Secondary Source/Data Review: Program attendance data were collected through a web-based data collection system. These data were used to calculate the number of days that each site provided services, the number of program days each participant attended during the year (those who attended at least 55 days were considered “regular” participants), and attendance rates (i.e., the number of days attended as a proportion of the number of days it was possible to attend).

The number of books read was calculated for each DR participant. After completing a book, children took an Accelerated Reader quiz on that book’s content. Participants who answered 60% of the questions about the book correctly passed the quiz. Quiz results helped track changes in reading proficiency and identify additional books appropriate for the child’s skill level. The goal was for participants at each site to pass at least 85% of the quizzes they attempted and to read an average of 25 books or more during the school year.

Test/Assessments: Results of the STAR Early Literary assessment are presented as scaled scores, literacy-skills classification levels (i.e., level of reading proficiency), and risk levels (i.e., the degree of risk that the child will not gain reading proficiency). To help identify specific strengths and weaknesses, scores are also reported for seven literacy domains:

1. general readiness (e.g., differentiating words from letters)
2. graphophonemic knowledge (e.g., using alphabetical order)
3. phonemic awareness (e.g., identifying rhyming words)
4. phonics (e.g., matching and recognizing short and long vowel sounds)
5. comprehension (e.g., reading and understanding sentences)
6. structural analysis (e.g., identifying compound words)
7. vocabulary (e.g., identifying synonyms and antonyms)

The STAR Reading assessment measures reading proficiency. Results are presented as scaled scores, grade equivalents, percentiles, and normal curve equivalents (NCEs). An increase of more than 2 NCEs is considered a meaningful increase by Renaissance Learning, the publisher of the STAR Reading assessment. The child’s grade level and month of school within that grade are factored into the scores.

Of sites that offered ER, activities were offered on an average of 92 days after school and 86 days in school.

Of sites that offered DR, activities were offered on an average of 109 days after school and 93 days in school over the course of the year.

Among the 10,602 participants who read at least one book, the number of books read averaged 64 for all participants and 76 for regular participants. On average, participants read one book every 2.4 days that they attended the program during the year. The average number of books read by all participants was 25 or more in 87% of sites with available data, while the average number of books read by regular participants was 25 or more at 95% of sites with available data.

Quasi-Experimental: Of the 147 program sites operating during the 2009–10 school year, 122 were selected for the evaluation. Of the evaluated sites, 38 were in their first or second year of operation; the rest had been operating for up to 6 years. Partner school enrollment ranged from under 100 to over 800 students. The majority of partner schools served grades K–8. Of the 122 sites, 69 offered ER programming and 121 offered DR programming.

Data were collected on participants at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year through two reading assessments: STAR Early Literacy, administered to ER participants in 65 of the 69 sites offering ER activities, and STAR Reading assessment, administered to DR participants at all 121 sites offering DR activities. Analysis of outcomes was limited to the 2,246 ER participants (75% of ER participants) who completed at least two STAR Early Literacy assessments over the course of the year, and 9,700 DR participants (88% of DR participants) who completed two or more STAR Reading assessments at least 90 days apart. In addition, data were collected on program attendance for all participants) as well as on the number of books read by each DR participant (data on the number of books read was not available at one site). DR participant data were also collected from Accelerated Reader quizzes (number taken, percent passed, and quiz scores).

Secondary Source/Data Review: Program attendance data were collected through a web-based data collection system. These data were used to calculate the number of days that each site provided services, the number of program days each participant attended during the year (those who attended at least 55 days were considered “regular” participants), and attendance rates (i.e., the number of days attended as a proportion of the number of days it was possible to attend).

The number of books read was calculated for each DR participant. After completing a book, children took an Accelerated Reader quiz on that book’s content. Participants who answered 60% of the questions about the book correctly passed the quiz. Quiz results helped track changes in reading proficiency and identify additional books appropriate for the child’s skill level. The goal was for participants at each site to pass at least 85% of the quizzes they attempted and to read an average of 25 or more books during the school year.

Test/Assessments: Results of the STAR Early Literary assessment are presented as scaled scores, literacy-skills classification levels (i.e., level of reading proficiency), and risk levels (i.e., the degree of risk that the child will not gain reading proficiency). To help identify specific strengths and weaknesses, scores are also reported for seven literacy domains:

1. general readiness (e.g., differentiating words from letters)
2. graphophonemic knowledge (e.g., using alphabetical order)
3. phonemic awareness (e.g., identifying rhyming words)
4. phonics (e.g., matching and recognizing short and long vowel sounds)
5. comprehension (e.g., reading and understanding sentences)
6. structural analysis (e.g., identifying compound words)
7. vocabulary (e.g., identifying synonyms and antonyms)

The STAR Reading assessment measures reading proficiency. Results are presented as scaled scores, grade equivalents, percentiles, and normal curve equivalents (NCEs). An increase of more than 2 NCEs is considered a meaningful increase by Renaissance Learning, the publisher of the STAR Reading assessment. The child’s grade level and month of school within that grade are factored into the scores.

ER activities were offered on an average of 108 days, while DR activities were offered on an average of 125 days over the course of the year.

DR participants read an average of 63 books over the course of the year. Across sites, 76% of participants read at least 25 books. In 88% of sites, participants read an average of 25 books or higher.

Over the course of the year, a total of 2,975 children enrolled in ER activities and 11,082 children enrolled in DR activities. Sites had an average enrollment of 43 children for ER activities and 92 children for DR activities.

Of ER participants, 47% were in kindergarten, and 53% were in first grade. Of DR participants, 5% were in first grade, 21% were in second grade, 23% were in third grade, 23% were in fourth grade, 18% were in fifth grade, and 9% were in sixth grade.

Each child participating in ER activities attended an average of 78 days over the course of the year while each child participating in DR activities attended an average of 70 days. The average attendance rate was 81% for ER and 79% for DR. In addition, 71% of ER participants and 62% of DR participants attended activities regularly.

ER participants improved significantly in their STAR Early Literacy scores (average gain = 139 scaled-score points, p < .05).

The proportion of ER participants classified as transitional or probable readers (the two highest levels of reading proficiency) increased from 13% in the fall to 61% in the spring. These improvements were significant (p < .05).

Children who participated in ER activities for a full year were significantly more likely to meet the expected growth goal than were those who participated for only a semester (62% vs. 57%, p < .05). Overall, 61% of ER participants met the goal for expected growth in STAR Early Literacy scale scores.

ER participants exhibited average score gains on all seven literacy domains on the STAR Early Literacy assessment between the fall and spring (p < .05). The largest gains were observed on structural analysis, which averaged a gain of 25 scaled-score points. The smallest change was on the general readiness domain, where the average change was 18 scaled-score points.

The percentage of ER participants identified as “on track” or “at low risk of academic failure” increased significantly from 25% in the fall to 77% in the spring (p < .05).

The average STAR Reading score increased significantly from 32 NCEs on the first assessment to 40 NCEs on the final assessment (p < .05), with the average improvement equivalent to approximately four additional months of schooling.

The proportion of DR participants reading at grade level or above, as measured by the STAR Reading assessment, increased significantly from 16% to 29% over the course of the year (p < .05).

Both the attendance rates and number of days attended for DR activities had a positive significant relationship with improved STAR Reading scores (p < .05 for each). In particular, regular participants had larger average gains in reading scores than those who did not attend regularly (8.8 NCEs vs. 4.1 NCEs).

A significantly larger percentage of DR regular participants gained at least 2 NCEs on the STAR Reading assessment than those who did not attend regularly (68% vs. 54%, p < .05). Gains of 2 NCEs or greater were achieved by 64% of DR participants overall and 68% those who scored below grade level on their initial assessment.

The largest average gains in STAR Reading assessment scores were observed among youth attending DR activities at sites using the in-school-only model, and the smallest gains were observed at sites using the afterschool-only model; these differences were significant (p < . 05). In addition, regardless of the literacy model employed by the site, youth who attended DR activities during the school day—alone or in conjunction with afterschool attendance—showed significantly larger improvements on the STAR Reading assessment than DR participants who attended only afterschool (p < .05).

A significant positive relationship was found between the number of books read by DR participants during the year and gains on the STAR Reading assessment (p < .05).

On average, DR participants achieved a passing score on 92% of their Accelerated Reader quizzes. Across sites, 66% of participants correctly answered 85% or more of the total questions asked.

A significant positive relationship was found between the percent of Accelerated Reader quizzes passed and gains on the STAR Reading assessment (p < .05). DR participants who passed at least 85% of their quizzes gained an average of 8.6 NCEs on the reading assessment compared with 5.3 NCEs for participants who passed less than 85% of their quizzes.

Initial STAR Reading scores, number of days of DR activities attended, number of books read, and the average percent of questions answered correctly on Accelerated Reader quizzes all had significant positive relationships with DR participants’ performances on the final STAR Reading assessment (p < .05).

Quasi-Experimental: Data were collected on a sample of 1,249 DR program participants and 1,249 nonparticipants from 18 schools located in 9 states across the country. Program participants were matched to nonparticipants based on grade level, school attended, and baseline reading assessment scores. Of study participants, 19% were in second grade, 19% were in third grade, 27% were in fourth grade, 22% were in fifth grade, and 12% were in sixth grade. In addition, 77% of the study sample scored below grade-level on their initial reading assessment.

Data were collected on study participants through STAR Reading assessments and measures of Accelerated Reader activities as part of the DR program throughout the year. For the STAR Reading assessment, analyses of improvements were limited to children who completed two assessments at least 90 days apart. Measures of Accelerated Reader participation included: number of books read, percent of Accelerated Reader quizzes passed, average percent of questions correct per Accelerated Reader quiz, average book level, percent of books read independently, and percent of books read that were nonfiction.  Accelerated Reader quiz data were available for 1,033 participants and 1,229 matched nonparticipants.

Secondary Source/Data Review: The number of books read was calculated for each DR participant. After completing a book, children took an Accelerated Reader quiz on that book’s content. Participants who answered 60% of the questions about the book correctly passed the quiz. Quiz results helped track changes in reading proficiency and identify additional books appropriate for the child’s skill level. The goal was for participants to pass at least 85% of the quizzes they attempted and to read an average of 25 books or more at each site during the school year.

Test/Assessments: The STAR Reading assessment measures reading proficiency. Results are presented as scaled scores, grade equivalents, percentiles, and normal curve equivalents (NCEs). An increase of more than 2 NCEs is considered a meaningful increase by Renaissance Learning, the publisher of the STAR Reading assessment. The child’s grade level and month of school within that grade are factored into the scores.