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System 44: Patchogue-Medford School District

At a glance

  • Demonstrates a Rationale
  • Programs: System 44®, Read 180®
  • Subjects: Intervention Curriculum, Literacy Curriculum
  • Report Type: Efficacy Study
  • Grade Level: Elementary
  • Region: Northeast
  • District Urbanicity: Suburban
  • District Size: Medium
  • Implementation Model: 40-59 Minutes, 60-79 Minutes
  • District: Patchogue-Medford School District, NY
  • Participants: N=229
  • Outcome Measure: Reading Inventory, Phonics Inventory
  • Evaluation Period: 2011–2012
  • Study Conducted by: Scholastic Research

Read 180 now incorporates the comprehensive foundational literacy skills scope and sequence from System 44.

Overview

With System 44 instruction, third-grade students make significant gains in decoding and fluency.

Patchogue-Medford School District enrolls approximately 8,700 students in Grades PreK–12. The majority of students are White (64%), 28% are Hispanic, 5% are African American, 2% are Asian, and 1% are Other. Twenty-six percent of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. In Grade 4 English, 53% of students are meeting standards, and in Grade 8 English, 44% of students are meeting standards.

During the 2011–2012 school year, 229 third-grade students in Patchogue-Medford School District were selected to participate in a study of System 44’s effectiveness. Students who were placed into the System 44 classrooms at Patchogue-Medford were expected to receive 40–80 minutes of instruction daily.

Results

Phonics Inventory® and Reading Inventory® data were collected and analyzed for students who used the program during the 2011–2012 school year. Phonics Inventory and Reading Inventory outcomes showed positive gains for the System 44 students on measures of decoding and fluency. Analysis of Phonics Inventory Decoding Status showed that the percentage of System 44 students identified as Developing Decoder or Advancing Decoder increased from the first Phonics Inventory assessment to the last; whereas, the percentage of students identified as Pre-Decoder or Beginning Decoder decreased (Graph 1). System 44 students also made significant gains in Phonics Inventory Total Fluency moving from the 26th percentile on the first Phonics Inventory assessment to the 45th percentile on the last. On Reading Inventory, System 44 students demonstrated significant gains in their Lexile® (L) scores from pretest to posttest (184L), with an average of nearly one-third of students exceeding their individual growth targets.

2 1 Patchogue Graph 1

GRAPH 1. Patchogue-Medford School District System 44 Students, Grade 3 (N=229)

Performance on Phonics Inventory by Decoding Status, 2011–2012

When both Phonics Inventory and Reading Inventory outcomes were considered as a function of System 44 software progress, students who completed more topics demonstrated greater gains. For Phonics Inventory Fluency, students completing more software topics demonstrated higher initial fluency scores, as well as significantly greater gains in fluency across the school year (Graph 2). For Reading Inventory, students completing 50+ software topics demonstrated significantly greater Lexile gains across the school year than students completing fewer than 50 software topics (Graph 3).

2 1 Patchogue Graph 2

GRAPH 2. Patchogue-Medford School District System 44 Students, Grade 3 (N=229)

Performance on Phonics Inventory Total Fluency as a Function of System 44 Software Usage, 2011–2012

2 1 Patchogue Graph 3

GRAPH 3. Patchogue-Medford School District System 44 Students, Grade 3 (N=229)

Performance on Reading Inventory as a Function of System 44 Software Usage, 2011–2012