Results from a quasi-experimental study of the Achieve3000 program

By Carmen Pannone, University of Cagliari, Italy

The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant repercussions on students’ academic performance. Notably, there has been a decline in students’ reading proficiency. Consequently, efforts to address these learning gaps, particularly among at-risk students, have proliferated. A recent quasi-experimental study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the Achieve3000 program and its impact on students’ achievements, as well as potential influencing factors.

Achieve3000 is a computer-based literacy program that integrates online delivery, teacher-guided instruction, and at-home study options. Its primary objective is to facilitate the growth of fluency, vocabulary, writing skills, reading comprehension, phonics, and phonemic awareness among preK-12 students. The program offers nonfiction reading materials that can be shared by teachers with the entire class, while the software generates customized assignments based on each student’s reading level. Achieve3000 also provides three different options based on students’ grade levels (preK-2, 3-5, 6-8) and three options based on their language proficiency (English Language Learners, struggling readers, adult learners).

The study, conducted by Borman and colleagues, compared the outcomes on the California Standards Testof the treatment group with those of the control group after one school year. The analysis involved 1,955 students in the treatment group who were matched with 989 students in the comparison group multiple times using propensity score matching as necessary. The results indicate a positive and statistically significant impact of the program (ES = + 0.06). This impact was not moderated by socioeconomic status or baseline achievement but was moderated by students’ English Language Learner (ELL) status. This moderation resulted in equivalent scores for English learners, while non-English learners in the treatment group achieved significantly higher scores. The study also underscores that as the number of completed activities and hours spent in the program increased, so did the test scores, despite some reported challenges in program implementation fidelity. These findings suggest that Achieve3000 shows promise as a tool for students seeking to enhance their reading skills.