Read 180: Southwest Local School District

The Southwest Local School District (SLSD), located in Hamilton County, is the 67^th largest of 612 school districts in Ohio. The SLSD serves approximately 4,500 K-12^th grade students. Harrison Middle School, the only Grade 6 through 8 school available to middle schoolers in the district, serves approximately 1,080 students. During the 2019–2020 through 2021–2022 school years, Harrison Middle School served students with a range of ethnic backgrounds: African American (1.0%–1.6%), Asian (<1%), Caucasian (89.4%–92.4%), Hispanic (3.0%–4.2%), Native American or Alaska Native (<1%), Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (<1%), and students with multiple ethnic backgrounds (2.9%–3.9%). In the 2019–2020 through 2021–2022 school years, 27.7%–38.2% of students in the district were socioeconomically disadvantaged, <1% were English Learners (EL), and 13.0%–14.2% were classified as Students with Disabilities (SWD).

Harrison Middle School students in Grades 6 to 8 were identified as struggling with reading comprehension if they met at least two of these criteria: English Language Arts (ELA) teacher recommendation, scores below grade-level proficiency on the Measures of Academic Progress Reading test, Limited or Basic score on the Ohio State ELA Test. These students were placed in the Read 180^® class and remained enrolled in Read 180 until achieving a proficient performance level on the Reading Inventory as well as significant growth in Measures of Academic Progress Reading scores.

Students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 received regular ELA instruction daily as well as 50-minute Read 180 instruction daily. In this Single Period Instruction Model, students alternated A and B patterns of instruction, with A days consisting of 20 minutes of whole-group instruction followed by 20 minutes of a station rotation (rotated between the Read 180 online student application, small group learning, and independent reading), and concluding with 5 minutes of whole-group wrap-up, and B days consisting of 20 minutes each of 2 station rotations and concluding with 5 minutes of whole-group wrap-up. Using this pattern, students completed each station every other school day, or approximately 2.5 times a week.

One middle school teacher in the SLSD utilized Read 180 for reading intervention classes during the 2019–2020 through 2021–2022 school years. Of note, student exposure to and use of Read 180 was interrupted during the 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 school years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the 2019–2020 school year, 100% of students were enrolled in Read 180 for only one semester and in the 2020–2021 school year, 66% (49/74) of students were enrolled in Read 180 for only one semester. All students with school data who completed at least 100 minutes of Read 180 software usage (N=230) were included in the analysis.

Student demographics varied slightly by year (see Table 1); ethnic backgrounds included Asian (0–2%), African American (2%–3%), Caucasian (73%–83%), Hispanic (2%–12%), and students with multiple ethnic backgrounds (0%–4%). Of these students, 39%–50% were male and 35%–52% were female, 35%–50% were eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch (FRPL; classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged), 0%–2% were classified as English Learners (EL), and 2%–9% were classified as Students with Disabilities (SWD) each year.

Software Usage Data

Student software usage data was collected as students used the online student application during Read 180 instruction. Software usage data included number of completed segments, number of completed sessions, average time spent in each session, and number of sessions averaged per week.

Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Reading

Measures of Academic Progress (MAP^®) is a computer-adaptive interim (Fall, Winter, and Spring) assessment developed by the Northwest Evaluation Association that measures reading, language usage, and mathematics. The primary score produced is the RIT (Rasch Unit) scale, which is a stable equal-interval vertical scale. This grade-independent RIT score indicates the level of question difficulty a given student can answer correctly about 50% of the time. National percentile ranks for the MAP are also provided. SLSD students completed the MAP Reading assessment at least twice each year (fall and winter, fall and spring, or winter and spring).

Reading Inventory

The HMH Reading Inventory^®measures reading comprehension proficiency for students in Grades K–12. The Reading Inventory uses adaptive technology to determine a student’s reading comprehension level on the Lexile Framework for Reading; the higher the Lexile^® score, the more challenging reading material the student can comprehend. Assessment results include a Lexile scale score that indicates reading ability at a level of text complexity and a performance level of Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, or Advanced, indicating achieved reading comprehension compared to grade-level expectations. SLSD students receiving Read 180 instruction completed the Reading Inventory at least twice each year (fall and winter, fall and spring, or winter and spring).

Ohio State Test English Language Arts (OST ELA) Summative Assessment

The Ohio State Test English Language Arts (OST ELA) Summative Assessment was designed to measure student progress in achieving end-of-year ELA standards as described in Ohio’s Learning Standards in English Language Arts. Middle school students complete 2 days of testing that include Reading and Extended Writing Response sections. Assessment results include a scale score that corresponds to Performance Level Descriptors based on grade-level cutoff scores (PLD; Limited, Basic, Proficient, Accelerated, and Advanced). Students complete the Ohio State Test ELA assessment in the spring of each school year; however, it was not administered in the 2019–2020 school year.

An independent evaluator from Forge Research Group analyzed student academic achievement using data provided by the Southwest Local School District and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Read 180 students’ ELA performance was examined pre- and post-Read 180 usage using multiple independent outcome measures.

As previously noted, full-year implementation of Read 180did not occur until the 2021–2022 school year due to the Covid-19 pandemic (see Table 2 for usage details). In only one semester of the 2019–2020 school year, SLSD students completed an average of 33.6 (SD=12.3) total Read 180sessions with 2.2 (SD=0.3) sessions averaged a week, averaging 12.6 minutes (SD=2.4) per session in the Read 180 online student application. In the 2020–2021 school year, with the majority (66%) of SLSD students enrolled in Read 180 for only one semester, students completed an average of 33.1 (SD=13.5) total Read 180 sessions with 1.5 (SD=0.5) sessions averaged a week, averaging 12.6 minutes (SD=2.6) per session in the Read 180 online student application. In the 2021–2022 school year, usage nearly doubled when SLSD students completed an average of 53.9 (SD=20.9) total Read 180 sessions with 2.0 (SD=0.32) sessions averaged a week, averaging 13.7 minutes (SD=2.7) per session in the Read 180 online student application.

Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Reading

Read 180students completed the MAP Reading test in the fall and winter of the 2019–2020 school year and in the fall, winter, and spring of the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 school years. Overall, students who completed the MAP Reading test at two timeframes within the school year (fall and winter, fall and spring, or winter and spring) demonstrated a statistically significant overall increase in RIT scale scores, averaging a 4-point (2018–2019), 3-point (2020–2021), and 13-point (2021–2022) gain from first testing to last testing within the school year (see Graph 1). After full-year Read 180 implementation in the 2021–2022 school year, disaggregation of the data indicated that students in Grades 6, 7, and 8, and both males and females, achieved statistically significant MAP Reading RIT scale score gains. Likewise, both students classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged (FRPL-eligible) and those not classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged achieved statistically significant MAP Reading RIT scale score gains from pre- to post-Read 180instruction.

SLSD Read 180 students met or exceeded national MAP Reading growth averages¹ in each of the three school years included in this study (see Graph 2). Of note, students achieved an average of 3.2 times more growth than the national average in the 2021–2022 school year, correlating with the more extensive use of Read 180 as compared to previous years. These gains were statistically significantly greater than average student growth. Read 180 students also showed accelerated growth in MAP Reading percentile scores compared to their initially same-scoring peers. On average, students scored better than 32% of their peers at the first MAP Reading test but better than 37% of their peers at the last MAP Reading test in the 2021–2022 school year. These gains represent progress towards achieving a percentile score above 50, which reflects grade-level proficiency. Read 180 students demonstrated a 29% increase (from 17 to 24) in number of students scoring at least in the 50^th percentile on the MAP Reading test during the 2021–2022 school year.

_{1 As compared to 2020 NWEA MAP Growth Normative Data}

Increased use of the Read 180 online student application was a statistically significant predictor of MAP Reading RIT scale score growth, both before and after correcting for selection bias. On average, Read 180 students who completed more segments of the READ 180 online software also achieved higher gains in the MAP Reading RIT scale score from first to last assessment (see Graph 3). Students who completed 7 or more segments of the online software achieved an average of 1.8 times more MAP Reading RIT scale score gain (18.6) compared to students who completed 1 to 2 segments (10.3).

Reading Inventory

Read 180students completed the Reading Inventoryin the fall and winter of the 2019–2020 school year and in the fall, winter, and spring of the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 school years. Overall, students² who completed the Reading Inventory at two timeframes within the school year (fall and winter, fall and spring, or winter and spring) demonstrated a statistically significant overall gain in Lexile (L) Scores, averaging a 67L (2019–2020), 40L (2020–2021), and 84L (2021–2022) increase from first to last testing in the school year (see Graph 4). After full-year Read 180 implementation in the 2021–2022 school year, disaggregation of the data indicated that students in Grades 6, 7, and 8, and both males and females, achieved statistically significant Reading Inventory Lexile gains. Likewise, both students classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged (FRPL-eligible) and those not classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged achieved statistically significant Reading Inventory Lexile gains from pre- to post-Read 180 instruction.

_{2 As a previous Read 180 Universal gains analysis has shown that students who decrease more than 100L on the Reading Inventoryfrom fall to spring demonstrate poor test motivation and produce unreliable longitudinal achievement scores, those scores that decreased more than 100L were excluded from this implementation analysis. The Reading Inventory scores of some SLSD students decreased more than 100L in 2019–2020 (4%/n=2), 2020–2021 (7%/n=5) ,and 2021–2022 (12%/n=12).}

Overall, Read 180 students achieved equivalent or greater than average Reading Inventory growth in each of the three school years included in this study (see Graph 5). Of note, these gains were statistically significantly greater than average student growth in the 2019–2020 and 2021–2022 school years. After full-year Read 180 implementation in the 2021–2022 school year, SLSD students demonstrated on average 1.5 times more growth than the national average and 37% of students demonstrated at least 2 times more growth than expected.

Further, increased use of the Read 180 online student application was a statistically significant predictor of Reading InventoryLexile score growth in the 2021–2022 school year, both before and after correcting for selection bias. On average, Read 180 students who completed more segments of the Read 180 online software also achieved higher gains in the Reading Inventory Lexile score from first to last assessment (see Graph 6). Students who completed 7 or more segments of the online software achieved an average of 3 times more Lexile score gain (180L) compared to students who completed 1 to 2 segments (63L).

Of note, in the 2019–2020 school year, 53% of students met or exceeded average Reading Inventory growth, with 24% of students increasing one, 9% of students increasing two, and 4% of students increasing three or more grade levels in reading proficiency (see Table 3). In the 2020–2021 school year, 39% of students met or exceeded average Reading Inventory growth, with 21% of students increasing one, 5% of students increasing two, and 9% of students increasing three or more grade levels in reading proficiency. In the 2021–2022 school year, 51% of students met or exceeded average Reading Inventorygrowth, with 25% of students increasing one, 8% of students increasing two, and 17% of students increasing three or more grade levels in reading proficiency.

Read 180 student Reading Inventory performance levels also reflected these increases in reading proficiency (see Graph 7). The percent of students achieving at least a proficient Reading Inventoryperformance level increased from first to last testing by 62% (from 13% to 21%) in the 2020–2021 school year and by 133% (from 6% to 14%) in the 2021–2022 school year. Further, the percent of students scoring at a Below Basic performance level decreased from first to last testing by 11% (from 57% to 46%) in the 2019–2020 school year, by 6% (from 45% to 39%) in the 2020–2021 school year, and by 18% (from 52% to 34%) in the 2021–2022 school year. The increase in students’ performance levels on the Reading Inventory was statistically significant in the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 school years.

Ohio State Test English Language Arts (OST ELA) Summative Assessment

SLSD Read 180 students completed the OST ELA summative assessment, measuring end-of-year ELA skills, in the spring of the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 school years. As only four students completed the OST ELA assessment in both years, a year-to-year growth comparison cannot be made. Overall, students who completed the OST ELA in the 2020–2021 school year averaged a 683 scale score, and likewise, students who completed the OST ELA in the 2021–2022 school year averaged a 683 scale score (see Graph 8).

Read 180 student OST ELA Performance Level Descriptors also remained stable from spring 2021 to spring 2022 (see Graph 9). The percent of students achieving a Proficient or higher PLD was 22% each year.

SLSD Read 180 students’ OST ELA scores were statistically significantly correlated with both MAP Reading RIT scale scores and Reading Inventory Lexile scores each year (see Table 4). Though year-to-year growth comparisons cannot be made with the current data, these strong correlations support the idea that students who make gains on the MAP Reading test and Reading Inventory will also make gains on the OST ELA assessment.

Multiple independent ELA outcome measures support the idea that SLSD students who received Read 180 instruction made significant improvements in English Language Arts achievement.

The SLSD targeted students who were not reading with grade-level proficiency to participate in Read 180 instruction during the 2019–2020 through 2021–2022 school years, although full-year implementation was not achieved until the 2020–2021 school year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In a correlational analysis across a three-year time span, SLSD students in Grades 6–8 who received Read 180 instruction demonstrated yearly statistically significant increases in Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Reading RIT scale scores and HMH Reading Inventory Lexile scores.

Of note, once Read 180 was implemented during both semesters of the 2021–2022 school year, statistically significant gains were achieved on both ELA outcome measures by students in each demographic category of grade level, gender, and students classified or not classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged. Further, Read 180 students demonstrated statistically significantly greater than national average growth on the MAP Reading assessment, achieving 3.2 times more growth than average. Likewise, Read 180 students demonstrated statistically significantly greater than national average growth on the HMH Reading Inventory, achieving 1.5 times more growth than average. Importantly, 25% of Read 180 students increased at least two grade levels in reading comprehension after one year of instruction, with 25% achieving a grade-level proficient MAP Reading percentile score and 14% achieving a proficient or higher Reading Inventory performance level, indicating an ability to access grade-level curriculum.

The total number of completed Read 180student application segments varied by student. In the 2021–2022 school year, an increased number of completed segments was a significant predictor of both MAP Reading RIT scale score and Reading Inventory Lexile score growth. This study demonstrates that Read 180 is an effective program for accelerating ELA gains among students struggling to achieve grade-level ELA proficiency.