READ USA's first-ever randomized controlled trial validated past evaluations about the impact of Literacy Tutoring: elementary students who participate in Literacy Tutoring demonstrably improve their reading skills.

Methodology

A randomized controlled trial, or RCT, is a scientific study used to measure the effectiveness of an intervention or treatment. In the READ USA study, one group of students received the Literacy Tutoring intervention in the autumn of 2023 while another group of students waited until the spring 2024 semester. Both groups were evaluated pre- and post-study using the same methods, and the results were compared to measure effectiveness of the Literacy Tutoring intervention among the first group. The study was conducted and analyzed by leading researchers at The Ohio State University. 

Impact

On average, the students who received tutoring started one to two grade levels behind in literacy performance. Using the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) to measure the effectiveness of Literacy Tutoring, the RCT results showed that students who participated in Literacy Tutoring were 68% more likely to increase a performance level in reading skills compared to the students in the control group. It also showed that Literacy Tutoring was found to work equally effectively across all student demographics.

The results showed similar performance on the Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT) measurement, particularly with improvement in reading comprehension. In about three months of school, one would expect students to make three months of academic growth, and that is evident with students in the control group. That indicates that the core literacy instruction provided by Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) is working. However, students needing tutoring are typically one to two years below grade level in reading, meaning they need accelerated growth to catch up to grade level expectations. These study results show that READ USA Literacy Tutoring did just that: