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Strong Evidence to Support ESSA


The Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University found Reading Plus to have “strong evidence” to support ESSA.


About Evidence for ESSA

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law in 2015. ESSA is the primary law governing K-12 education, replacing the No Child Left Behind Act from 2002.

Significant changes with ESSA include a focus on identifying and using evidence-based programs for the classroom. The Evidence for ESSA website was founded to help educators sort through the many educational programs available. The easy-to-use website, created by leading researchers at Johns Hopkins University, helps educators identify evidence-based programs that support the new ESSA standards.

“The study found that students who engaged in Reading Plus showed significantly greater improvements in reading proficiency than did control students who received other types of targeted reading instruction… The results of this study qualify Reading Plus for the ESSA ‘Strong’ category.”

Evidence for ESSA, Johns Hopkins University
Strong Evidence for ESSA

“Strong Evidence” for Reading Plus

Reading Plus was reviewed by the team at Evidence for ESSA in 2019. Reading Plus was evaluated in a randomized controlled trial examining the impact of the program on the reading proficiency development of 426 fourth- and fifth-grade students in a northeastern U.S. urban school district.

Visit the Evidence for ESSA website for more details.