This paper presents evidence of the effects of dual language immersion (DLI) programs on the academic outcomes of students in elementary grades. Leveraging enrollment lotteries from four cohorts of DLI applicants across 10 oversubscribed programs, analyses estimate the intent-to-treat effect of access to bilingual education on reading and math…

The purpose of this study was to examine how the implementation of the Wilson's Language Training program, Fundations, influences the reading growth of first-grade graders. Reading proficiency at the school in this study was quite low at six percent. During the intervention, emphasis was placed on phonemic awareness. The Wilson's Fundations…

State legislators recognized that students in the United States continue to struggle with reading and have begun implementing laws requiring schools to use science of reading-aligned curriculum when teaching reading (Schwartz, 2022). Many students lack the foundational skills to even begin learning how to read in grades K-3 (Kuhfeld et al., 2022).…

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the Heggerty Bridge to Reading program for first-grade students compared to a business-as-usual reading program by employing a mixed-methods approach encompassing a matched quasi-experimental design, teacher surveys, and interviews. In light of the learning disruptions caused by the COVID-19…

Fontana Unified School District (FUSD) is a suburban school district in Southern California. The district serves approximately 35,400 students across 30 elementary schools, seven middle schools, and five high schools. In this district, 20 of 30 of the elementary schools use A2i. FUSD adopted A2i as a way to better differentiate reading instruction…

The purpose of this study was to study the impact on student performance due to participation in the Catapult Learning Intervention program in the Mathematics services offered in a religious non-public school system in the Northeastern United States from grades K-2. Student scaled scores from the NWEA MAP assessments administered at the beginning…

Early literacy is a key developmental milestone for succeeding in school, yet far too many children in America, particularly the most socially vulnerable, are not meeting this key milestone. For example, NAEP data from 2013 shows that over 80% of Black and Latinx students are below proficient in reading by the end of fourth grade, as compared to…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact on student performance due to participation in the Catapult Learning Intervention program in the Mathematics and Reading services offered in a religious non-public school system in the Northeastern United States from grades K-2. Scaled scores from the NWEA MAP assessments administered at the…

Students who struggle to read at an early age are likely to continue struggling for not only the rest of their schooling, but the rest of their lives. Schools need to begin adopting research-based reading programs and measuring their effectiveness formatively throughout the school year. Research suggests that effective reading programs need to…

This study employs a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART) design to develop an adaptive intervention with personalized print and digital content for kindergarten to Grade 2 children (n = 273). In Stage 1, we ask whether it is better for children to receive an adaptive intervention based on (a) 10 conceptually coherent texts or…

This mixed-methods, cross-cohort efficacy study evaluated "Just Right Reader's Classroom Libraries" first-grade students across six schools in a diverse Texas district. The Classroom Libraries consisted of decodable literacy resources appropriately matched to instructional needs and were available in English to all students and in…

Michigan's Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) is a state-funded pre-K program that serves at risk four-year-old children across the state. Utilizing longitudinal data from 1,394 children in a mid-sized urban school district, we conducted regression analyses and piecewise linear growth models to examine the growth trajectory of GSRP children and…

Many school districts have turned to summer school as a strategy for addressing persistent declines in student achievement after COVID-19. We examine the impact of 2023 summer programs on academic recovery across 400,000 students in eight large U.S. districts. Using value-added models, we find modest but significant improvements in student math…

Because high-stakes testing for school accountability does not begin until third grade, accountability ratings for elementary schools do not directly measure students' academic progress in grades K through 2. While it is possible that children's test scores in grades 3 and above are highly correlated with children's outcomes in the untested…

Background: Over 15% of kindergarten and first grade students in U.S. public schools are English learners (ELs) (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2021). Many classroom teachers, however, have not had specialized training in providing instruction for ELs. The BELLA (Bridging English Language Learning and Academics) professional…