High-quality decodable books enhance literacy by providing children with focused practice opportunities to break down sounds they have learned and apply their decoding skills. Just Right Reader (JRR) hired LXD Research to measure its impact during a pilot study in the Spring of 2024 to determine the effect of their decodable books on literacy…

The purpose of this randomized control trial (RCT) was to examine the impact of one-to-one high-dosage tutoring on reading achievement of kindergarten and first grade students, many at risk of reading failure. This nearly two-year study collected reading assessment data from 185 students, from across 13 classrooms, randomly assigned to either the…

There exist passionate debates about the best way to teach children to read. Since the Bush administration, school districts receiving federal funds have been required to have research evidence justifying their methods of teaching reading, and in recent years the need for evidence-based practices have intensified with the "Science of…

This study examined the effects of Reading Intervention for Adolescents (RIA) and a mentoring intervention (MI) implemented for 1 year with ninth-grade English learners (ELs) with reading difficulties. Eligible students enrolled at three urban high schools were randomly assigned to the RIA (n = 142), MI (n = 163), RIA and MI (n = 164), or…

This community-based research study examined the perspectives of African American parents of middle-class economic status who participated in a social network pertaining to school choice decisions during the pandemic era of virtual schooling. Their residency and school choices emerged against the grain of urban schools that have racially charged…

School and district leaders make annual decisions about investing their budgets in a multitude of educational programs. Policy directives set expectations for investing in programs that show evidence of improving student outcomes. However, evaluating many simultaneously-implemented programs under typical school operating conditions is challenging.…

More than a century of research exists on summer learning loss and summer learning programs. However, many schools continue to underutilize the summer as a period of time in which students with academic deficits can catch up to their peers. Few studies have explored the impacts of summer learning experiences on concentrated, school-level…

In 2019, declines in reading achievement across Texas motivated changes for teacher recertification, which required 60-hour professional development in the science of teaching reading (STR). The problem this study addressed was the challenges K-Grade 3 reading teachers encountered when implementing the recently adopted Reading Academy content at a…

Reading on grade level by the close of third grade has been shown to impact a student's chance to graduate on time and therefore impacting future success. English learners (ELs), however, have struggled to read on grade level by the close of third grade as compared to their English-speaking peers. This quasi-experimental study determined if an…

School and district leaders make annual decisions about investing their budgets in a multitude of educational programs. Policy directives set expectations for investing in programs that show evidence of improving student outcomes. However, evaluating many simultaneously-implemented programs under typical school operating conditions is challenging.…

The problem addressed in this study is that the low reading proficiency levels of marginalized elementary students significantly affect their future academic achievement and life outcomes. The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to investigate the differences in the reading proficiency levels of marginalized Grade 3-5 students in a…

We attempted to strengthen an evidence-based, peer-mediated, first-grade reading program (First Grade Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies [PALS]) by modestly revising its content and adding a repeated-reading (RR) component. In a cluster-randomized trial, we conducted a component analysis of the revised program by creating two versions of it.…