95 Percent Group LLC, the trusted source for comprehensive, proven literacy solutions, today announced its 95 Phonics Core Program® earned the Research-Based Design for Instructional Learning Products: Product Certification from Digital Promise. This Product Certification underscores 95 Percent Group’s reputation for providing schools with trusted, evidence-based literacy programs and serves as a rigorous, reliable signal for district and school leaders, educators and families looking for products with a confirmed basis in research about learning.
To earn the certification, 95 Percent Group submitted evidence to Digital Promise confirming the connection between the Science of Reading and the design of its 95 Phonics Core Program. In addition, the company also demonstrated its commitment to making its robust research base clear and accessible to the public.
“This certification from Digital Promise is a testament to 95 Percent Group’s deep commitment to empowering teachers with resources and instructional approaches that are not only based in the Science of Reading, but that also demonstrate rigorous evidence of efficacy. A child’s path to literacy is one of the most important in their lives, and we take it very seriously,” said Brad Lindaas, Chief Executive Officer. “We will continue to invest in research to inform enhancements to our current programs and the development of new ones that unlock the power of literacy for all students.”
Grounded in the Science of Reading, the 95 Phonics Core Program is a whole-class, Tier 1 program that is based upon 95 Percent Group’s structured literacy instructional approach. Supporting explicit, structured phonics instruction for 30 minutes per day is proven to accelerate reading skills and prevent gaps for K-3 students. Instruction is based on a scope and sequence with 25 lessons for kindergarten and 30 lessons for grades 1-3.
“There are more than 8,000 products used in K-12 schools and fewer than 1 percent have earned this recognition,” said Rachel Schechter, Ph.D., Learning Experience Design (LXD) Research, who helped prepare the application.
“Educators and researchers continue to uncover important insights about how people learn,” said Christina Luke Luna, Chief Learning Officer, Pathways and Credentials at Digital Promise. “Digital Promise’s Research-Based Design Product Certification recognizes the edtech products that incorporate research about learning into their design and development. Congratulations to 95 Percent Group for demonstrating that research informs product design.”
The Research-Based Design Product Certification uses a competency-based learning framework, developed in consultation with Digital Promise’s Learner Variability Project advisory board, expert researchers in the Learning Sciences field, and nearly 50 educators across the United States. Further detail about its development can be found in Digital Promise’s reports, Designing Edtech that Matters for Learning: Research-Based Design Product Certifications (2020) and An Overlooked Indicator of Edtech Quality: The Use of Learning Sciences Research (2022).
Through Product Certifications, consumers can narrow their options as they select products based on research about learning before trying them out in their classrooms. Digital Promise launched the Research-Based Design Product Certification in February 2020, certifying more than 60 products to date.
About 95 Percent Group
Founded in 2005, 95 Percent Group is an education company whose mission is to help educators identify and address the needs of all readers. Using an approach that is aligned with structured literacy, the company focuses on providing educators with whole-class and small-group literacy solutions as well as developing foundational knowledge about The Science of Reading to deliver evidence and research-based instructional strategies. The company’s professional development, diagnostic assessments, skill continua, and explicit instructional materials strengthen MTSS/RTI frameworks and ensure that students receive targeted intervention instruction to close skill gaps.
