Explore · I4I

Fluency Formula™

2007

Fluency Formula™ is a supplemental reading curriculum designed to promote reading fluency for first- through sixth-grade students. The program emphasizes automatic word recognition, decoding accuracy, and oral expressiveness as the foundation for building reading fluency. Daily 10- to 15-minute lessons are delivered in classrooms through whole-class, small-group, and individual practice activities. Students use workbooks, read-aloud anthologies, library books, fluency activity cards, and audio CDs. The curriculum encourages at-home practice (20-30 minutes daily) and includes a Fluency Formula™ Assessment System with one-minute grade-level passages and a timer for teachers to assess student fluency. Teachers receive professional development through the Fluency Formula™ Professional Guide and online courses through Scholastic's "Scholastic Red" division.

2nd Grade

Good Behavior Game

2023

Good Behavior Game is a classroom management strategy that aims to improve social skills, minimize disruptive behaviors, and create a positive learning environment for students in prekindergarten through grade 12, often used with students or classrooms demonstrating high levels of disruptive behaviors. Teachers place students into teams and reward them for demonstrating appropriate behaviors and following classroom rules. Teachers identify rules of behavior, divide students into teams, review expected behaviors and rules, monitor student behavior during the game, and score teams based on how well they follow the rules. At the end of the session, winning teams receive a reward such as small prizes (snacks, school supplies, stickers) or classroom privileges (free time, time to play with toys or an iPad). Teachers play the game once per day, several times a day, or twice per week. Before leading the game, teachers receive training (ranging from 15 minutes to a full week) from a Good Behavior Game developer or researcher, covering how to create game rules, monitor student behavior, and award points. Teachers often receive ongoing coaching support from a developer-trained coach who observes implementation, provides feedback, and answers questions.

Prekindergarten, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade

High School Redirection

2007

High School Redirection is an alternative high school program for youth at high risk of dropping out. The program serves students who have dropped out in the past, teen parents, students with poor test scores, or those who are over-age for their grade, operating in economically disadvantaged areas. The program emphasizes basic skills development with a particular focus on reading skills through the STAR (Strategies and Techniques for Advancement in Reading) remedial reading program for students with serious literacy problems. Schools are kept small (typically no more than 500 students) to foster a sense of community, with teachers encouraged to act as mentors as well as instructors and small class sizes to allow for individualized attention. The program offers opportunities for independent study and accelerated credit accumulation so students who have fallen behind can make quick progress toward graduation. The schools follow the standard district curriculum, provide on-site or off-site child care, offer limited extracurricular activities, issue standard high school diplomas, and maintain autonomy from the local school district in day-to-day policymaking and staff selection.

9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade

Instructional Conversations and Literature Logs

2006

Instructional Conversations and Literature Logs is a combined intervention designed to help English language learners in grades 2-5 develop reading comprehension ability and English language proficiency. Instructional Conversations are small-group discussions (approximately 45 minutes per week) where teachers act as facilitators, engaging students in discussions about stories, key concepts, and related personal experiences. Literature Logs require students to write independently in response to prompts or questions related to story sections, then share their responses in small groups or with a partner. The intervention was used in two ways across the studies: as a short-term intervention delivered over four days on alternating days with the same story, or as key components of a broader language arts program delivered from grades 2-5. Teachers involved in the studies were members of research and development teams and met bi-monthly to study instructional components, view demonstrations, plan units, and evaluate student work.

2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade

Bottom Line

2021

Bottom Line provides intensive advising for low-income high school students, most of whom are the first in their family to go to college. The program serves students in grades 11-12 and continues support for up to six years in college. Bottom Line advisors provide individualized guidance to high school students in preparing college applications, applying for financial aid, searching for scholarships, and selecting colleges that align with each student's goals. High school students meet with their Bottom Line advisors for an hour every three to four weeks during the college application and selection process. For students who attend one of Bottom Line's target colleges (institutions identified as providing high-quality education at an affordable price), Bottom Line continues to provide regular support on campus. College students meet with their Bottom Line advisors three to four times per semester. Additional contacts are held between meetings through texting, email, and video or phone calls. The program includes two components: Bottom Line Access for high school juniors and seniors, and Bottom Line Success for students who attend a target college. Bottom Line advisors have average caseloads of 65 students for high school advising and 85 students for college advising. The program is staffed by full-time advisors with college degrees who provide direct services.

11th Grade, 12th Grade, Postsecondary

Pathway to Academic Success Project

2021

The Pathway to Academic Success Project trains teachers to improve the reading and writing abilities of English Learners (ELs) in grades 6-12 who have an intermediate level of English proficiency by incorporating cognitive strategies into reading and writing instruction. The cognitive strategies include goal setting, tapping prior knowledge, asking questions, making predictions, articulating and revising understanding of text, and evaluating writing. Teachers receive 46 hours of professional development per year over 2 years, including five or six full-day meetings and five after-school meetings throughout each school year. Teachers are also encouraged to meet in professional learning communities for at least 1 hour each week. Teachers then implement the strategies during their regular English language arts class time. Most teachers report spending at least 60 hours of their class time using Pathway to Academic Success Project strategies with students during each school year. Teachers receive coaching support from experienced Pathway to Academic Success Project teachers and classroom materials including wall posters, preprinted class sets of readings and handouts, bookmarks, cognitive sentence starters, highlighters, binders, and model lessons based on culturally relevant texts.

6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade

Job Corps

2008

Job Corps is a federally funded education and vocational training program for economically disadvantaged youth ages 16-24, most of whom lack a high school diploma or GED certificate. The program operates on an open-entry, open-exit basis with individualized and self-paced training. After 2-4 weeks of orientation and assessment, participants receive an individualized mix of vocational and academic instruction. Academic services include remedial education emphasizing reading and math, GED preparation, consumer education, driver's education, home and family living training, and health education. Vocational training prepares youth for specific trades (carpenters, masons, welders, electricians, mechanics, food and health service workers, etc.), with a typical center offering specialized training for about 10 trades. The program provides job placement assistance upon completion. Most participants reside in dormitories at Job Corps centers and receive room and board, counseling, health services, social-skills training, recreational activities, and a biweekly living allowance. The average participant spends about eight months in the program and receives more than 1,000 hours of education and training.

Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education

JOBSTART

2008

JOBSTART is an alternative education and training program designed to improve the economic prospects of young, disadvantaged high school dropouts (ages 17-21) by increasing educational attainment and developing occupational skills. The program serves youth who have dropped out of school, read below an 8th-grade level, and are economically disadvantaged (receive public assistance, have family income at or below poverty line, or are homeless). JOBSTART has four main components: (1) basic academic skills instruction with a focus on GED preparation (minimum 200 hours of self-paced instruction using workbooks, meeting 2-3 hours per day, 3-5 days per week), (2) occupational skills training (minimum 500 hours of classroom-based training, meeting 3-4 hours per day, 3-5 days per week), (3) training-related support services (transportation assistance, childcare, emergency funds, on-site meals, and life-skills training), and (4) job placement assistance. Participation is voluntary. JOBSTART staff were typically former teachers from public schools or community colleges with experience working with disadvantaged youth or adults.

Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education

Lessons in Character

2006

Lessons in Character is a character education curriculum designed to promote elementary and middle school students' knowledge about core character education values and shape positive behaviors to support academic success. The program consists of 24 lessons organized around weekly themes, taught through stories, writing activities, and class projects in regular classrooms. Teachers introduce each week's theme with a story that shows a value in action, then students engage with the topic through various activities. The program also includes daily oral language development and weekly writing assignments as optional components. Materials are available in English or Spanish. Teachers are encouraged to attend training workshops held by the developer, study author, or trained school staff, with workshops ranging from half a day to two full days.

4th Grade, 5th Grade

Little Books

2007

Little Books is a set of reproducible books designed for interactive book reading between parents and children or teachers and students. The books use thematic topics familiar to kindergarten students, are written with high-frequency words, use simple phrases and sentences, and have strong links between illustrations and text. Three variations were studied: using Little Books at home only (where school staff gave a new book to each child weekly to take home and read with parents), at school only (where teachers introduced a different book each week and devoted approximately 10-15 minutes daily to the materials for five days), or both at home and school (combining both approaches). Parents and teachers received training: parents watched a video demonstration and received guidelines for comfortable reading arrangements and discussion strategies; teachers attended a workshop learning a specific instructional procedure involving opening, modeling, tryouts, and closing, working with the whole class initially then smaller groups over subsequent days.

Kindergarten