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Research Impact: Subject Areas: Math

ELL Students See Significant Growth on EOY Assessments with DreamBox Math

 

ELL Students Using DreamBox Math Demonstrate Significant Growth on End-of-Year Assessments

Research & Impact

At-a-Glance

Type:

Research Brief

Time Period:

2021 – 2022

Source:

Discovery Education

Product:

DreamBox Math

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Napa Valley Unified School District piloted DreamBox Math in 2019, but when the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to go remote, district leaders chose to adopt DreamBox Math for all K–8 students for three years knowing it would be critical to support distance learning. The district believed that this would give educators and students ample time to integrate the solution and allow leaders to analyze efficacy data and measure success.

Through the pandemic and beyond, DreamBox Math has proven essential to address unfinished learning and close math opportunity gaps. Students receive the individualized learning they need, while teachers can monitor their usage, standard mastery, and assign work based on progress. This highly personalized learning, when implemented as designed, has ultimately led to marked student improvement on STAR Math.
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Sarah Knox
Director of Prevention & Intervention, Napa Valley Unified School District, CA

NVUSD partnered with DreamBox research team in 2022 to explore the impact of DreamBox Math. By analyzing 2021-2022 usage compared with STAR Math achievement results from fall 2021 and spring 2022, the teams believed they could determine if DreamBox Math had an impact on: Standardized test achievement, students across grades K-8 and achievement levels, students who are English Language Learners, and students who qualify for FRL.

Significant Results for ELL Students

Nearly one third of the student population in Napa Valley Unified School District are English Language Learners. Data shows that ELL students in grades 1-8 who completed about one hour of DreamBox Math per week demonstrated 8 percentile points more growth on the end-of-year assessments than students who did not use the program. This significant increase was also evident across all starting achievement levels, all grades, and for students who qualify for FRLP.

Napa Valley DBMath Results

Florida Study Shows Correlation between Discovery Education and Student Achievement

 

The Relationship Between Discovery Education and State of Florida Grades 3-12 Achievement

Research & Impact

At-a-Glance

Type:

Executive Summary

Time Period:

2018-2019; 2021-2022

Source:

McREL International

Grade Level:

3-12

Products:

  • Discovery Education Experience
  • Science Techbook
  • Social Studies Techbook

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The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Discovery Education’s market presence and academic achievement in the State of Florida. The study used a correlational design, where the outcomes of interest were school average state assessment scores in Math, Science, English, and Social Studies for Spring 2019 and 2022; and the focal predictor was if a school had a Discovery Education license or not (i.e., treatment or comparison).

The research question this study aimed to answer was whether or not schools with one or a combination of Discovery Education products report higher achievement scores than schools who do not have access to any DE product. The results showed instances where Discovery Education had positive effects on student achievement. 

Texas Study Shows Correlation Between Discovery Education and Student Achievement

 

The Relationship Between Discovery Education and Texas Grades 3-12 Achievement

Research & Impact

At-a-Glance

Type:

Executive Summary

Time Period:

2018-2019; 2021-2022

Source:

McREL International

Grade Level:

3-12

Products:

  • Discovery Education Experience
  • Science Techbook
  • Social Studies Techbook
  • Mystery Science

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The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Discovery Education’s market presence and academic achievement in the State of Texas. The study used a correlational design, where the outcomes of interest were school average state assessment scores in Math, Science, English, and Social Studies for Spring 2019 and 2022; and the focal predictor was if a school had a Discovery Education license or not (i.e., treatment or comparison).

The research question this study aimed to answer was whether or not schools with one or a combination of Discovery Education products report higher achievement scores than schools who do not have access to any DE product. The results showed instances where Discovery Education had positive effects on student achievement. 

North Carolina Statewide Study Summary of Findings

 

North Carolina Statewide Study Summary of Findings

Research & Impact

At-a-Glance

Type:

Case Study

Time Period:

2016-2017

Source:

Discovery Education Research & Analytics

Grade Level:

K-12

Products:

  • Discovery Education Experience
  • Science Techbook
  • Math Techbook

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Discovery Education Research & Analysis compared partner schools in North Carolina to non-partner schools to study the extent to which achievement on state summative assessments is related to partnership with Discovery Education.

To accomplish this, Discovery Education compared the published school level data for the state of North Carolina for the 2016-2017 school year to a list of Discovery Education partners for the same time period, resulting in an analysis of achievement of DE partner schools vs. non-DE partner schools.

There are 34 performance indicators that show that partner schools perform better than non-DE partner schools. This positive correlation between DE partners and better scores found in the overall sample also holds for several different demographic subgroups.

Grade-Level Proficiency Results
% of students who met the state’s GLP benchmark (2016-2017)

Sahuarita and Freeport-McMoRan Foundation Partnership Impacts Grade-Level Proficiency​

 

Sahuarita and Freeport-McMoRan Foundation Partnership Impacts Grade-Level Proficiency

Research & Impact

At-a-Glance

Type:

Evaluation Study

Time Period:

Jan 2020 – Oct 2020

Source:

Decisive Data Insights

Grade Level:

K-8

Products:

  • Discovery Education Experience
  • Science Techbook

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Sahuarita Unified School District (SUSD), located just south of Tucson, Arizona, serves 5,800 students enrolled in PK-12 grades. The district has been the recipient of funding via the Freeport-McMoRan Foundation (FCX Foundation), whose goal is to build resiliency in communities where it has a presence.

This evaluation is the first study that seeks to understand the impact of various SUSD initiatives funded by the FCX Foundation, and was led by researcher Dr. Brett Kramer of Decisive Data Insights. The study began with stakeholder engagement. The research team then collected performance data across the funded projects, analyzed the data to determine partnership effects, and tied those effects back to larger measures to inform the direction of future investments.

The investment in Discovery Education led to an increase in math, science, and reading proficiency. And, with 18 positive effects across grade and subjects, it can be concluded that use of Discovery Education led to better academic outcomes in every subject and grade level, to some degree, than what would have been attained without its use. 

Discovery Education’s Impact on Student Achievement​

 

Discovery Education's Impact on Student Achievement

Research & Impact

At-a-Glance

Type:

Research Brief

Time Period:

2016 – 2022

Source:

Discovery Education Research & Analytics

Grade Level:

K-12

Products:

  • Discovery Education Experience
  • Science Techbook
  • Math Techbook

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Our award-winning K-12 platform, Discovery Education Experience, empowers educators with a vast collection of multimodal resources vetted and curated to support differentiated, scaffolded learning in any environment. Experience is built upon a theory of action about how best to enhance the K-12 teaching and learning experience. Based on this theory of action, Discovery Education produced a logic model that serves as a conceptual map for Experience.

Findings from multiple studies tell a consistent and promising story of how use of Discovery Education’s curricular resources is related to outcomes that matter across the country for students overall, and especially for racial/ethnic minorities and students impacted by poverty, disabilities, and limited English proficiency. Discovery Education access is, in fact, making a significant difference in teaching and learning.

Download the full research brief to learn more about how Discovery Education makes an impact on student achievement across multiple states and supports educators with innovative ways to connect and collaborate with one another. 

Discovery Education Experience Logic Model: ESSA Evidence Level IV​

 

Discovery Education Experience Logic Model: ESSA Evidence Level IV

Research & Impact

At-a-Glance

Type:

Logic Model

Source:

LearnPlatform by Instructure

Grade Level:

PreK-12

Product:

Experience

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Discovery Education engaged LearnPlatform by Instructure, a third-party edtech research company, to develop a logic model for Discovery Education Experience learning platform. LearnPlatform by instructure designed the logic model to satisfy Level IV requirements (Demonstrates a Rationale) according to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

To continue building evidence of effectiveness and to examine the proposed relationships in the logic model, Discovery Education plans to conduct an evaluation to determine the extent to its program produces the desired outcomes. Specifically, Discovery Education has plans to begin an ESSA Level III study.

Because of the development of the logic model and the plan for an ESSA Level III study, Discovery Education Experience meets Tier IV evidence requirements in compliance with ESSA.

Source

LearnPlatform by Instructure, Researcher Andrew Scanlan, M.A., Associate Director of Research Molly Henschel, Ph.D., and Research Contractor Elizabeth Allen, Ph.D. “Discovery Education Platform Logic Model.” Discovery Education, May 19, 2023.