This report describes the progress achieved by English language learners who used Reading Plus while enrolled in grades 2 through 12 during the 2018-2019 school year. Data are reported for all English language learners who completed the Reading Plus InSight silent reading assessment on at least two occasions, once near the start of the school year and again during the spring, so that growth over the school year was measured.

Key Results:

These results show that English language learners who engaged in Reading Plus instruction over the course of the 2018-2019 school year significantly increased their capacity to comprehend increasingly complex texts, developed their capacity to understand higher levels of general academic vocabulary, and improved their reading efficiency. Students who completed more Reading Plus practice achieved significantly larger gains than their peers who engaged in little or no Reading Plus instruction. These results replicate previous studies documenting the effectiveness of using Reading Plus with English language learners. These results also show that students who engaged in Reading Plus instruction generally developed more reading confidence and increased their interest in reading. This in turn increases the likelihood that they will continue to use reading as a means to expand their knowledge, to be entertained, and to seek inspiration.

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One fundamental goal of reading instruction is to develop the reading fluency, comprehension, and stamina required to use reading as a tool for learning. This goal is the same for all students, regardless of background or initial level of English proficiency. English language learners (ELLs) often require more reading practice than students learning to read in their first language. This article reviews research measuring the impact of structured silent reading instruction on the performance of ELLs on a state reading assessment. The results showed that ELL students who used Reading Plus with fidelity achieved gains 1.5 to 2 times as large as those achieved by students who did not use the program.

“These observations provide compelling evidence that structured silent reading practice is a highly effective educational support for developing reading proficiency in ELL students.”

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Reading Plus was widely used in Florida’s Miami-Dade County School District during the 2013-2014 school year. Among those using the program were many students designated as English Language Learners (ELLs) and receiving English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) services. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Reading Plus reading practice on the scores ELL students achieved on the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test 2.0 (FCAT). At the time, this was the standardized state test administered to all Florida public school students in grades three through ten.

Study Design:

Included in the study were ELL students for whom valid 2013 and 2014 FCAT scores were available (n = 46,171). Among these were 12,845 students who were on English Proficiency Levels 1-4 and receiving ESOL services. The remaining 33,326 ELL students had received ESOL services previously but no longer did so because they had attained English proficiency.

Changes in FCAT scores and levels over the course of one year were examined in relation to English Proficiency Levels and the amount of reading practice students engaged in. The latter was quantified in terms of the number of reading practice lessons completed.

Key Results:

At the elementary, middle, and high school levels, ELL students who engaged in more Reading Plus practice (e.g., 100 or more ~15-minute lessons) achieved significantly larger scale score gains on the reading portion of the FCAT and were significantly more likely to advance to a higher level on the FCAT; e.g., from below satisfactory to satisfactory or above. The largest FCAT score and level gains were seen among ELL students with lower initial levels of English proficiency.

Within the Reading Plus program, ELL students who engaged in more reading practice also achieved significantly larger reading rate gains and were more likely to advance to higher levels of text complexity while continuing to demonstrate good comprehension.

These results indicate that the Reading Plus program is an effective tool for developing reading proficiency in ELL students.

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This research measured changes in the reading proficiency of ninth-grade English language learners (ELLs) following a twelve-week course of web-based silent reading practice using the Reading Plus program (treatment group) versus the reading/language arts component of another web-based program (control group).

Study Design:

The experiment involved ninth-grade ELL students in two schools who scored at the intermediate level on the 2009 or 2010 Arizona English Language Learning Assessment (AZELLA).

At the start of the 2010-11 school year, pre-treatment reading proficiency was assessed using the Group Reading Assessment Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE). Students were then matched based on their pre-test GRADE scores, and one member of each pair was randomly assigned to the Reading Plus treatment group and the other to a control group that used the reading/language arts component of another web-based program.

Students used their assigned program for 12 weeks, after which the alternate form of the GRADE assessment was administered as a post-test. A total of 91 students completed this protocol.

Key Results:

Baseline total scores on the GRADE suggested that students in this study performed below the national average for this population. Reading proficiency gains achieved by ELL students who used Reading Plus were significant, and significantly different from the control group. This was true for Total Test Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE) scores on the GRADE as well as for the GRADE vocabulary and reading comprehension sub-scores.

As well, although students in the Reading Plus groups at both participating schools improved their GRADE NCE scores, students at one of the schools completed more reading practice lessons (47 versus 37). The students who completed more lessons achieved larger gains on the GRADE.

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