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In-person tutoring has been shown to improve academic achievement. Though less well-researched, virtual tutoring has also shown a positive effect on achievement but has only been studied in grade five or above. We present findings from the first randomized controlled trial of virtual tutoring for young children (grades K-2). Students were assigned to 1:1 tutoring, 2:1 tutoring, or a control group. Assignment to any virtual tutoring increased early literacy skills by 0.05-0.08 SD with the largest effects for 1:1 tutoring (0.07-0.12 SD). Students initially scoring well below benchmark and first graders experienced the largest gains from 1:1 tutoring (0.15 and 0.20 SD, respectively). Effects are smaller than typically seen from in-person early literacy tutoring programs but still positive and statistically significant, suggesting promise particularly in communities with in-person staffing challenges. [On Your Mark and Uplift Education were partners in this research and additional support was provided by the National Student Support Accelerator Team.]

In recent years, children's video viewing has shifted from television to online streaming platforms like YouTube. While such platforms include many educational videos for children, we know little about the educational value of the content in these videos. To understand the learning opportunities available to children when they watch videos online, this paper describes the quality, duration, and popularity of a sample of 1,198 YouTube videos focused on early literacy and math topics. We found that while most of these videos use concrete examples to illustrate learning content, only about half directly address the audience or involve characters, and very few integrate learning content into the narrative. Further, videos in our sample that directly addressed the audience were less popular, as measured by views and likes, as were videos that included a greater variety of math topics. We discuss important ways that user-generated educational videos may differ from educational television programs, including decreased reliance on narratives and characters as compared to educational television programs. Our findings also hint at novel influences on the content and quality of online videos, such as the likelihood that the algorithm will recommend a video or that a viewer will like it. Finally, we discuss implications for parents, content creators, and researchers.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services' (IMLS) Office of Research and Evaluation (ORE) is leading the development of the Agency's first Learning Agenda, which is organized around actionable learnings to three research and evaluation priorities: child reading literacy, future of museums and equity grantmaking. The Learning Agenda's primary objective is to produce and share learnings about library and museum services and their contributions to furthering the quality of life across the nation based on credible research studies, statistical surveys, and program monitoring and evaluations. IMLS will implement the evidence-building activities in IMLS's three Learning Agenda priority focus areas over the remainder of IMLS's strategic plan from FY 24 through FY 26.

In recent years, children's video viewing has shifted from television to online streaming platforms like YouTube. While such platforms include many educational videos for children, we know little about the educational value of the content in these videos. To understand the learning opportunities available to children when they watch videos online, this paper describes the quality, duration, and popularity of a sample of 1,198 YouTube videos focused on early literacy and math topics. We found that while most of these videos use concrete examples to illustrate learning content, only about half directly address the audience or involve characters, and very few integrate learning content into the narrative. Further, videos in our sample that directly addressed the audience were less popular, as measured by views and likes, as were videos that included a greater variety of math topics. We discuss important ways that user-generated educational videos may differ from educational television programs, including decreased reliance on narratives and characters as compared to educational television programs. Our findings also hint at novel influences on the content and quality of online videos, such as the likelihood that the algorithm will recommend a video or that a viewer will like it. Finally, we discuss implications for parents, content creators, and researchers.

While policymakers have demonstrated considerable enthusiasm for "science of reading" initiatives, the evidence on the impact of related reforms when implemented at scale is limited. In this pre-registered, quasi-experimental study, we examine California's recent initiative to improve early literacy across the state's lowest-performing elementary schools. The Early Literacy Support Block Grant (ELSBG) provided teacher professional development grounded in the science of reading as well as aligned supports (e.g., assessments and interventions), new funding (about $1000 per student), spending flexibility within specified guidelines, and expert facilitation and oversight of school-based planning. We find that ELSBG generated significant (and cost-effective) improvements in ELA achievement in its first two years of implementation (0.14 SD) as well as smaller, spillover improvements in math achievement.

Concern about the state of literacy instruction in America's classrooms has recently exploded. As a result, policymakers, school system leaders, and teachers have increasingly sought to remake how children learn to read in order to improve literacy outcomes--a pursuit that has gained heightened urgency in the aftermath of the pandemic. This work, often referred to as the "science of reading," has taken many shapes, but all emphasize the use of phonics-based instruction and early intervention to improve early readers' foundational literacy skills. This report considers Oakland Unified School District's (OUSD) efforts to reimagine early literacy instruction to improve student outcomes and close gaps between historically marginalized students and their peers. This report presents findings from an in-depth look at early literacy tutoring in OUSD. This report sets out to understand the key features of the literacy tutoring program in practice, to examine the school- and districtwide conditions that shaped its efficacy and sustainability, and to explore how tutoring shaped students' literacy outcomes. Conclusions are based on a mixed-method study that included interviews with school and partner staff, a survey of literacy tutors, and and analysis of data on students' literacy outcomes. [This project was made possible by the generous support from The Oakland REACH.]

Reading Horizons partnered with LearnPlatform by Instructure to investigate the relationship between teacher implementation of Reading Horizons Discovery (RHD) and student literacy outcomes. The study involved 83 educators and 1,242 students across seven elementary schools in North Carolina during the 2022-23 school year. Researchers used mCLASS assessment scores (i.e., DIBELS Composite, phonemic awareness, letter sounds, decoding) to measure literacy achievement. Findings indicate that increased participation in RHD-facilitated professional learning correlated with higher spring literacy achievement in kindergarten and second grades. Furthermore, teachers who used more RHD core components reported greater teaching effectiveness. There were mixed relationships between the use of RHD core components and student literacy achievement. The current study offers promising results on the influence of RHD, with future studies ongoing in different contexts using correlational and quasi-experimental designs. [This report was prepared for Reading Horizons by LearnPlatform by Instructure.]

LXD Research analyzed data from 405 students from kindergarten through first grade who either participated in using the 95 Phonics Core Program (95PCP) or served as comparison students in a school district in AZ during the school year 2022-2023. This product adds explicit and systematic phonics instruction to the daily reading block. The demographic breakdown of this sample includes 27% Indigenous students, 40% Hispanic students, 46% Low Income, 13% Special Education students, and 12% Limited English Proficient students. Two schools volunteered to use 95PCP as their core reading curriculum and used it for about 30 minutes a day. Three comparison schools with similar demographics and literacy scores created a matched sample and used National Geographic (NatGeo) as their core reading program. The Aimsweb Plus Reading Early Literacy Assessment was conducted at the beginning, middle, and end of year 2023 to understand the programs' impact on reading. Students using 95PCP showed significantly more reading growth on the Aimsweb assessment compared to the comparison group. Kindergarten students using 95PCP scored 17 more points than the comparison group on their early literacy scores at the end of the year and first grade students scored 8 more points than the comparison group at the end of the year. Notably, the impact of 95PCP led to an additional 22% of kindergartners and 8% of first graders to being on track, considered "Low Risk" on Aimsweb, in the Spring 2023. The findings and rigorous study design support the 95 Phonics Core Program as a comprehensive program that meets the criteria for ESSA Level 2.

In Mozambique, the COVID-19 pandemic led to schools closing for 80 percent of the 2020 academic year, affecting 8.5 million students and nearly 15,000 schools across the country (United Nations, 2020). This brief seeks to address two crucial questions regarding Mozambique's Grade 3 and 4 students. First, what is the current state of reading outcomes of these students, and how have they been affected by the prolonged school closures? Second, how do children's individual, household and school characteristics relate to literacy outcomes? An analysis of pre- and post-pandemic reading skills, using data from the Avaliação Longitudinal da Desistência Escolar (ALDE, Longitudinal Assessment of School Dropout) reveals significant learning losses in basic literacy skills. Across the country, children in Grades 3-4 showed reduced proficiency in identifying letters in 2021, compared to students in the same grades in 2019.

Digital learning programs are a promising tool to support teachers in providing students with strong early literacy instruction, but more research is needed to understand their effectiveness. Sound Town is a digital early literacy program that provides children in prekindergarten with instruction and practice in foundational literacy skills, using video-based activities. A team at SRI Education completed an independent evaluation of Sound Town to learn more about the impact of Sound Town on students' phonological awareness skills and letter-sound correspondence skills. The findings indicate that Sound Town has the potential to support students in their development of foundational literacy skills and shows promise as a supplement to prekindergarten teachers' core literacy instruction. [The team at Hoogalit, Inc. supported this evaluation.]

This paper provides results from the randomized control trial project, Promoting Development and Home Reading of Supplementary Texts for Young Readers in Cambodia. One control and three treatment groups were assessed on how literacy and reading habits changed when households were provided a variety of high-quality and low-cost early reading materials along with varying degrees of encouragement toward building better reading habits. The findings show that providing books in isolation was not enough. Rather, books in conjunction with a network of reading supports was found to be an effective means to boost reading outcomes, including reading proficiency measures, frequency of reading, and attitudes toward reading. The results highlight the need for at-home reading materials in poor households as an integral step to improve early reading. [This paper is a product of the Education Global Practice.]

English learners (ELs) are one of America's fastest-growing student groups, and their numbers are most concentrated in the country's Great Cities. In addition, the academic needs of these school children are complex and varied, especially as they are developing knowledge of multiple language systems. This document is continued evidence of how urban school leaders are working to ensure success for all our students. Considering recent concerns about the reading proficiency levels of students across the country and discussions about best practices to support foundational literacy skills development, the Council has developed a vision for foundational literacy skills instruction that meets the complex needs of English learners. This document provides a review of general and EL-specific research on early literacy, drawing from both to define a vision for foundational literacy skills instruction for ELs. The document outlines a framework for foundational literacy skills instruction around six principles to ensure that ELs develop the necessary literacy skills to engage with complex text in all subject areas successfully. Finally, the document also presents criteria by which school administrators and teachers can determine whether instructional materials for foundational literacy skills instruction are conducive to meeting the needs of English learners.

This report provides an overview of kindergarten readiness of six Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) kindergarten cohorts from the 2016-17 to the 2021-22 school year. This report is accompanied by the Annual Digest of City Schools Kindergarten Statistics, 2022 Edition (Baltimore Education Research Consortium [BERC], 2022), which provides detailed summary tables and descriptive statistics on kindergarten readiness and outcomes over time and is the source data for the visualization and interpretation found in this report. By understanding children's kindergarten experiences, we hope that the stakeholders can collectively identify needs and opportunities for early childhood services and programming for our youngest children and their families. Early childhood is a complex developmental period, and descriptions of children's kindergarten readiness through the use of only one measure can be difficult. While the core of this report provides descriptive aggregate statistics on children's measured performance on the Maryland State Department of Education's Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA), we also provide a "multi-dimensional" understanding of kindergarten readiness and outcomes by including an examination of kindergarten attendance and early literacy skill development as measured by the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). To better understand differences across students, we also examine these kindergarten indicators by gender, race and ethnicity, English language learner (ELL) status, special education status, and prior care. We acknowledge that these are not the only ways to measure or represent successful kindergarten experiences. However, we hope that the analyses in this report help researchers, practitioners, and policymakers use various indicators in exploring children's kindergarten success. Young children, their families, and educators experienced unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this report, we highlight children's kindergarten experiences during the pandemic and the recovery period. We compare the most recent year data with the pre-COVID data to analyze what has changed after the pandemic. Finally, we maintain the results on the relationships between kindergarten indicators and 3rd grade outcomes for the two earliest cohorts of kindergartners in this report (2014--15 and 2015--16).

Like many states, Massachusetts has intensified efforts in recent years to improve literacy outcomes, particularly in the early grades. Initiatives have focused on providing guidance and resources for implementing changes in curriculum, instruction, and additional screening and support for struggling students. In September 2022, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in Massachusetts amended state law to require that all elementary schools assess each student's reading abilities and early literacy skills a minimum of twice per year from kindergarten through at least of grade 3. The goal of such screening is to identify students who may be at risk of reading difficulty and proactively intervene to ensure that all students have the foundational skills needed to be successful readers. Beginning with the 2020/21 school year, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) began collecting literacy screening assessment data from schools and districts participating in certain state grants. The goal of collecting the data is to analyze patterns of performance to inform improvement efforts--for example, knowing when students struggle or how they progress over time may help schools, districts, and the state target resources and supports. Using the benchmarks provided within each assessment to identify students at risk of reading difficulty, this issue brief provides a first look at student progress within and across grade levels based on available data.

Beginning with the 2020/21 school year, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) began collecting literacy screening assessment data from schools and districts participating in certain state grants. Screening assessment benchmark scores were available for just over 35,000 unique students across 2020/21 and 2021/22, representing about 10 percent of the state's population of grade K--3 students and including students from 43 districts and 159 schools. The screening assessments in use in the state vary in how they were designed, how they are administered, and how they define risk of reading difficulty. Most, but not all, screening assessments also include several levels of risk. These differences, along with the fact that students take these assessments several times per year, mean that multiple methods are used to calculate numbers of students at risk of reading difficulty across assessments in the state and that the meaning of "risk" can differ somewhat across assessments. The screening assessment data include more economically disadvantaged and English learner students and fewer grade 3 students than the state as a whole, suggesting some caution may be needed in generalizing from results of these analyses to the state. Nonetheless, these literacy screening assessment data provide an initial opportunity to examine student performance in the early grades and assess the extent to which intended policy outcomes in literacy are being achieved. This report provides a first look at the literacy performance of students in grades K-3 in Massachusetts based on available data from both the 2020/21 and 2021/22 school years.

This brief provides information about student literacy performance of students with different background characteristics and learning environments. It draws from data collected and analyzed in the report "A First Look at Early Literacy Performance in Massachusetts: Results of Initial Analysis Based on State Grantee Literacy Screening Assessments," which provides the first-ever large-scale information about early literacy performance and progress of students in grades K-3 in Massachusetts.

Beginning with the 2020-21 school year, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education began collecting literacy screening assessment data from schools and districts participating in certain state grants in order to analyze patterns of performance to inform improvement efforts. These assessments, which were selected from a list of state-approved screener products, vary in how they were designed, how they are administered, and how they define risk of reading difficulty, making it difficult to compare and summarize performance for students in different schools and districts. However, grade 3 students do take one common assessment: the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) English Language Arts (ELA) assessment. MCAS therefore provides a mechanism to compare literacy benchmarks using a common metric. This issue brief describes what it means to be "at risk" of reading difficulty as defined by each screening assessment and then provides results of a study that links screener benchmark scores to the MCAS grade 3 scale.

During the State of Utah's legislative session 2020, HB114 was passed proving Grants for Professional Learning, however due to COVID-19 disruptions, the bill did not receive funding until the 2021 session. The Grant for Professional Learning is meant to provide preschool through grade three teachers with professional learning opportunities in early literacy and/or early mathematics. The majority of eligible districts and charter schools, Local Education Agencies (LEAs), chose to apply for this grant. This document reports how the grant provided an allocation of $3,965,000 which was distributed to the 111 LEA applicants during the 2022-2023 school year, using a per teacher allotment. Of those LEAs, the majority chose to support early literacy professional learning opportunities. A pre and post survey was distributed to measure outcomes of professional learning regarding deepening educator understanding of early literacy and/or early math and applying the knowledge learned in their educational practices.

LXD Research analyzed data from 462 students in first grade who were Below or Well Below Benchmark at the beginning of the year and participated in using the Phonics Lesson Library and the Phonics Chip Kit as an intervention in CA for the 2021-2022 school year. The product is a Tier 2 or Tier 3 phonics intervention using lessons and manipulatives that support skill development along the Phonics Continuum. The demographic breakdown of this sample included 82% Hispanic students, 33% ELL students, 4% SPED students, and 5% Foster or Homeless students. Students using the Phonics Lesson Library and Phonics Chip Kit during targeted, small group, 30-minute daily explicit and systematic phonics instruction showed higher gains on the CORE Phonics Survey and Acadience Reading than the comparison group. The significance of the findings and the rigorous study design support the Phonics Lesson Library and Phonics Chip Kit as programs that meet the criteria for ESSA Level 2.

Teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders face unique challenges in the classroom that are often not addressed in teacher preparation, which may result in diminished outcomes for teachers and students. The Integrated Literacy Study Groups professional development was designed to support the needs of teachers of students with or at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders by integrating components of social-emotional learning and literacy instruction. The present study uses structural equation modeling to evaluate how and to what extent teacher beliefs, targeted in training through collaborative work groups and coaching experiences, mediate the relationship between the Integrated Literacy Study Groups and student reading achievement. Among a sample of 74 elementary school teachers, we found a directional relationship such that training influenced: (1) beliefs pertaining to action; (2) beliefs pertaining to self; and (3) student reading outcomes. Beliefs pertaining to self was a significantly stronger mediator of the relationship between professional development and student reading outcomes. We discuss potential reasons for these findings as well as their implications for the design of training of teachers of students with or at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders. [This is the online version of an article published in "Social Psychology of Education."]

As the world transitioned out of a global pandemic, the Quality Early Education System (QEES) continued to push for innovative programming and strengthen the collaboration between community partners. QEES in Hillsborough County, Florida has a front-row seat to the challenges presented to the early childhood community, ranging from staffing shortages, fiscal burdens, and varying child learning needs that resulted from the instability presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. QEES built on its comprehensive, multiagency foundation to support all those involved in caring for young children aged birth to 5 by continuing services, staying connected, forging new partnerships, and continually adjusting its lens to meet the ever-changing needs based on feedback received from those it serves. This report illustrates QEES' innovation and determination in 2022, growing stronger and more connected to the world of early childhood. [For "Quality Early Education System: Year 3 Evaluation Report," see ED629276.]

The COVID-19 pandemic's impact on preschool children's school readiness skills remains understudied. This research investigates Head Start preschool children's early numeracy, literacy, and executive function outcomes during a pandemic-affected school year, using a novel virtual assessment methodology. Study children (N = 336; mean age = 51 months; 46% Hispanic; 36% Black Non-Hispanic; 52% female) in a network of Head Start centers in four states (Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) experienced low in-person preschool exposure compared to national pre-pandemic norms. However, study children experienced fall to spring score gains during the pandemic-affected year of 0.05 SD in executive function, 0.27 SD in print knowledge, and 0.45-0.71 SD in early numeracy skills, growth not outside the general range of that observed in pre-pandemic research studies. For two of the three early numeracy domains measured, spring test score outcomes were stronger among children who attended more in-person preschool. We discuss implications for future research and policy.

States have recognized the impact of high-quality early childhood education (ECE) on a child's later college and career readiness and success in life. Yet disparities in program access, quality, and resource allocation continue to deprive many young children and their families of adequate support. By investigating and applying state boards' authority and their impact in collaborating with legislatures and governors, more states can develop effective policies to strengthen the ECE system and ensure equitable access to high-quality learning for young children. This policy update reflects information gathered from news reports and state board meeting agendas and minutes that chronicle state policy activity in 2023 affecting children's access to education from birth to third grade. While not a comprehensive review of state actions last year, this report does provide a snapshot of trending issues and approaches.

A study was conducted to evaluate the impact of CAPIT Reading on student early literacy achievement. The study utilized a quasi-experimental comparison group design using data from 12 elementary schools in a suburban school district in Oklahoma during the 2019-20 school year. CAPIT Reading is a comprehensive PK-2 literacy solution that includes a digital phonics curriculum and teacher professional development. Four schools used CAPIT to supplement their literacy instruction for kindergarten students while eight schools did not. The study linked CAPIT usage data and district demographic and achievement data to estimate the impact of CAPIT on the Letter Word Sounds Fluency (LWSF) and Early Literacy Composite scores of the aimsweb reading assessment administered by the district in August and January. We found a positive impact of CAPIT Reading on student early reading achievement on the aimsweb assessment for kindergarten students estimated at 4.4 test score points for the aimsweb Early Literacy Composite score (effect size 0.17, p = 0.01) and 7.8 points for the LWSF score (effect size 0.29, p < 0.001). This impact on the LWSF score is equivalent to a 29% increase in growth for the average CAPIT student from the fall to winter tests. We found limited evidence of differential impact favoring student subgroups, meaning that this positive impact for CAPIT users did not vary according to student characteristics such as eligibility for free and reduced-price lunch, race, or gender. We found that the impact on aimsweb overall was marginally greater for special education students by 4.9 points (p = 0.09) and that the impact on LWSF scores was greater for English Language Learners by 7.4 points (p = 0.09). Impact of CAPIT reading does not vary significantly across other student groups. [This paper was produced by Evidentally, Inc.]

This digest provides descriptive, aggregated statistics related to the experiences of six cohorts of kindergartners who were enrolled in Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) from the 2014-15 school year through the 2019-20 school year which is the most recent available. Multiple indicators of kindergarten readiness and outcomes, including Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA), attendance, kindergarten grade repetition, and the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessment were used. Researchers analyzed the data trends over time to understand children's kindergarten experiences in City Schools over the last six years. In addition, they examined to what extent children's kindergarten experiences are related to their 3rd grade outcomes, measured by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics assessments.

Research indicates that vocabulary development--linked to conceptual growth and comprehension--predicts student academic achievement throughout the elementary, middle, and high school grades. Intelligence increases as vocabulary continues to develop. The iSpy program provides high-quality, content-rich classroom books, learning manipulatives, and PreK teacher resources to increase early literacy access and enhance story telling and play-based learning opportunities. Engaging, informative books and exploratory tools are also distributed to families of the PreK children to ex tend literacy experiences and science and math exploration at home. Such evidence-based experiences build conceptual understandings and foundational literacies to set preschool children up for future vocabulary and comprehension success across the disciplines. RMC Research Corporation is an evaluation of the iSpy program. In fall 2021, RMC sent out pre-surveys to parents/caregivers and teachers considering signing up for the program. The surveys asked about relevant literacy activities adults were participating in with their PreK children and students. Selected survey findings and next steps are presented in this report. [Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County contributed to this report.]