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English 3D: Tigard-Tualatin School District

At a glance

  • Promising Evidence
  • Program: English 3D
  • Subjects: Literacy Curriculum, English Language Development, Intervention Curriculum
  • Report Type: Efficacy Study
  • Grade Level: Middle
  • Region: West
  • District: Tigard-Tualatin School District, OR
  • Participants: N = 36
  • Outcome Measure: English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century, Smarter Balanced Assessment English Language Arts/Literacy Summative Assessment, HMH Reading Inventory
  • Implementation: 45-Minute Model
  • Evaluation Period: 2017-2018
  • Study Conducted by: Forge Research Group

Overview

The percentage of English 3D middle school students achieving proficiency on the English Language Proficiency Assessment increased 15%.

The Tigard-Tualatin School District (TTSD) is the 10th largest school district in Oregon, serving approximately 12,700 students from diverse ethnic backgrounds. In the 2017–2018 school year, 36% of students were eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunch through the National School Lunch Program.  

Two middle schools in TTSD utilized English 3D during the 2017–2018 school year to increase academic English proficiency in students classified as English learners (EL). EL students who scored a Progressing level on the English proficiency assessment were placed in English 3D for daily 45-minute English language development (ELD) instruction in addition to a regular daily 45-minute English language arts class. In this Single Period Instruction Model, students progressed through English 3D Course B lessons. During the 2017–2018 school year, Dr. Kate Kinsella, English 3D author, and her team, provided implementation training and materials for TTSD ELD teachers.

Forge Research Group analyzed the outcome data provided by TTSD including the English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21) and the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) English Language Arts & Literacy (ELA) summative test. Students who completed at least 1 semester (90 days) in the English 3D course and who did not participate in other Houghton Mifflin Harcourt® reading interventions were included (N = 36). Student ethnic backgrounds included African American (3%), Asian (8%), Hispanic (78%), and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (11%). No students were classified as students with disabilities (SWD).

Results

After one year of English 3D instruction, 6th–8th grade TTSD students demonstrated accelerated growth towards grade-level ELA achievement. The percentage of students achieving a Proficient ELPA21 overall proficiency determination, indicating an ability to access grade-level curriculum, increased statistically significantly from 0% in 2017 to 15% in 2018 (Graph 1). Further, 62% of students increased a performance level on at least one domain.  

English 3D students averaged a statistically significant 35-point increase in SBA ELA overall scale score and achieved greater gains than expected compared to initially same-scoring Oregon peers (Graph 2). On average, students scored better than 18% of their peers in 2017 but better than 20% of their peers in 2018. The percentage of students approaching the standard (Level 2) nearly doubled (Graph 1).  

English 3D students averaged a statistically significant 87-Lexile (L) gain on the Reading Inventory® and gained 1.3 times as many Lexile® scores as would be expected based on the average growth of a national sample (Graph 2). The percentage of students achieving at least a Proficient performance level increased tenfold from 0% to 10% (Graph 1). The percentage of students who demonstrated at least grade-level reading comprehension ability increased from 0% to 9% (Graph 3) and 41% of students increased two or more grade levels in reading comprehension. Further, the correlation between the number of days of English 3D instruction and pretest/posttest Lexile gains was statistically significant (with a medium effect size of .3), supporting the idea that students achieve greater reading comprehension with more exposure to English 3D.

English 3 D Graph1 01

GRAPH 1. Tigard-Tualatin School District English 3D Students, Grades 6-8 (N = 36) Percentage of Students who Approached or Met/Exceeded ELPA21, SBA ELA, and Reading Inventory Assessment Standards, 2017 to 2018.

Note. Approached Standard = Progressing for ELPA21, Level 2 for SBA ELA, Basic for Reading Inventory; Met or Exceeded Standard = Proficient for ELPA21, Proficient or Advanced for Reading Inventory. Despite the small sample, the increase was statistically significant for the ELPA21 Overall Proficiency Determination (t = 2.39, p = 0.02) and the Reading Inventory Performance Level (t = 2.81, p = 0.00). The increase in SBA ELA achievement level descriptor was not statistically significant (t = 1.73, p = 0.10).

English 3 D Graph2 Revised 02

GRAPH 2. Tigard-Tualatin School District English 3D Students, Grades 6-8 (N = 36), Overall Gains in SBA ELA Scale Score and Reading Inventory Lexile Score Compared to Expected Gains, 2017 to 2018

Note. The average increase was statistically significant for the SBA ELA scale score (t = 3.06, p = 0.00) and the Reading Inventory Lexile score (t = 3.96, p = 0.00).

English 3 D Graph 03 Wf1084330

GRAPH 3. Tigard-Tualatin School District English 3D Students, Grades 6-8 (N = 32) Change in Grade-Level Reading Ability in Equivalent Lexile Scores, Fall 2017 to Spring 2018

Note. Increase in grade-level reading ability was statistically significant from fall to spring (t = 4.05, p = 0.00).