The Houston County School District (HCSD) in Houston County, Georgia, is a predominantly urban public school district that served 30,243 K–12 students in the 2021–2022 school year and 30,631 students in the 2022–2023 school year on 37 campuses. The district served students with a range of ethnic backgrounds in the 2021–2022 and 2022–2023 school years: African American (38%–41%), Asian (2%–3%), White (38%–42%), Hispanic (9%–11%), Native American (<1%), Pacific Islander (<1%), and students with multiple ethnic backgrounds (6%–7%). Approximately 55%–59% of students were classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged (e.g., eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), 3% were English learners (EL), and 14% were classified as Students With Disabilities.

HMH Into Literature® is a comprehensive English language arts program that offers rich content, actionable insights, personalized learning, and standards-based instruction—all within one seamless experience. For teachers, HMH Into Literature provides a flexible design that includes expanded access to rich and varied digital resources for each literacy strand. The program provides instructional tools, rich pedagogy, and professional services to ensure that teachers and students not only reach but also exceed their instructional goals.

HMH Into Literature comes equipped with Writable® – seamlessly connecting the HMH Into Literature texts students are reading with the writing process. Students can access the powerful writing, revising, and feedback features in Writable as they prepare for, read, and respond to their assigned HMH Into Literature texts. Writable’s instructional design uses evidence-based best practices to drive growth in student writing, including the Practice-Feedback-Revision cycle, which becomes even more effective when combined with the time-saving AI features built into Writable. In addition, Spanish-speaking multilingual learners can access short stories in both English and Spanish as they complete assignments in Writable. Short stories from HMH Fresh Lit—HMH Into Literature’s exclusive collection of original, high-interest texts from emerging and established YA authors—can be accessed in either language.

The majority of HCSD Grade 6–12 students used HMH Into Literature with Writable in the 2021–2022 and 2022–2023 school years. Participating students completed writing assignments in the Writable software program. Teachers reported varying amounts of writing instruction each week, from less than 30 minutes to more than 2 hours. Teacher use of Writable during that instruction time also varied greatly, with some teachers using Writable as the primary means of writing instruction and others using Writable for each end-of-unit assignment or for blocks of writing days. Students utilized Writable in conjunction with the HMH Into Literature program and teacher-created supplements.

All HMH Into Literature students who made at least one non-zero graded submission in the Writable software and had at least one type of school testing data were included in the analysis. In the  2021–2022 school year, student ethnic backgrounds included Asian (2%), African American (35%), Caucasian (36%), Hispanic (9%), Native American (<1%), Pacific Islander (<1%), students with multiple ethnic backgrounds (6%), and students with undisclosed ethnicity (12%). Of these students, 44% were male and 45% were female, 2% were classified as EL, 38% were classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged, and 12% were classified as Students With Disabilities. Similarly, in the 2022–2023 school year, student ethnic backgrounds included Asian (3%), African American (41%), Caucasian (40%), Hispanic (10%), Native American (<1%), Pacific Islander (<1%), students with multiple ethnic backgrounds (7%), and students with undisclosed ethnicity (<1%). Of these students, 49% were male and 51% were female, 2% were classified as EL, 39% were classified as
socioeconomically disadvantaged, and 11% were classified as Students with Disabilities.

The primary focus of this research results summary is on the impact HMH Into Literature with Writable had on English learners WIDA ACCESS proficiency scores n= 280) in HCSD. For the full study, including the HCSD Grades 6–12 Writable implementation results and the impact of Writable implementation for all Grades 6–12 students across multiple ELA reading and writing assessment measures, see the Writable Houston County School District Research Results paper on the HMH Research Library at www.hmhco.com/research/library.

EL students completed the ACCESS in spring of 2021, before HMH Into Literature with Writable implementation, in spring 2022, and in spring 2023. On average, students who took the assessment in two years demonstrated statistically significant year-to-year increases in overall composite scale scores, from 347 to 363 in the 2021–2022 school year (effect size Cohen’s d = .72), and from 346 to 358 in the 2022–2023 school year (effect size Cohen’s d = .58) (see Figure 1).

Likewise, HMH Into Literature with Writable EL students demonstrated statistically significant year-to-year increases in writing domain scores, from 336 to 350 in the 2021–2022 school year (effect size Cohen’s d = .39), and from 331 to 344 in the 2022–2023 school year (effect size Cohen’s d = .41). Of note, EL students who used HMH Into Literature with Writable both school years (N = 131) averaged a larger 21.1-point ACCESS overall composite score gain and an 18.5-point writing domain score gain from fall 2021 to spring 2023 (Cohen’s d = .84 and .46, respectively), demonstrating continued growth with continued HMH Into Literature with Writable usage. See figure 1.

Disaggregation of the data indicated that students in Grades 6–11, students in each ethnic group, students with a disability designation, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and both males and females achieved statistically significant ACCESS scale score gains from pre- to post- HMH Into Literature with Writable instruction.

EL students who used HMH Into Literature with Writable demonstrated a statistically significant increase in ACCESS overall proficiency levels from spring 2021 to spring 2022 (effect size Cohen’s d = .44) and from spring 2022 to spring 2023 (effect size Cohen’s d = .23). Likewise, EL students who used HMH Into Literature with Writable demonstrated a statistically significant increase in ACCESS writing proficiency levels from spring 2021 to spring 2022 (effect size Cohen’s d = .69) and from spring 2022 to spring 2023 (effect size Cohen’s d = .19). Of students who took the assessment in two years, the percentage who achieved an overall weighted proficiency level of 4 (expanding) or higher increased from 20% in spring 2021 to 34% in spring 2022 and from 18% in spring 2022 to 24% in spring 2023.

Notably, the percentage of participating students who achieved a writing proficiency level of 4 or higher increased from 16% in spring 2021 to 28% in spring 2022 and from 13% in spring 2022 to 18% in spring 2023. The percentage who demonstrated an entering (level 1) writing performance level decreased from 28% in spring 2021 to 3% in spring 2022 and from 14% in spring 2022 to 9% in spring 2023. Of note, EL students who used HMH Into Literature with Writable both school years (N = 131) demonstrated gains of significant magnitude in both overall and writing domain proficiency levels from spring 2021 to spring 2023 (effect size Cohen’s d = .31 and .55, respectively).

HMH Into Literature with Writable EL students’ large year-to-year increase in writing proficiency level contrasts simultaneous decreases in statewide EL students’ writing proficiency levels. The percentage of statewide EL students who demonstrated a proficiency level of at least 3 (developing) decreased from 24% in spring 2021 to 14% in spring 2022 and decreased further to 13% in spring 2023. During this same period, the percentage of HCSD participating EL students who demonstrated a proficiency level of at least a 3 (developing) increased from 20% in spring 2021 to 34% in spring 2022 and from 13% in spring 2022 to 18% in spring 2023. See figure 2.

Houston County School District students in Grades 6–12 who used HMH Into Literature with Writable made significant improvements in English academic proficiency during the 2021–2022 and 2022–2023 school years. In both school years, EL students who used HMH Into Literature with Writable demonstrated statistically significant increases in ACCESS overall composite scores and writing domain scale scores. Of note, statistically significant gains were achieved on the ACCESS scaled score writing outcomes by students in each demographic category, including grade level, gender, Students With Disabilities, English learners, and students classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged.