Purpose of Study:

This study examined the impact of Reading Plus practice lessons on reading proficiency growth as measured by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) assessment. Also examined were relationships between scores and levels on the SBAC and InSight assessments.

Study Design:

This school district study included students in grades 4-8 with valid SBAC assessment data from 2015 and 2016 (n = 3,024). Of these students, 1,568 completed reading practice lessons in Reading Plus. An additional focus was the subset of these students who also had two valid InSight assessments during the 2015-16 school year (n = 1,075).

Key Results:

Students who engaged in more Reading Plus practice achieved significantly larger gains on both the SBAC and the InSight assessments.

There also was good alignment between SBAC and InSight. Students who completed at least 80 reading practice lessons in Reading Plus improved their InSight reading proficiency by 1.5 grade levels. Those who achieved higher grade levels on the InSight assessment also achieved higher proficiency levels on the SBAC.

Further, those who did not meet the SBAC grade standard in 2015, and completed at least 80 reading practice lessons in Reading Plus, were more likely to advance from not meeting to meeting the grade standard (Achievement Level 3) on the SBAC in 2016.