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UPSTART is a federally funded i3 validation project that uses a computer-based program to develop the school readiness skills of preschool children in rural Utah. Researchers used a randomized control trial design to evaluate the impact of the program in advancing children's early literacy skills. Preschoolers in the experimental group were randomly assigned to the UPSTART Reading software, while control group students were assigned to UPSTART Math. Standardized early literacy assessments were administered prior to program commencement and upon completion. Results revealed that there was a significant difference in children's mean scores on measures of letter knowledge and phonological awareness, after controlling for prior knowledge, missing pre-test data, and children's school district between those who participated in UPSTART Reading and those in the comparison group. There were no differences between the two groups on assessments measuring vocabulary and oral language or listening comprehension.

The UPSTART Summer program is a federally funded i3 validation project that uses a computer-based program to maintain and develop the literacy skills of elementary school students in rural Utah during the summer months when school is out of session. Researchers used a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the impact of the program in forestalling literacy learning loss during several summer periods. Students in the treatment group participated in the UPSTART Summer program, in the summer periods after kindergarten, first grade, and/or second grade. A second group of children, who were not enrolled in the program served as a comparison. Statistical matching procedures were used to create separate treatment and comparison analytic samples for each outcome measure that were equivalent on baseline scores and demographic variables (e.g., school, gender, race, language learner status, household income, Title 1 school enrollment, etc.). Standardized literacy assessments of letter knowledge, phonics, and reading fluency were administered prior to program commencement at the end of the academic school year and upon program completion at the beginning of the following school year. Results revealed that the UPSTART Summer program had a significant impact in reducing literacy learning loss in rising first graders on assessments of letter naming fluency, nonsense word fluency (correct letter sounds), and a reading composite score when compared to a matched comparison group. There were no differences in learning loss rates between rising first graders and comparison students on assessments measuring phoneme segmentation fluency or nonsense word reading (whole words read). Additionally, the UPSTART Summer program did not have an impact on literacy learning loss prevention in rising second or third grade students as measured by assessments of nonsense word reading, oral reading fluency, or overall reading composites. Taken together these results suggest that the UPSTART program helps to maintain early literacy skills in the summer months between Kindergarten and first grade.