Since 2006, the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools (CLAS), in partnership with the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE), has provided schools across Alabama with access to Stride™, an award-winning adaptive digital learning solution from Fuel Education^â (FuelEd^â), to improve student outcomes and to better engage individual students in school. To test the effectiveness of the program, the Auburn University Center for Evaluation (ACE) analyzed ACT® Aspire® data for students using Stride and compared it to scores of their matched peers. The study, “Data Analysis and Evaluation of the Motivated Data Stride Computer-Online Learning Program and its Impact on ACT Aspire Results,” found Stride was “successful during the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 school years in improving academic achievement in targeted schools.”

Key findings from the study include:

• Students who used Stride improved math benchmark pass rates by 15 percent compared to their demographically matched peers who improved pass rates by 8 percent.
• Students who used Stride improved reading benchmark pass rates by 10 percent whereas their peers showed no statistically significant change.
• Students who used Stride and are economically disadvantaged improved math pass rates by 23 percent whereas their peers showed no statistically significant change.
• African American students who used Stride and are economically disadvantaged improved at a greater rate than their peers for math pass rates (23 percent vs. 10 percent) and reading pass rates (18 percent vs. 13 percent).
• Students who are in special education and used Stride improved reading benchmark pass rates by 57 percent compared to an improvement of 33 percent by their matched peers.

The study states, “Overall, the evidence provided in this report suggests that Stride is a valuable method of improving scores for any student. However, those with the most to gain appear to receive the greatest benefit from participation.”

Charles A. Gardner, Ed.S., principal of Hokes Bluff Elementary School in Etowah County, AL, and a 2016 NAESP Distinguished Principal, agrees that Stride is effective for his students. “Stride gives students confidence because it meets the student at his or her particular level of ability,” said Gardner. “Students are motivated by the coin-based reward system and the gaming component, and it is a great example of learning while having fun. Additionally, we use Stride’s data analytics in our monthly data meetings to provide the teachers with important information regarding student achievement. Stride reports are easily understood and we can provide them to parents in parent/teacher conferences so that parents can see their children’s progress.”

“Stride is appropriate for use in both classroom and after-school settings,” said Sean Ryan, General Manager at FuelEd. “More importantly the ACE study suggests that when students interact with Stride’s engaging content, they are more likely to make greater academic gains than their peers.”

In Stride, students are motivated to master math, language arts, reading, and science concepts by the prospect of earning “coins” they can redeem for gaming time. A variety of content ensures students are engaged and the adaptive question engine helps them focus on the concepts they need to practice. The built-in assessments allow teachers to gauge preparedness for end-of-course and end-of year tests and can help track student performance and guide instructional intervention. Stride is online so it can be accessed anytime, anywhere on a variety of devices, including tablets and Chromebooks.                                                                                                                                           

“The key findings from this research affirm the work of students, teachers, administrators, and our CLAS Academic Specialists, as well as validate the academic benefits of the Stride adaptive learning platform,” said Dr. L. Earl Franks, CAE, recently retired CLAS Executive Director. “Furthermore, we are extremely honored and proud to be affiliated with a program that provides these types of exceptional results for Alabama students. We are also appreciative to the Alabama Department of Education, the Alabama State Board of Education, and the Alabama Legislature for providing much needed at-risk funding to assist those students and schools who need it most.”

Fuel Education will host a webinar on Stride on Tuesday, July 25, 2017 at 3:30 pm ET. Register here: http://online.fueleducation.com/StrideWebinar-Reg.html. To learn more about Stride, visit fueleducation.com/stride.