Forecasting ROI from Fast ForWord® and Reading Assistant™ Products

• June 21, 2011 by Andrew Ostarello

Return on Investment, or “ROI” is a straightforward concept.  With educational interventions, we invest something (typically time, money, or energy) and receive some benefit. 

The primary benefit of investing time, money, and energy in Fast ForWord® and Reading Assistant™ products is increased student achievement.  This benefit has always been a focus for Scientific Learning.   However, in our discussions with customers, we realized that many district stakeholders had a parallel benefit that they are concerned with: the financial impact on their district as a whole.  We decided to see if we could address and quantify this parallel (and perhaps complementary) view of ROI.

We identified four areas where data suggest that implementation of Scientific Learning products can impact a district’s financial costs:

• Reduction of the high school dropout rate
• Reduction of referrals to special education
• Reduction of the number of students who require ELL services
• Reduction of the number of students classified as “struggling readers”

Here’s an example of how we tried to quantify one of these benefits.  A district in Swartz Creek, Michigan observed a 30% drop year-over-year in special education referrals after implementing Fast ForWord products with their students. To be safe, we chose a very statistically conservative estimate for the reduction a new customer might expect to see in their special education referral rates: 21.2%.  Technically, we got this by looking at the lower bound of a 95% confidence interval for the effect based on the Swartz Creek data.  

These estimates led to the creation of Scientific Learning’s Return on Investment Tool.  The tool estimates the ROI—that is, the true financial cost—of using Scientific Learning products over a three year horizon.  This includes the initial software purchase and three years of product support. Note that we often see ROIs greater than 100% (i.e. a net financial benefit) for medium to large implementations with lots of students.

If we take a look at a three-year ROI for a large implementation, in year one the costs exceed the financial benefits, but in subsequent years the products more than pay for themselves.  Actual estimates will depend greatly on the individual district and the scope of the implementation. 

To get an ROI estimate for your school or district, contact us.

Related Reading:

Over 45% Relative Improvement in Students Reaching Proficiency

79% of ELL Students Increase Proficiency by One or More Levels

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Categories: Education Trends, English Language Learners, Fast ForWord, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant, Scientific Learning Research, Special Education

Tags: high school learning, increased test scores, investing in innovation, school leader effectiveness, struggling readers, student growth, technology in education, video

The Results of Fast ForWord Use at the Westfield Washington Schools in Indiana

• July 13, 2010 by Melissa Agocs

The Westfield Washington Schools are located just north of Indianapolis, in Indiana. During the 2007 - 2008 school year, the Westfield Intermediate School implemented Fast ForWord products.

For this study, the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) were used as a pre- and post-test. The MAP assesses language arts, math, and reading skills. Ninety-eight students used the Fast ForWord products and had MAP scores that could serve as pre- and post-tests.

School personnel administered the assessment and then reported scores to Scientific Learning for analysis. On average, students used the products over a period of six months. The majority of students used three or more Fast ForWord products, starting on the Fast ForWord Literacy product, then advancing to the Literacy Advanced product, and then on to one or more Fast ForWord Reading products.

MAP scores are reported in terms of RIT scores, which indicate a student’s achievement level within a specific subject. To provide a performance comparison, participants’ gains were compared to the student’s expected gains, which were based upon RIT growth norms in the three subject areas of language arts, math, and reading.

Students showed exciting results and exceeded the expected RIT growth norms. Students who used Fast ForWord products made 7 points of RIT growth in language arts, which is 67% greater than the expected growth of 4.2 points. Gains of 10.1 points were seen in math for the Fast ForWord participants, which is 35% greater than the expected growth. Students gained 8.8 points in reading, which is nearly double the expected 4.5 points growth.

The differences between the gain scores and the expected gain scores were statistically significant in all three subject areas. These results suggest that using the Fast ForWord products strengthened the students’ foundational skills and better positioned them to benefit from the classroom curriculum.

For more information, please see the Educator Briefing and Full Report on this study as well as any of our 200+ additional reports on Fast ForWord results. If you have questions about any of our research studies, please contact us.

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Categories: Fast ForWord, Progress Tracker, Reading & Learning, Scientific Learning Research

Tags: academic success, accelerate learning, assessments, brain training, child reading development, curriculum, improving reading skills, increased test scores, Indiana, investing in innovation, language learning, learning to read, literacy, MAP, math, phonemic awareness, school leader effectiveness, teacher effectiveness, technology in education

Investing in Innovation (i3) Grantwriting Tips

• April 28, 2010 by Joseph Noble, Ph.D

Are you applying for Investing in Innovation (i3) funds and in need of some last minute help?  I've received many questions about the difference between "demonstrated success" and "evidence of effect", so I've explained the difference in this short video. 

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Categories: Education Funding, Grants, and Stimulus, Fast ForWord, Reading Assistant

Tags: funding, grants, i3, innovation, investing in innovation, video

What is the Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund?

• March 26, 2010 by Joseph Noble, Ph.D

What is the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3)?

The Investing in Innovation Fund, known as i3, is a grant program developed by the US Department of Education as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act with $650,000,000 in funding. The purpose of the i3 program is to:

 

Refer to the i3 RFP (Request For Proposal), also called the Application Packet, for more details on the i3 program and the application process.

The RFP, Frequently Asked Questions, a summary of the program and additional information can be found at: www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation

 

What is the timeline?

i3 has several key dates to note:

• April 1, 2010 – Intent to Apply – not required but strongly encouraged
• May 11, 2010 – Application due by 4:30 pm Eastern Time
• Late Spring/Early Summer – Proposals reviewed
• Early-Mid Summer – Matching funds must be secured by those projects to be awarded funding
• September 2010 – All funds awarded
• 2010 – 2015 – Funded projects may last 3 to 5 years

You are strongly encouraged to submit an intent to apply if you believe you meet the eligibility requirements and plan to submit a proposal for i3. This information will allow the Department of Education to create a more effective and efficient review process, and will allow for more adequate time for securing matching funds on the part of those projects identified for funding.

Who is eligible to receive i3 funds?

To apply for i3 funds, you must be one of the following:

• local educational agency (LEA)
• nonprofit organization in partnership with one or more LEAs 
• nonprofit organization in partnership with a consortium of schools

LEAs include public schools and public school districts. Private schools, colleges and universities are not LEAs, but may be included in i3 projects as partners.

Non-profit organizations can include colleges and universities, afterschool program providers, and others. (See the i3 glossary and RFP.)

 

Additional Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for i3 funding, projects must:

• Maintain a Student Focus – “implement practices, strategies, or programs for high-need students”
• Demonstrate Historical Success – provide evidence demonstrating your past success
  • For an LEA applying on its own, the LEA must have “(a) closed achievement gaps or significantly increased achievement for all groups of students, and (b) achieved significant improvement in other areas,” such as “graduation rates or increased recruitment and placement of high-quality teachers and principals, as demonstrated with meaningful data.”
  • For partnerships involving a non-profit organization, the nonprofit must have “a record of significantly improving student achievement, attainment, or retention through their record of work with an LEA or schools,” whether or not the LEA and school partners have a history of success.
  • Note: Without this history of success you will not be eligible to apply.
• Address an Absolute Priority – address one of the four absolute priorities listed on page 5 of the Investing in Innovation (i3) Overview Booklet (PDF)
• Partner with the Private Sector and Meet the Matching Requirement – secure matching funds from the private sector equal to 20% of the funds sought prior to program start date, or request a reduced matching level (to be granted in rare situations)
• Provide Evidence – meet the evidence requirement of the type of grant for which you are applying; see types of grants below and evidence requirements in the Investing in Innovation (i3) Overview Booklet (PDF)

Checklists for eligibility and definitions of the above can be found on the i3 website.

 

What will be funded under i3?

i3 is looking to fund projects based on several priorities within three types of projects, as described in detail in the RFP. At least one absolute priority must be met by each proposed project. It is anticipated that most projects involving Scientific Learning products and services will be Validation-type projects.

Types of Projects (Proposals must identify one of the following types):

• Scale Up - project designed to “scale up” practices, strategies, or programs for which there is strong evidence that the project will have a statistically significant effect in meeting the i3 goals. Scale-up projects are limited to $50 million/project and should scale up to a state, regional or national level.
• Validation - project that shows promise, but for which there is currently only moderate evidence that it will have a statistically significant effect in meeting i3 goals. Validation projects may reach $30 million/project and should scale up to a state or regional level.
• Development - project with high-potential and relatively untested practices, strategies, or programs whose efficacy should be systematically studied. Development projects range up to $5 million and should be able to further develop and scale up.

Points = the basis for evaluating each proposal. Think of a rubric in a classroom – points are given for each criteria met. Those with the highest points will receive funding.

Absolute Priorities (At least one required):

• Innovations that Support Effective Teachers and Principals
• Innovations that Improve the Use of Data
• Innovations that Complement the Implementation of High Standards and High Quality Assessments
• Innovations that Turn Around Persistently Low-performing Schools

Competitive Preference Priorities (Extra points awarded for each):

• Improve Early Learning Outcomes (particularly K-3)
• Support College Access and Success
• Address the Unique Needs of Students with Disabilities and Limited English Proficient Students
• Serve Schools in Rural LEAs

Examples of possible i3 projects from Scientific Learning:

• Scale-up – Successful use of Fast ForWord® in a group of districts or state is “scaled-up” by implementing its use nationally
• Validation – Promising success with Reading Assistant™ in a district is expanded to a larger region or state-wide to demonstrate broader effectiveness
• Development – A school collecting data on use of Fast ForWord expands its use district-wide and implements a stronger program to document effectiveness

Learn more:

Find out how Scientific Learning products fit with the i3 Fund.

See our Investing in Innovation (i3) Overview Booklet (PDF) for detailed information on eligibility requirements, preparing your i3 application, and getting help with your i3 application.

 

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Categories: Education Funding, Grants, and Stimulus, Fast ForWord, Reading Assistant

Tags: academic success, achievement gap, i3, innovation, investing in innovation, teacher impact

Race to the Top Grant and the i3 Innovation Funding Webinar

• March 12, 2010 by Denise Ruvalcaba

Join us for a complimentary Live Webinar and learn about Race to the Top Grant and the i3 Innovation  Funding.   You will learn about grants available to your school district, as well as an introduction to grant writing.   

Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant educational software programs offer innovative and evidence-based programs and strategies—both criteria for successful i3 and RTTT grants.  We will also discuss what kind of support you can expect from Scientific Learning Corporation as you look and apply for these funding sources.  Information about the research behind the products and their proven abilities to help struggling readers and other struggling students can be found by clicking here.  

PRESENTER: Joseph Noble Ph.D
Manager, Grants and Proposals
Date: Tuesday, March 30
Time: 1:00pm PST / 4:00pm EST   

Updated 10/7/10: This event occurred in the past and a recording is not available.

 

 

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Attend one of our popular webinars with thought leaders in learning. Live and pre-recorded webinars are available. Register today!

Categories: Education Funding, Grants, and Stimulus

Tags: i3, investing in innovation, race to the top, rttt, webinar