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The English Language and Literacy Acquisition--Validation (ELLA-V) study was a five-year evaluation of a program that provided professional development, coaching, and curricula that targeted English-as-a-second-language (ESL) instruction for teachers of K-3 English learners (ELs). ELLA-V was implemented in 10 school districts in Texas in the 2013-14 through 2016-17 school years. The project was federally funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund (PR/Award Number U411B120047). Professors at Texas A&M University were the recipients of the grant and developed the professional development, the coaching program, and the curricula. Researchers at the Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE) at Johns Hopkins University were contracted to conduct the independent evaluation. The evaluation of ELLA-V was a multi-site cluster randomized trial designed to meet the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards for rigorous education research (WWC, 2017). The study used a mixed method design to estimate program impacts on student and teacher outcomes and document the fidelity of implementation and perceived quality of the program. [This report was published at the Center for Research and Reform in Education (ED594703). Principal Investigators were Rafael Lara-Alecio, Beverly Irby, and Fuhui Tong. Cindy Guerrero and Laura Cajiao-Wingenbach were Lead Coordinators.]

(Purpose) The purpose of this study was to understand if inclusion of computer activities and videos for pre-K and kinder students, with opportunities to view these videos again at home, providing a repeated learning experience with language concepts and vocabulary, improved young students' early reading skill. (Methods) The study followed one cohort of students over two years. Students who were in preschool in the 2014-15 school year and who progressed into kindergarten in the 2015-16 school year were included. The outcome measures for the impact study were tests that gauge students' language development and early reading skills. These included the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement subtests: Letter-Word ID and Word Attack, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and the Test of Language Development-4, Sentence Imitation subtest. (Results) There were no statistically significant differences between ATC and control students in early reading skills, as measured by the confirmatory outcome measure. We also found no statistically significant differences between ATC and control students on additional post-tests analyzed for exploratory purposes. (Implications) The findings of the impact study suggest that the evaluation study may have been underpowered and that the effect of ATC on some measures of early reading skills compared with the business-as-usual condition may be directionally positive on average but less than 0.20 standard deviations. More research is needed with larger sample sizes and lower minimally detectable effect sizes. Another limitation of this study is that the business-as-usual condition consisted of programs that are, at least in some ways, similar to the ATC intervention. Thus, the effect size of ATC may be much greater in a context where ATC participation is compared with a lower quality preschool or kindergarten program. Supplemental tables are appended.

The purpose of the present study was to gather formative and summative data related to the FCPSOn initiative during its third year of implementation in the 2018-19 school year within Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). The present study documents program implementation in 15 Phase One schools and stakeholder feedback for future FCPSOn schools. Key components of FCPSOn include the distribution of personal laptops to all students in Phase One schools, professional development (PD), and the resulting impact on intermediary outcomes relating to the goals of improving students' content area knowledge and Portrait of a Graduate skills. The present findings from schools now in their third year (2018-19) of implementing FCPSOn indicate that stakeholders are strongly invested in the initiative's success and are more comfortable overall with the 1:1 learning environment. Important differences in implementation are observed between the two groups that comprise Phase One that appear to be the result of a more cohesive and intentional approach to implementation in the Chantilly Pyramid than in eLearning Backpack schools. Nonetheless, SBTSs and principals in both types of schools commended their teachers for being more effective users of technology tools and, as a result, more flexible and effective teachers. Findings also suggest that students are more engaged and accountable learners. Students have gained important skills and have embraced an emerging emphasis on self-guided learning. Guaranteed access to a personal computer has succeeded in "leveling the playing field" among students of varying socio-economic backgrounds, learning interests, and needs.

The English Language and Literacy Acquisition--Validation (ELLA-V) study was a five-year evaluation of a program that provided professional development, coaching, and curricula that targeted English-as-a-second-language (ESL) instruction for teachers of K-3 English learners (ELs). The project was federally funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund (PR/Award Number U411B120047). Professors at Texas A&M University were the recipients of the grant and developed the professional development, the coaching program, and the curricula. Researchers at the Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE) at Johns Hopkins University were contracted to conduct the independent evaluation. ELLA-V was implemented in 79 schools in 10 school districts in Texas in the 2013-14 through 2016-17 school years. The ELLA-V professional development and curricula focused on literacy and science content, as well as cognitive-academic language proficiency to progress EL students' English language acquisition. Teachers received the intervention for a single year, dependent on grade-level implementation. Each school year, treatment teachers in one grade level received bimonthly virtual professional training for 18 sessions between September and May. Treatment teachers were also supported by coaches and observed, up to three times a year, depending on teacher need. Teachers were also provided with EL-relevant curricula that reflected pedagogical best practices and was aligned with content-area standards and the instructional models used in the teacher professional development. Schools were randomly assigned to one of the three treatment conditions: Treatment 1, Treatment 2, and Business-as-Usual. Treatment 1 and Treatment 2 received equivalent professional development and coaching, but curricula materials differed across the two treatments. The impact of ELLA-V on student and teacher outcomes was estimated using hierarchical linear modeling. Propensity score weighting was also used to estimate program impact on teacher outcomes and some student outcomes due to large differences at baseline. ELLA-V improved EL teachers' quality of instruction, which led to improvements in oral language and phonological awareness for younger students and in science for third-grade students who were exposed to a literacy-infused science curriculum. Higher quality of instruction for treatment teachers was evident in increased use of ESL strategies (e.g., grouping activities, differentiated instruction, visuals for learning new vocabulary, and sentence stems) and a greater emphasis on cognitive-academic language proficiency compared with business-as-usual teachers. With one exception, ELLA-V did not impact EL students' English language development, reading, writing, or self-esteem. This report concludes that the ELLA-V was mostly implemented with fidelity and yielded improved outcomes for EL students in some content areas. More research is needed to identify the cumulative effects across multiple grade levels of the ELLA-V approach (oral language to pre-reading to reading and writing) on EL students' academic performance and English language proficiency.

The present evaluation study sought to determine how LightSail is implemented within schools in three public school districts, Evergreen Public Schools (EPS), Denver Public Schools (DPS), and Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). Case studies conducted in a subsample of schools within the three districts included classroom observations, interviews, and focus groups. In addition, a survey was administered to teachers and students in two of the districts and usage data were collected from all three districts. Teachers, principals, coaches, and students found great value in the LightSail experience. Students responded enthusiastically to the opportunity to express themselves through self-selection of texts and the option to read without interruption for a period of time.