At a glance
- Program: Read 180®
- Subjects: Literacy Curriculum, Intervention Curriculum
- Report Type: Efficacy Study, Study Conducted by Third Party
- Grade Level: Elementary, Middle
- Region: Northeast
- Race/Ethnicity: Black
- District Urbanicity: Urban
- District Size: Large
- Implementation Model: 80+ Minutes
Nearly twice as many READ 180 participants scored at or above grade level on the NY ELA as compared with their nonparticipating peers.
During the 2001–2002 school year, New York City Community School District 23 (CSD23) implemented READ 180 with students in Grades 4–8. The program was so successful that the district added Grade 3 in the 2004–2005 school year.
Policy Studies Associates (PSA), an independent research firm, examined the impact of READ 180 on students in Grades 4–8 in 16 schools (White, Williams, & Haslam, 2005). Approximately 86% of students were African American and 90% were eligible to receive free and reduced-price lunch through the National School Lunch Program.
PSA obtained New York English Language Arts (NY ELA) test scores for 617 READ 180 students as well as from a comparison group of 4,619 peers during the 2001–2002 school year.
READ 180 participants averaged larger scale score gains on the NY ELA exam from the spring of 2001 to the spring of 2002 than did nonparticipants. READ 180 participants gained an average of 17.4 scale score points, while nonparticipants in the same schools and grades gained an average of 14.8 scale score points. The difference is statistically significant (Graph 1).
GRAPH 1. New York City Community School District 23, READ 180 Students and Non-READ 180 Students, Grades 4–8 (N=5,236)
Change in NY ELA Scale Score, 2001 to 2002
Note. The difference between READ 180 and non-READ 180 participants is statistically significant (p,0.05).
Similarly, while READ 180 African American participants gained an average of 17.2 scale score points on the NY ELA exam from spring 2001 to spring 2002, their nonparticipating African American peers averaged a gain of 14.9 points (Graph 2).
GRAPH 2. New York City Community School District 23, African American READ 180 Students and Non-READ 180 Students, Grades 4–8 (N=3,074)
Change in NY ELA Scale Score, 2001 to 2002
In addition, among CSD23 students who scored below grade level (Proficiency Levels 1 and 2) on the spring 2001 NY ELA, a larger proportion of READ 180 participants than nonparticipants scored at or above grade level a year later on the spring 2002 NY ELA (21% and 11%, respectively). This difference was statistically significant (Graph 3).
GRAPH 3. New York City Community School District 23, READ 180 and Non-READ 180 Students, Grades 4–8 (N=2,668)
Change in Percentage of Students Advancing From Below Grade Level to Grade Level or Above on NY ELA, 2001 and 2002
Note. The difference in score between READ 180 and Non-READ 180 participants who were in Proficiency Level 2 at pretest is statistically significant (p<0.01).