Florida RISE/Up Students Outperform Peers on Standardized Fluency and Reading Comprehension Assessments
Lead Researcher: Rachel L. Schechter, PhD.
Research Design During the 2022–23 school year, Scholastic contracted with LXD Research to conduct a quasi-experimental study that examined the implementation and influence of Scholastic RISE and RISE Up (RISE/Up) on students’ reading abilities in grades 1 to 5 in a school district in Florida. The evaluation tracked the literacy performance of students (as measured by the Renaissance Early Learning/Reading, FAST English Language Arts Reading, and Fastbridge CMBreading assessments), which used RISE and RISE Up as a Tier 2 pull-
out intervention, as well as an equivalent group of students who did not use the program 1 from January 2023 to May 2023 2 . The study aimed to determine whether “striving” students using RISE/Up outperform those in comparison group classrooms. To better understand how RISE/Up was implemented and how educators perceived it, the study included program logs, surveys, classroom observations, and interviews with teachers and district leaders. RISE/Up Implementation in Florida Public School Districts The Scholastic RISE/Up program is a Tier 2 intervention program designed for students in grades 1 to 5 that provides targeted, small-group instruction to address and prevent reading gaps using explicit, structured comprehension, word study, phonics instruction, and guided writing. It recommends usage of 45–60 minutes per day, with one to four teachers. Scholastic RISE/Up offers a kit with teacher resources, books, short reads, and digital access for teachers and students. Scholastic RISE is leveled C–N and targets comprehension, word-solving, fluency, and writing. In the Florida Public School district, groups of up to four students rotate through four instruction stations for 30 minutes daily (e.g., 12–15 minutes per station over two days). RISE Up is leveled O–Z and is focused on advancing student comprehension. For RISE Up, groups of four students rotate through three instructional stations focused on comprehension strategies on a short text for 30 minutes (12–15 minutes per station over two days). 1 This study used a matched-comparison group design to evaluate the effects of RISE/Up on student achievement. The analytical sample consisted of: (1) a group of students who used RISE/Up, and (2) a comparison group of equivalent students who did not. To ensure baseline equivalence, researchers used one-to-one, nearest-neighbor propensity matching to identify a comparison group whose baseline characteristics were similar to those of RISE/Up students at the beginning of the intervention. First, researchers paired students whose grade level, gender, racial ethnicity, special education status, and English language status were identical to the RISE/UP sample. If a match using these procedures was unavailable for the RISE/Up student, that student was removed from the analysis. Propensity score matching procedures were conducted separately for grades 1 and 2 because the tests for these grades have different subtests at the start of the year for each grade level. Propensity Score Matching was conducted for grades 3 to 5 because all students took FAST with grade-agnostic scale scores. Researchers used paired t-tests to determine whether performance on the Fall Renaissance Star Early Learning, Star Reading, and FAST ELA differed significantly between the treatment and comparison groups. No significant differences were found; therefore, the matching procedures successfully created equivalent groups. See Appendix A. 2 Interviews with district leadership, conversations with educators during site visits, and analysis of teacher surveys showed that student learning during the fall semester was disrupted multiple times. The school district approved the research study in mid-September, coinciding with massive teacher shortages. Shortly after the teachers were trained on RISE, the category 4 Hurricane Ian hit Palm Beach County. A few weeks later, in early November, category 1 Hurricane Nicole inflicted significant damage and closed the schools for multiple days. With Thanksgiving break and winter break just weeks later, measuring the impact of RISE between January and May would more accurately reflect its effectiveness. This period also coincided with the study’s weekly implementation log collection, providing the researchers with better insight into implementation and instructional patterns to triangulate with quantitative results.
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