Featured Reports on Fast ForWord Software
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Nevada Department of Education Finds Fast ForWord a "High-Gain Program"
The Nevada Senate Bill 185 (SB 185) funded districts to purchase and implement innovative and remedial educational programs, materials, and strategies specific to their academic needs.
The Nevada Department of Education commissioned the Leadership and Learning Center (LLC) to conduct an in-depth evaluation of the programs that had been purchased with SB 185 grants. Their 2010 Interim Report includes a review of the performance of Fast ForWord products.
The Report concludes that Fast ForWord products increased student reading achievement by an average of 22.2 percentage points, which was the largest average impact of all programs reviewed in the Report.
View Educator's Briefing (256 Kb PDF) 
Watch Research Presentation (3:07)
Four Year Longitudinal Study Shows Students in Dallas ISD Improve TAKS scores -- Decrease Achievement Gap by 25%
School District: Dallas Independent School District, TX
School Structure: Urban
Grade Level: Secondary
After Fast ForWord participation, students made significant improvements in their TAKS scores relative to their peers. The initial achievement gap between the struggling Dallas ISD students in the study, and their peers, was approximately 200 points. After participation, the gap decreased by 25%.
View Educator's Briefing (69 Kb PDF)
View Full Report (89 Kb PDF)
79% of Arizona English Language Learners Improve One or More Proficiency Levels on the AZELLA
School District: Deer Valley Unified School District, AZ
School Structure: Urban
Grade Level: K-6th Grade
Students with limited English proficiency were assessed with the AZELLA in the Fall and again in the Spring. Seventy-nine percent of the students increased their proficiency by one or more levels. According to a study through the Arizona Department of Education, students typically have a difficult time moving beyond the Intermediate level with38% moving to Proficient after one year, and 46% moving to Proficient after two years. After using the Fast ForWord products, 68% of the Intermediate students reached the Proficient level. In fact, 22% of the students initially at Basic reached Proficient.
View Educator's Briefing (150 Kb PDF)
View Full Report (106 Kb PDF)
Indiana Students Nearly Double Expected Gains in Reading
School District: Westfield Washington Schools, IN
School Structure: Suburban
Grade Level: 5th-8th Grade
On average, the students who used Fast ForWord products made statistically significant gains in their Language Arts, Math, and Reading skills. Additionally, schools typically use the Growth Norms, published by NWEA, to determine if students met their academic goals for the school year. On average, student gains exceeded the NWEA Growth Norms in all three subject areas.
View Educator's Briefing (55 Kb PDF)
View Full Report (69 Kb PDF)
Watch Research Presentation (3:10)
Longitudinal Analyses Show Students Maintained Significant Improvements in MCAS Scores for at Least Two Years
School District: Everett Public Schools
School Structure: Urban
Grade Level: 5th–10th Grade
Many of the students in the Everett Public Schools used the Fast ForWord products for multiple years. An analysis of achievement level showed a net increase in achievement level by 26% of the students. A longitudinal analysis showed that students made statistically significant improvements in reading achievement during their first year of Fast ForWord participation and that they continued to make statistically significant improvements up to two years later.
View Educator's Briefing (207 Kb PDF)
View Full Report (141 Kb PDF)
Longitudinal Study Shows Fast ForWord Helps Students in Clarke County, GA Reach Proficiency
School District: Clarke County School District, GA
School Structure: Urban
Grade Level: 1st-8th Grade
Students started using the Fast ForWord products between the 2006 and 2007 tests and made statistically significant improvements on the 2007 CRCT with continued improvements in 2008. 40% of the participants who were not proficient in 2006 reached proficiency in 2007 compared to 27% of the non-proficient students who did not use products.
View Educator's Briefing (122 Kb PDF)
View Full Report (161 Kb PDF)
Spotsylvania Students Make Significant Improvements, Showing Gains of One Year and Two Months in Reading Ability
School District: Spotsylvania, VA
School Structure: Rural
Grade Level: 1st-11th Grade
One hundred seventy-five students had two or more valid assessments. One hundred thirty-one of those students (75%) improved at post-test. The students who improved had an average grade level of 6.5 and, prior to Fast ForWord participation, were performing at an average reading grade level of 5.2. After an average of 15 weeks of Fast ForWord product use, the students’ skills were reevaluated. Overall, the students made significant improvements with average gains of one year two months in reading ability, for a final reading grade equivalent of 6.4. This corresponds to movement from the 19th to the 39th percentile.
View Educator's Briefing (144 Kb PDF)
View Full Report (145 Kb PDF)
Preschoolers in Davenport, IA, Improve Language Skills from 36th to 59th Percentile
School District: Davenport Community Schools, IA
School Structure: Urban
Grade Level: Preschool (Ages 3 - 5)
After using the Fast ForWord products from early February through the post-test, the experimental group made a statistically significant improvement over the comparison group with scores increasing an average of 23 percentage points, moving from the 36th percentile in November up to the 59th percentile in May.
