WWC review of this study

The Impact of Achieve3000 on Elementary Literacy Outcomes: Randomized Control Trial Evidence, 2013-14 to 2014-15. Eye on Evaluation. DRA Report No. 16.02

Hill, Darryl V.; Lenard, Matthew A. (2016). Wake County Public School System. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED581879

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
     examining 
    6,307
     Students
    , grades
    2-5

Reviewed: February 2024

At least one finding shows moderate evidence of effectiveness
At least one statistically significant positive finding
Meets WWC standards with reservations
Literacy Achievement outcomes—Uncertain effects found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Show Supplemental Findings

LevelSet Lexile score

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Year 2, Grade: 2, 3, 4, 5 sample;
12,851 students

577.94

520.72

Yes

 
 
8

LevelSet Lexile score

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Year 1, Grade: 2, 3, 4, 5 sample;
9,732 students

550.13

562.00

Yes

-1
 
 
Reading Comprehension outcomes—Uncertain effects found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index

North Carolina End-of-Grade Reading Comprehension

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Year 1, Grade 4, 5 sample;
6,235 students

989.43

991.06

No

--
Show Supplemental Findings

North Carolina End-of-Grade Reading Comprehension

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Year 2, Grade 4, 5 sample;
6,307 students

991.77

985.11

No

--
Reading Fluency outcomes—Tier 2 (moderate evidence) found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index

DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Year 1, Grade 2, 3 sample;
7,197 students

674.88

656.43

Yes

 
 
2
Show Supplemental Findings

DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Year 2, Grade 2, 3 sample;
7,296 students

663.89

650.85

No

--


Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.


  • 9% English language learners

  • Female: 49%
    Male: 51%

  • Rural, Suburban, Urban
    • B
    • A
    • C
    • D
    • E
    • F
    • G
    • I
    • H
    • J
    • K
    • L
    • P
    • M
    • N
    • O
    • Q
    • R
    • S
    • V
    • U
    • T
    • W
    • X
    • Z
    • Y
    • a
    • h
    • i
    • b
    • d
    • e
    • f
    • c
    • g
    • j
    • k
    • l
    • m
    • n
    • o
    • p
    • q
    • r
    • s
    • t
    • u
    • x
    • w
    • y

    North Carolina
  • Race
    Black
    26%
    Other or unknown
    74%
  • Ethnicity
    Hispanic    
    19%
    Not Hispanic or Latino    
    81%
  • Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch
    Free or reduced price lunch (FRPL)    
    36%
    No FRPL    
    64%

Setting

The study was conducted in 32 elementary schools in the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) in Raleigh, North Carolina. As a countywide district, WCPSS has schools representing suburban, urban, and rural areas.

Study sample

No demographic data were available on the study sample; however, in the 32 participating schools, the student population was 26 percent Black and race was not reported for 74 percent of students. Moreover, 19 percent of students were Hispanic, 49 percent were female, 9 percent were English learners, 12 percent were in special education, and 36 percent were economically disadvantaged.

Intervention Group

Achieve3000 is a technology-based early literacy program that uses individual students’ Lexile scores to deliver differentiated non-fiction reading passages. Achieve3000® was implemented twice weekly for 30-minute sessions in order to achieve an intended annual goal of 80 completed activities On initial use, students took a 30-minute test to measure their baseline reading achievement. For each lesson, students followed Achieve3000’s five-step literacy routine. Across both years of the study, about 8 percent of intervention students completed at least 80 lessons (i.e., the developer’s recommended dosage), about 20 percent used 40-79 lessons, about 50 percent used 1-39 lessons, and 22 percent of students completed no activities. The Achieve3000 intervention was used to supplement a standard core reading curriculum; however, the authors did not identify which core curriculum was used.

Comparison Group

The comparison condition was business-as-usual reading instruction. Classrooms in comparison schools did not receive a supplemental curriculum.

Support for implementation

The study included professional development to train teachers, consisting of two 2.5-hour large-group training sessions and one 1-hoursmall-group session. Teachers were able to obtain follow-up help if needed.

Reviewed: February 2018

At least one statistically significant positive finding
Meets WWC standards with reservations
Comprehension outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index

North Carolina End-of-Grade Test

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

1 Year

2015 sample, grades 4-5;
6,307 students

991.77

985.11

No

--

North Carolina End-of-Grade Test

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

1 Year

2014 sample, grades 4-5;
6,235 students

989.43

991.06

No

--
Show Supplemental Findings

North Carolina End-of-Grade Test

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

1 Year

2015 AIG sample, grades 4-5;
788 students

1221.25

1244.40

No

--
Literacy Achievement outcomes—Statistically significant positive effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index

LevelSet Lexile score

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

1 Year

2015 sample, grades 2-5;
12,851 students

577.94

520.72

Yes

 
 
8

LevelSet Lexile score

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

1 Year

2014 sample, grades 2-5;
9,732 students

550.13

562.00

Yes

-1
 
 
Show Supplemental Findings

LevelSet Lexile score

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

1 Year

2014 AIG sample, grades 2-5;
889 students

985.28

999.20

No

--

LevelSet Lexile score

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

1 Year

2015 AIG sample, grades 4-5;
896 students

983.61

952.40

Yes

--


Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.


  • 9% English language learners

  • Female: 49%
    Male: 51%

  • Rural, Suburban, Urban
    • B
    • A
    • C
    • D
    • E
    • F
    • G
    • I
    • H
    • J
    • K
    • L
    • P
    • M
    • N
    • O
    • Q
    • R
    • S
    • V
    • U
    • T
    • W
    • X
    • Z
    • Y
    • a
    • h
    • i
    • b
    • d
    • e
    • f
    • c
    • g
    • j
    • k
    • l
    • m
    • n
    • o
    • p
    • q
    • r
    • s
    • t
    • u
    • x
    • w
    • y

    North Carolina
  • Race
    Black
    26%
    White
    51%
  • Ethnicity
    Hispanic    
    19%
    Not Hispanic or Latino    
    82%

Setting

The study was conducted in the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) in Raleigh, North Carolina. As a countrywide district, WCPSS has schools representing suburban, urban, and rural areas.

Study sample

The authors used a cluster randomized controlled trial design to study the effects of KidBiz3000® on reading achievement for students in grades 2–5. The study took place over two school years (from 2013–14 to 2014–15) in 32 elementary schools. In summer of 2013, the authors matched pairs of schools on the basis of their average 2013 end-of-grade (EOG) reading composite scores, and then from within each matched pair, randomly assigned one school to the intervention group and one school to the comparison group. In both study years, the same 16 KidBiz3000® schools and 16 comparison schools participated in the study. The WWC considers random assignment jeopardized because the analytic sample included students who enrolled in study schools after random assignment. For the general literacy domain, the 2-year combined analysis sample included 22,583 students in grades 2–5 in 24 schools: 11,802 students were in the Achieve3000® group, and 10,781 students were in the comparison group. For the comprehension domain, the 2-year combined analysis sample included 12,542 students in grades 4–5 in 32 schools: 6,585 students were in the Achieve3000® group, and 5,957 students were in the comparison group. Because some of the same students were analyzed in both years of the study, these reported sample sizes count some individual students more than once. No demographic data were available on the analytic study sample; however, in the 32 participating schools, the student population was 51% White, 26% African-American, and 19% Hispanic. Moreover, 12% of students had disabilities, 9% of students in study schools were English learners, and 7% of students were academically and intellectually gifted (AIG). Approximately, one-third of the district's students were certified for free or reduced-price lunch.

Intervention Group

KidBiz3000® was implemented in 30-minute sessions, two times per week over a school year. On initial use, students took a 30-minute test to measure their baseline reading achievement. For each lesson, students followed Achieve3000®’s five-step literacy routine. Across both years of the study, about 8% of intervention students completed at least 80 lessons (i.e., the developer’s recommended dosage), about 21% used 40-79 lessons, about 50% used 1-39 lessons, and 22% of students completed no activities. The Achieve3000® intervention was used to supplement a standard core reading curriculum; however, the authors did not identify which core curriculum was used.

Comparison Group

The comparison condition was business-as-usual reading instruction. Classrooms in comparison schools did not receive a supplemental curriculum.

Support for implementation

The study included professional development to train teachers, consisting of two 2.5-hour large group training sessions, and one 1-hour small group session. Teachers were able to obtain follow-up help if needed.

In the case of multiple manuscripts that report on one study, the WWC selects one manuscript as the primary citation and lists other manuscripts that describe the study as additional sources.

  • Hill, Darryl V.; Lenard, Matthew A.; Page, Lindsay Coleman. (2016). The Impact of Achieve3000 on Elementary Literacy Outcomes: Evidence from a Two-Year Randomized Control Trial. Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness.

Reviewed: February 2018

No statistically significant positive
findings
Meets WWC standards with reservations
Reading Fluency outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index

DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

1 Year

2014 sample, grades 2-3;
7,197 students

674.88

656.43

No

--

DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

1 Year

2015 sample, grades 2-3;
7,296 students

663.89

650.85

No

--
Show Supplemental Findings

DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

1 Year

2014 AIG sample, grades 2-3;
331 students

1049.40

1066.30

No

--

DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency

Achieve3000® vs. Business as usual

1 Year

2015 AIG sample, grades 2-3;
173 students

1063.60

1107.20

No

--


Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.


  • 9% English language learners

  • Female: 49%
    Male: 51%

  • Rural, Suburban, Urban
    • B
    • A
    • C
    • D
    • E
    • F
    • G
    • I
    • H
    • J
    • K
    • L
    • P
    • M
    • N
    • O
    • Q
    • R
    • S
    • V
    • U
    • T
    • W
    • X
    • Z
    • Y
    • a
    • h
    • i
    • b
    • d
    • e
    • f
    • c
    • g
    • j
    • k
    • l
    • m
    • n
    • o
    • p
    • q
    • r
    • s
    • t
    • u
    • x
    • w
    • y

    North Carolina
  • Race
    Black
    26%
    White
    51%
  • Ethnicity
    Hispanic    
    19%
    Not Hispanic or Latino    
    82%

Setting

The study was conducted in the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) in Raleigh, North Carolina. As a countywide district, WCPSS has schools representing suburban, urban, and rural areas.

Study sample

The authors used a cluster randomized controlled trial design to study the effects of KidBiz3000® on the reading achievement of students in grades 2-5 (only analyses for grades 2-3 were eligible for review under the Beginning Reading Protocol). The study took place over two school years (from 2013–14 to 2014–15) in 32 elementary schools. In summer of 2013, the authors matched pairs of schools based on their average 2013 End-of-Grade (EOG) reading composite scores, and then from within each matched pair, randomly assigned one school to the intervention group and one school to the comparison group. In both study years, the same 16 KidBiz3000® schools and 16 comparison schools participated in the study. The WWC considers random assignment to be jeopardized because the analytic sample included students who enrolled in study schools after random assignment. The 2-year combined analysis sample included 14,493 students: 7,540 students were in the Achieve3000® group, and 6,953 students were in the comparison group. The reported sample sizes count some students more than once because some second grade students in 2013–14 may also appear as third-grade students in 2014–15. No demographic data were available on the study sample in grades 2–3; however, in the 32 participating schools, the student population was 51% White, 26% African-American and 19% Hispanic. Moreover, 12% of students had disabilities, 9% of students in study schools were English learners, and 7% of students were academically and intellectually gifted (AIG). Approximately, one-third of the district's students were certified for free or reduced-price lunch.

Intervention Group

KidBiz3000® was implemented in 30-minute sessions, two times per week over a school year. On initial use, students took a 30-minute test to measure their baseline reading achievement. For each lesson, students followed Achieve3000®’s five-step literacy routine. Across both years of the study, about 8% of intervention students completed at least 80 lessons (i.e., the developer’s recommended dosage), about 21% used 40-79 lessons, about 50% used 1-39 lessons, and 22% of students completed no activities. The Achieve3000® intervention was used to supplement a standard core reading curriculum; however, the authors did not identify which core curriculum was used.

Comparison Group

The comparison condition was business-as-usual reading instruction. Classrooms in comparison schools did not receive a supplemental curriculum.

Support for implementation

The study included professional development to train teachers, consisting of two 2.5-hour large-group training sessions and one 1-hour small-group session. Teachers were able to obtain follow-up help if needed.

In the case of multiple manuscripts that report on one study, the WWC selects one manuscript as the primary citation and lists other manuscripts that describe the study as additional sources.

  • Hill, Darryl V.; Lenard, Matthew A.; Page, Lindsay Coleman. (2016). The Impact of Achieve3000 on Elementary Literacy Outcomes: Evidence from a Two-Year Randomized Control Trial. Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness.

 

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