Analysis of consistent Zearn Math users and a comparable group of low- or non-users, across 6 districts in Nebraska, shows that students who used Zearn Math consistently had higher levels of academic growth than similar students with low- or no-usage. For this analysis, 784 students who completed an average of 3+ Zearn Math lessons per week,…

Among students in the 2024 ACT-tested graduating class, over 374,000 took the PreACT 8/9® or PreACT test before taking the ACT. This issue brief compares the ACT scores and college enrollment rates for students who took a test from the PreACT Suite of Assessments versus those who did not. The brief also examines average PreACT-to-ACT gain scores…

This report provides a first look at how Illinois school districts' uses of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds were related to their test score outcomes in the years following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data on districts' ESSER expenditures as of November 2023, the authors analyze test score trends across…

The main National Reference Test (NRT) outcomes, reported in the 2021 National Reference Test Results Digest (ED627839), show overall performance on the NRT in English and mathematics over time indicating how the subjects may have been impacted as a whole. This study provides additional analysis of the NRT 2020 and 2021 data to explore whether…

This report documents the norming study procedure used to produce the achievement and growth user norms for English MAP Reading Fluency Foundational Skills. It also provides snapshots of the achievement and growth norms for each grade and domain.

A series of course-specific MAP Growth Mathematics and Science subject tests were released successively starting in August 2017 to replace the older NWEA End-of-Course (EOC) tests. Different from the prior NWEA EOC tests taken only at the end of a course, these course-specific tests can be administered multiple times throughout the school year,…

This Data Byte presents a summary of findings among students in the 2020 ACT-tested graduating class, over 225,000 of whom took the PreACT® test before taking the ACT® test. Five findings are highlighted: (1) PreACT-tested students scored higher on the ACT test; (2) Average gain from the PreACT to the ACT varies across subjects; (3) Average gain…

The National Reference Test (NRT) is uniquely placed, as a Key Stage 4 assessment which directly measures performance over time, to contribute to the evidence on the impact disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study in the main report provides additional analysis of the NRT 2020 and 2021 data to explore whether different areas of the…

The learning losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic make this an important time to identify strategies that can help students accelerate their learning. The Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI) is a year-long supplemental reading intervention that is intentionally designed to address the motivational barriers of middle school students…

The purpose of this technical appendix is to share more detailed results and to describe more fully the sample and methods used in the research included in the brief, "Student achievement in 2021-22: Cause for hope and continued urgency." The authors investigated two main research questions in this brief: (1) How do achievement gains…

The purpose of this technical appendix is to share more detailed results and to describe more fully the sample and methods used in the research included in the brief, "The Widening Achievement Divide during COVID-19." The authors investigated two main research questions in this brief: (1) To what degree have students' reading and math…

The purpose of this study was to compare student growth of SCSD-7 students on the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) reading assessment to otherwise similar students who did not use Istation. This study followed two cohorts of elementary school students over three years (2016-17 through 2018-19) to assess the effect of Istation on reading…

These are the appendixes for the report, "Relationships between Schoolwide Instructional Observation Scores and Student Academic Achievement and Growth in Low-Performing Schools in Massachusetts." This study examined the relationships between schoolwide instructional observation scores in these domains and schoolwide student academic…

Idaho uses the English Language Arts and Mathematics tests from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) for the Idaho Standard Achievement Tests. ISAT results have been reported almost exclusively as "percent proficient or above" statistics (i.e., the percentage of Idaho students who performed at the "A" level). This…

This publication marks the fourth edition of the Context and Performance (CAP) Report Card for Michigan elementary and middle schools, published every two years since 2013. The goal is to compare Michigan schools' relative performance by factoring in the role student poverty plays in affecting academic achievement. The CAP Report Card uses…