Age of Learning, leading education technology innovator and creator of the widely popular ABCmouse® Early Learning Academy, today released a new study conducted in collaboration with SRI International, an independent non-profit scientific research institute. The study found that kindergartners who used Age of Learning’s personalized and adaptive program My Reading Academy significantly outperformed their peers on district-administered end-of-year literacy assessment, with greater literacy skills gains by students who used the program more. The study measured results for the 2021-2022 school year among 15 kindergarten and 20 prekindergarten classrooms in two school districts in Virginia and two in Texas.
In the Virginia districts, 619 kindergarten students participated, with 180 in the treatment group using My Reading Academy an average of just over 40 minutes per week. Performance was measured by the state-administered assessment, the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screener. My Reading Academy was found to be especially beneficial for kindergartners who started out with lower baseline literacy skills.
In Texas, the study measured performance among 473 prekindergartners, using the state-administered end-of-year literacy assessment CIRCLE Progress Monitoring System. Analyses conducted by Age of Learning found that, of the prekindergartners who mastered at least half of the Alphabet Knowledge skills in My Reading Academy, 95% were significantly more likely to end the school year “On Track,” the highest possible benchmark, than their peers.
My Reading Academy is a personalized and standards-aligned reading program for early learners designed to accelerate learning outcomes in as little as 12 weeks of usage. Grounded in the science of reading and cognitive development research, this fully individualized, adaptive program delivers explicit and systematic phonemic awareness and phonics instruction paired with rich reading and language experiences to develop strong foundational reading skills.
“The most recent national scores for grade 4 and 8 showed a significant drop in reading proficiency, with 4th grade scores the lowest since 2005. Education leaders who are working to address the learning crisis in this country need research-based solutions that are proven to accelerate student achievement,” said Sunil Gunderia, Chief Innovation Officer at Age of Learning. “This study demonstrates that My Reading Academy’s adaptive technology is empowering teachers to personalize learning to meet the needs of each student, and helping young learners master foundational literacy skills.”
This research—which was funded by Age of Learning and conducted by SRI International’s Education Division—is the latest study of the company’s School Solutions products that has been independently validated by Learn Platform, a third-party educational research company that evaluates the studies’ alignment with ESSA standards. This most recent study is the third ESSA-aligned validation for My Reading Academy to date, and the 10th overall for My Reading Academy and My Math Academy.
ESSA-aligned validations of research evidence help education leaders and decision-makers understand the effectiveness of various educational programs. Underscoring the need for validated, ESSA-aligned evidence, the United States Department of Education recently released an EdTech Evidence Toolkit, which offers educational leaders support in using evidence to inform edtech adoption decisions in schools.
About Age of Learning
Age of Learning® is the leading education technology innovator, creating engaging and effective learning resources to help children build a strong foundation for academic success and a lifelong love of learning. The company’s research-based digital education programs have been developed by an experienced team of education experts and have proven efficacy in increasing children’s learning gains. Age of Learning’s flagship product, ABCmouse.com® Early Learning Academy, is an award-winning comprehensive curriculum for children. The company’s school solutions programs include My Math Academy®, an adaptive, personalized program proven to significantly accelerate math learning outcomes, and My Reading Academy™, an adaptive program designed to help young learners build a foundation for reading comprehension and literacy and become fluent readers. With over 10 billion learning activities completed by more than 50 million children worldwide, Age of Learning is a global leader in efforts to advance equity, access, and opportunity for all children.