Literacy Intervention
Grades 6–12
TEXAS MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS MAKE
SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS ON THE STAAR
WHY EDUCATORS CHOOSE
LANGUAGE! LIVE:
Hernandez Middle School in Round Rock, Texas, serves about 850
students in grades 6–8, with 71 percent reading below grade level.
Students began receiving LANGUAGE!® Live instruction because the previous reading
intervention was not working for them. LANGUAGE! Live is a comprehensive, blended
literacy solution designed for students who are reading two or more years below
grade level.
The following data were collected and provided by Sofie Vastano, ELA teacher and
department chair at Hernandez Middle School during the 2014–2015 school year. The
data show results for three groups: the whole school, students in LANGUAGE! Live, and
students in another intervention, referred to as the Comparison Group.
LANGUAGE! Live Students Show More Growth on
the STAAR Than Others
• Blended approach
• Consistent lesson design and structure
• Online foundational skills instruction
and decoding practice
For us, one of the
considerations was,
‘Are there kids whom
other interventions
haven’t worked for?’
The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) are the annual
assessments for students in the state.
—Sofie Vastano
ELA Teacher/Department Chair
Hernandez Middle School
Round Rock, TX
Even when students do not pass the STAAR, Hernandez Middle School looks at progress
from year to year. The chart below on the left shows the percent of students in each
group that made year-over-year progress on the STAAR. Eighty-six percent of students
who received LANGUAGE! Live instruction made progress on the assessment, compared with 75
percent in the whole school, and only 68 percent in the Comparison Group. Of the students who
received reading intervention at Hernandez Middle School, seven percent more LANGUAGE! Live
students passed the STAAR than did students in the Comparison Group.
According to Sofie Vastano at Hernandez Middle School, as the chart below on the right shows, students in
LANGUAGE! Live gained 190 Lexiles®, and students in the Comparison Group gained 101. The Lexile gain
made by students receiving LANGUAGE! Live instruction is two to three times the average gain.*
LANGUAGE! Live Students
Perform Better on the STAAR
STAAR PROGRESS:
HERNANDEZ MIDDLE SCHOOL
2014–2015 SCHOOL YEAR
75%
WHOLE SCHOOL
LANGUAGE! Live Students
Make Significant Lexile Gains
over Comparison Group
LEXILE GAIN:
HERNANDEZ MIDDLE SCHOOL
2014–2015 SCHOOL YEAR
75L
WHOLE SCHOOL
86%
190L
LANGUAGE! LIVE
68%
COMPARISON GROUP
Last year, I didn’t pass
the STAAR because I
couldn’t read as well
as I could this year. It
feels good thinking that
I can pass.
—Seventh Grade Student
in LANGUAGE! Live Intervention
Hernandez Middle School
Round Rock, TX
LANGUAGE! LIVE
101L
COMPARISON GROUP
*Seventh grade students typically gain, on average, about 70
Lexiles a year, and eighth grade students gain about 50 Lexiles
a year, according to MetaMetrics®.
Visit www.voyagersopris.com/success-stories/hernandez-middle-school to view the full story.
www.teachlanguagelive.com
Literacy Intervention
Grades 6–12
Teacher Organization and Dedication to
Instruction Yield Dramatic Gains
Hernandez Middle School teacher TammyFern
Reininger is motivated to see her students achieve
literacy success. She is dedicated to providing bellto-bell class period instruction and smooth transitions
between the two main components of LANGUAGE!
Live (Word Training and Text Training), and holds every
student to high expectations.
According to the data collected from the LANGUAGE!
Live program, comparing LANGUAGE! Live benchmark
assessment scores at the beginning of the school year
to the end of the school year, students at Hernandez
Middle School who received LANGUAGE! Live
instruction showed growth in all three measures: LRS
(Lexile), TOSCRF (Fluency), and TWS-4 (Spelling).
Doing the computer and small-group
instruction at the same time—it’s
setting expectations at the beginning
of the school year. The kids on the
computer know it’s not a time to goof
off or pull up other things on the
computer while I’m instructing in —TammyFern Reininger
Teacher
small groups. They seem to
Hernandez Middle School
Round Rock, TX
honor and respect that and
stay on it.
Hernandez Middle School Students Show Significant Growth
on All Three LANGUAGE! Live Benchmark Measures
LEXILE GAINS
170L
Average Lexile Gain
586L
END OF YEAR
416L
190L
Average Lexile Gain
STUDENTS
STATE-WIDE
FLUENCY GAINS
2014–2015 SCHOOL YEAR
2014–2015 SCHOOL YEAR
30
713L
END OF YEAR
END OF YEAR
523L
BEGINNING OF YEAR
18
9
BEGINNING OF YEAR
HERNANDEZ
MIDDLE
SCHOOL
END OF YEAR
Point Average Gain
9
BEGINNING OF YEAR
21
Point Average Gain
9
BEGINNING OF YEAR
SPELLING GAINS
2014–2015 SCHOOL YEAR
21
8
END OF YEAR
Point Average Gain
13
11
Point Average Gain
19
BEGINNING OF YEAR
BEGINNING OF YEAR
30
END OF YEAR
It’s a life-changing experience to see a
student that struggled to read become a
more fluent reader. It’s the most powerful
thing I’ve encountered as an educator.
—Mario Acosta
Principal
Hernandez Middle School
Round Rock, TX
Visit www.voyagersopris.com/success-stories/hernandez-middle-school to view the full story.
www.teachlanguagelive.com