DOI: 10.3886/icpsr39117
title: Evaluation of the Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI), United States, 2020-2022
title: Archival Version

description: Evaluation of the Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI) is a year-long supplemental reading intervention that is intentionally designed to address the motivational barriers of middle school students who are reading below grade level. STARI is intended to be used for a full class period (45 minutes minimum), at least three days a week, in addition to regular English Language Arts. STARI has a Tier 1 (strong) Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) evidence rating based on a student-level randomized experiment conducted in school year 2013-14 in a northeastern state. To explore the replicability of these results, the effect of STARI was evaluated in 11 middle schools in two urban school districts in school year 2021-22, a school year when instruction was still periodically disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible students were randomly assigned to the STARI class (n=215) or to a business-as-usual elective or reading class at their school (n=183). Students' English Language Arts (ELA) state test scores and their course marks at the end of the program year were obtained from school districts, and students' reading skills and reading motivation and self-efficacy were measured using a reading assessment and survey administered in Spring 2022. This evaluation of STARI was funded by an Education and Innovation and Research (EIR) mid-phase grant from the US Department of Education.
description: Students in these schools were eligible for STARI if they were reading more than one year below grade level, as determined by their performance on prior reading tests. Students were not eligible if they were reading below a third-grade level; in substantially separate special education classes; had a special education plan requiring an intensive, rules-based phonics intervention; or were Level 1 or 2 English learners. Eligible students were randomly assigned to the STARI group (n=215) or to a "business as usual" control group (n=183). Random assignment was blocked by school and by grade level.
Reading assessment: Students' reading skills, vocabulary, and reading comprehension were assessed using the ReadBasix, a computer-administered adaptive assessment developed by ETS Research Report. The ReadBasix includes six subtests for the reading skills that pose the most difficulty for struggling adolescent readers. The test takes 45 minutes to 1 hour to complete. The ReadBasix was administered in Spring 2022, as late in the school year as districts would allow. In District 1, administration occurred in April, prior to state testing; in District 2, administration happened in June, after state testing.
Student survey: A short (5-10 minute) online student survey was administered to students immediately after the ReadBasix. The survey was used to measure students' reading self-efficacy and their intrinsic motivation to read, using subscales from the Motivations for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ). The survey was also used to collect information on whether students received help with their reading from an adult who is not their teacher, and the number of times they received that help across the school year. A copy of the student survey is included with the restricted use file.
Student records: Student records were shared by the study districts, for SY 2021-22 (the year that students were eligible to receive STARI) and for SY 2020-21 (before students were randomized). These data were used to measure students' performance on English Language Arts (ELA) state tests, their grades in their classes, and their characteristics and reading achievement at baseline before the intervention.
Parent/guardian consent and student assent: Parents and guardians were asked for the permission to collect information about their children. The consent process occurred in Fall/Winter 2021 after the random assignment of students. The consent process in each district was different due to district policies.In District 1, the records of all students in the study sample were shared with the research team. Parents were asked for their active consent to administer the ReadBasix and survey to their child and for permission to include their child's records in this research file. The records of students whose parents did not consent to the inclusion of their child's records in this research file are suppressed, but they were used in the evaluation findings for the study. In District 2, parents were separately asked for their permission to administer the ReadBasix and survey to their child, and to access their child's records and include them in this research file. A separate consent question was included in the consent form for the ReadBasix/survey and student records, allowing parents to consent to their child's participation in one type of data collection but not the other.
description: Response Rates: The most important factor affecting response rates is parent consent. Contacting and communicating with parents continued to be challenging in SY 2021-22 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in low consent form return rates. Other factors affecting response rates are that students had to be present on the days the reading assessment and survey were administered and they had to assent to taking the assessment and survey. The proportion of students included in the analysis sample differs by data source and by district:
District 1: 93% (administrative records) and 48% (reading assessment/survey)
District 2: 20% (administrative records) and 10% (reading assessment/survey)
description: Presence of Common Scales: Motivations for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ) and Enhanced Reading Opportunities (ERO) Study
description: The study was conducted in 11 middle schools in two school districts in school year 2021-2022. There are 6 study schools in District 1 and 5 study schools in District 2. In total, there are 398 eligible students in the study sample (166 students in District 1 and 232 students in District 2).
description: Datasets: 
DS1: Evaluation of the Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI), United States, 2020-2022
description: Middle school students reading below grade level.
description: cognitive assessment test; web-based surveyThe data in this file were collected for An Evaluation of the Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI) in two urban school districts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please visit the STARI study website for additional information.