed-method approach by collecting quantitative and qualitative data. The researcher retrieved the quantitative data from the Texas Education Agency website regarding STAAR. The Istation and Star Ren data were collected from the district's existing database and analyzed through SPSS. The researcher collected the qualitative data through a survey. The survey was given to special education teachers. The survey focused on their perceptions of Istation and Star Ren when used for special education students to measure their reading progress. Istation and Star Ren scale scores were used to examine which program was a predictor for the fourth grade STAAR reading. The normality of residuals assumption was not met, so robust regression was used to analyze the data through SPSS. According to the data, Star Ren was a stronger predictor of the fourth grade STAAR reading assessment than Istation. In Vivo coding was used to examine the responses from the survey. Four themes emerged: (1) Teachers reported Star Ren accommodated student needs; (2) Teachers observed students had a negative impression when working on Istation and Star Ren; (3) Teachers noted Istation and Star Ren influenced STAAR reading in comprehension; and (4) Teachers perceived Lexia Core 5 is a better program to use with special education students in reading. Programs utilized with special education students in the elementary years should align with the reading comprehension components. Out of Istaton and Star Ren, Star Ren was a strong predictor of the fourth grade STAAR reading assessment. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]