Raz-Plus

We are excited to release the results of our recent study of Raz-Plus in Milwaukee Public Schools. Raz-Plus is a literacy program that includes leveled books, skills practice, and digital activities and assessments.

The quasi-experimental study was conducted using data from the 2016-17 school year and examined the impact of Raz-Plus usage on student achievement for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students using the STAR Reading (STAR) assessment. Nearly 25,000 students across 120 schools in the district completed over 3 million Raz-Plus activities during the study year.

There were three main findings from the study:

1. STAR scores for students in classes of teachers who actively used Raz-Plus are better than for comparison students. The result had an effect size of .083 (p < .01), which corresponds to a 3-percentile point gain on the STAR test, adjusting for differences in student demographics and pretest between Raz-Plus and comparison students.
2. The positive impact of Raz-Plus was replicated across many student subgroups, including Asian, African-American, and Hispanic students, as well as economically disadvantaged students and English Language Learners.
3. Several Raz-Plus usage metrics were positively associated with STAR outcomes, most notably the number of quizzes assigned (p < .01). The average student would expect to see a 1 percentile point gain in their STAR score for every 21 quizzes assigned.

This study added to a growing body of evidence, both in Milwaukee Public Schools and other districts around the country, demonstrates the effectiveness of Learning A-Z’s independent leveled curriculum products for literacy.

You can download the report using the link below.

2019 Raz-Plus report