International Schools
Fast ForWord programmes have been extensively researched in primary, middle and high schools throughout the world. The international school research includes independent research studies conducted by more than 100 school districts in the US and Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Singapore and the UK, offering truly unbiased proof of the effectiveness of Fast ForWord® as a learning tool.
US School Based Research
State |
District |
Results |
Alaska |
Juneau School District (2004-2005) |
Students made significant gains in oral language skills. Average Spoken Language Quotient scores increased almost two-thirds of a standard deviation with scores improving from the 16th percentile to the 39th percentile. |
Alabama |
Shelby County School District |
Early elementary school students made significant gains in reading skills and doubled their reading rate. More information… |
Shelby County School District |
Low-performing students significantly improved their cognitive, early reading and language skills and exceeded their expected language acquisition rate. More information… |
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Arizona |
Paradise Valley Unified School District (2001-2002) |
Students made significant improvements in language and early reading skills. They attained a mean standard score improvement of 12 points, nearly one standard deviation of improvement. More information… |
Arkansas |
Pottsville School District (2003-2004) |
Fast ForWord products accelerated the reading acquisition for this group of students, helping them achieve 11 months reading gain in 9 months. More information… |
California |
California State Report |
Students in a Title 1 school in California made significant gains in language and reading skills. More information… |
Los Banos Unified School District (2003-2004) |
In an after school program with Fast ForWord, a diverse group of students (161) made significant gains. They demonstrated an increase in the total language quotient from a score of 68.7 to 77.0 (TOLD 1-3) and showed improvement in listening skills–scores rose from 75.8 to 82.4. More information… |
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Oakland Unified School District |
Low-performing secondary students gained 15 months in reading ability. |
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Pacifica School District (2000-2002) |
Low-performing students made significant improvements in language, reading, spelling and mathematics skills. In addition, between the two assessment times, the students showed a clear shift in their performance levels towards the higher performance bands of the Academic Performance Index (API). |
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Redlands Unified School District (2002-2004) |
Students made significant improvements in their academic achievement and had greater gains than their peers. The number of students performing at a level of Basic or higher on the CSTs reached 48%, more than double the level before participation. More information… |
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Connecticut |
Milford City School District |
On average students made significant improvements in their reading ability and moved from the 26th percentile to the 35th percentile. More information… |
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Stamford City School District |
Students showed significant improvement on all three subtests of the CTOPP (Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing). They moved from below average or low average range to the average range for all subtests. Students evaluated with the DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) were below their reading level and showed significant gains moving closer to their required DRA reading level. More information… |
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Trumbull Public Schools |
This study encompassed two groups of students. One group used Fast ForWord during the academic year improving from the 16th percentile to the 34th percentile. The second group, who used Fast ForWord products over the summer, built upon that foundation during the school year by moving from the 33rd percentile to the 42nd percentile. More information… |
Delaware |
Christina School District |
Evaluated using the DSTP (Delaware Student Testing Program) students improved significantly; moving from the 36th percentile to the 47th percentile. More information… |
Florida |
Bay District Schools |
On average, the students who used Fast ForWord products made significant improvements in reading achievement. In addition, the participants’ Developmental Scale Scores on the FCAT increased nearly twice as much year over year, compared with students statewide in comparable grades. |
Bridges Academy (2004-2006) |
Students with learning disabilities significantly improved their reading ability, improving from the 11th percentile to the 26th percentile. More information… |
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Escambia County School District (2000-2001) |
Middle and high school students achieved significant gains in listening comprehension and oral expression skills. More information… |
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Miami-Dade County Public Schools (2003-2004) |
A group of students who were struggling readers made significant improvements in reading achievement, with 93% of the students improving their FCAT Reading Scale Score and 54% of the students improving their FCAT Reading Level by two or more levels after using Fast ForWord products. More information… |
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Osceola County School District |
A group of students receiving special education services made significant improvements in reading skills on the Florida State Assessment. |
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Seminole County School District (2004-2005) |
On average, students made significant improvements, with the Fast ForWord students significantly outperforming the comparison group and gaining approximately a third of a standard deviation in measures of reading ability. Results were seen across grade and academic ability. More information… |
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Georgia |
Cobb County School District (2001-2002) |
Elementary school students in a large urban school district significantly improved their reading skills. More information… |
Idaho |
Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 |
Students had significant gains in reading achievement following Fast ForWord use, with 40% of participants meeting state performance standards in reading. More information… |
Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 (2005-2006) |
Students made significant gains in reading achievement with twice as many achieving reading proficiency. More information… |
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Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 (At-Risk Students) (2003) |
Middle and high school students made significant gains in vocabulary skills and maintained these gains for up to one year. More information… |
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Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 (Longitudinal) |
Students made significant gains in reading achievement and continued to show improvement up to 18 months after Fast ForWord participation. More information… |
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Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 (Middle and High School Students) (2003-2004) |
Middle and high school students significantly improved in reading achievement and had above average gains on the state assessment. More information… |
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Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 (Sequential Product Use) |
Students sequentially made greater improvements in reading skills than a comparison group. More information… |
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Illinois |
Schaumburg School District 54 (1998) |
Students maintained significant gains in vocabulary and overall language skills for up to one year. More information… |
Kansas |
Smoky Hill Education Service Center, KS |
Fast ForWord participants in the Smoky Hill Education Service Center gained 11 months in reading grade level. More information… |
Kentucky |
Boone County School District |
Students made significant improvements on their language and reading skills. In eleven months, the elementary school students improved their reading achievement by an average of 2 years, and in one year, the middle school students improved their reading achievement by an average of 16 months. More information… |
Boone County School District |
Students sequentially made greater improvements in reading skills than a comparison group. More information… |
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Erlanger-Elsmere Independent School District (2004-2005) |
Third graders significantly improved their reading ability, gaining nearly five months in reading grade level. More information… |
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Fulton County Schools |
Students reading ability improved significantly, improving from the 10th percentile to the 19th percentile. More information… |
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Marshall County School District (2003-2004) |
Kindergarteners who used Fast ForWord Basics showed significant gains in phonological awareness skills. More information… |
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Louisiana |
Lafayette Parish School System (2004-2005) |
Students made significant gains on various measures of reading and language abilities, with some students improving by as much as 22 percentile points on the ITBS. More information…
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Maryland |
Anne Arundel County Public Schools (2003-2004) |
After using a combination of Fast ForWord products and direct instruction, students in this study had one of highest levels of proficient readers in the district among students receiving special education services. More information… |
Worcester County Public School District (2003-2006) |
Students showed significant improvements on the Maryland state achievement test with the number of students who achieved a level of Proficient doubling between the 2005 and 2006 administrations. In addition, Fast ForWord participants showed significant improvements on the GMRT, Scantron and Yopp-Singer Test of Phoneme Segmentation. More information… |
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Massachusetts |
Hingham Public School District |
On average, students made substantial gains in reading ability and improved 11 months in reading grade level. More information… |
Weymouth Public Schools |
Students who used Fast ForWord during summer school significantly improved their oral language skills, and as a group moved from the 16th percentile to the 24th percentile. More information… |
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Michigan |
Kentwood Public Schools |
First graders who used Fast ForWord met end of the year benchmark goals in most skills evaluated. More information… |
Minnesota |
Brainerd School District |
Students significantly improved their language skills and outperformed a comparison group in measures of reading abilities. More information… |
Mora School District |
The oral language abilities of students showed significant improvements relative to a comparison group, with the average improvements in Quotients ranging from one-half to two-thirds of a standard deviation. More information… |
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Mississippi |
Lamar County School District (2005-2006) |
Students meet state standards for reading proficiency after using Fast ForWord products. More information… |
Petal School District |
Third through eighth graders made significant gains on their state assessment test. More information… |
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Missouri |
Columbia School District |
Students overall achieved significant gains in reading skills, improving over five months in Vocabulary and over a year in Comprehension. The average gain in total reading skills based on these subtests was close to eleven months. More information… |
Montana |
Harlem School District 12 |
Students significantly improved their academic performance, gaining a year’s growth in reading and mathematical ability. |
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New Jersey |
Cherry Hill Public School District (1999) |
The students who used Fast ForWord products made significant improvements in their language abilities and made significantly greater gains than the students who took part in the regular classroom curriculum alone. |
Rockaway Township School District (1999-2003) |
Students struggling with language and reading significantly improved their language and early reading skills. More information… |
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New Mexico |
Albuquerque Public School District |
On average, students made significant improvements in their language and reading skills, gaining up to two year levels. |
New York |
Buffalo Hearing and Speech Center (2001-2002) |
At a private school for adolescents with emotional or behavioral difficulties, students made gains of 2 years and 7 months in language skills. More information… |
Cattaraugus-Allegany-Erie-Wyoming BOCES (2005-2006) |
Students who used Fast ForWord gained up to 19 months in reading year level. |
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Niagara Falls City School District (2003-2004) |
Students made significant improvements on their cognitive and language skills with the group moving from the low- or below-average range solidly into the average range. |
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Niagara Falls City School District (2004-2005) |
Struggling students made significant gains in cognitive and language abilities, with average cognitive and language scores reaching the 2nd or 3rd quartile. More information… |
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North Carolina |
Wake County Public School District |
A diverse group of students showed significant gains in reading achievement after sequential use of Fast ForWord products. More information… |
Ohio |
Hicksville Exempted Village School District (2005-2006) |
Fast ForWord students made gains in reading skills on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests, gaining nearly a year in comprehension skills in just four months. More information… |
Oregon City School District (2003-2004) |
On average, students made significant improvements in reading achievement, with 69% of the students improving one or more levels on the state assessment and 47% achieving proficiency. |
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Springfield City School District |
On average, students made significant improvements, with the Fast ForWord participants significantly outperforming the comparison group and gaining over half a standard deviation in phonological awareness. |
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Washington Local School District (2003-2004) |
Elementary school students made significant improvements in reading achievement, with the majority increasing at least one performance level on the Ohio state assessment after Fast ForWord use. More information… |
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Washington Local School District |
Students made significant gains in reading achievement, with 86% improving one or more levels on the OAT after participating in Fast ForWord products. More information… |
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Oklahoma |
Pawhuska Independent School District (Spring 2001) |
Students had significant improvements in their assessment scores, with the Fast ForWord students improving by over 60% more points than the comparison group. More information… |
Poteau School District |
Students gained an average of ten months in reading ability and increased their reading rate by 57%. More information… |
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Pennsylvania |
Pennsylvania State Report |
Fast ForWord participants in a Title 1 school made significant gains in language skills. More information… |
Bethlehem Area School District (2003-2004) |
Students made significant gains and outperformed a comparison group in measures of phonemic awareness and reading ability after using Fast ForWord products in a randomized control trial. |
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Franklin Regional School District (Spring 2006) |
Elementary school students made significant gains in reading skills. More information… |
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Harrisburg School District |
On average, students had significant improvements on their TOLD-P3 scores with the Spoken Language Quotient improving over one standard deviation. More information… |
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Hempfield School District |
Students identified as “non-proficient” by their teachers made significant gains in their reading achievement. More information… |
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Monessen City School District |
Students met benchmark goals and had average improvements in oral reading fluency of 58% after Fast ForWord participation. More information… |
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School District of Philadelphia |
After Fast ForWord participation, academically low-performing students significantly outperformed a comparison group in reading achievement. |
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School District of Philadelphia (2004-2005) |
Academically low-performing students who used Fast ForWord products significantly out performed a comparison group in reading achievement. More information… |
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School District of Philadelphia (Kindergarten Students) (2004-2005) |
Kindergarten students successfully used Fast ForWord products to improve their early reading skills. More information… |
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School District of Philadelphia |
On average, students who used Fast ForWord made thirteen months of improvement between September and March, a particularly impressive amount in consideration of their previous struggles (1.8 years behind for students at an average grade level of 5.7). More information… |
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School District of Philadelphia (Students Receiving Special Education Services) (1999) |
Students who were receiving special education services gained over three years in language ability after Fast ForWord participation. |
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School District of Philadelphia |
On average, the students who used Fast ForWord Language made significant improvements in both Reading vocabulary and reading comprehension as measured by the GRADE. More information… |
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Union City Area School District |
On average, students showed significant gains in reading skills and improved five levels on the DRA after Fast ForWord participation More information… |
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Williamsport Area School District (2004-2005) |
After Fast ForWord use, students significantly improved their reading skills and achieved their benchmark goal in oral reading fluency. More information… |
Rhode Island |
Portsmouth School District |
Students significantly improved in reading ability, with 85% of participants meeting benchmark goals. More information… |
South Carolina |
Lancaster County School District |
On average, students who used the 30-Minute Protocol of the Fast ForWord to Reading 1 product made gains in early reading skills similar to those of students using other protocols. More information… |
South Dakota |
Todd County School District |
Fourth graders had higher oral reading fluency rates than a comparison group and greater accuracy on grade-appropriate material after using Fast ForWord. |
Todd County School District |
Native American students who used Fast ForWord Language Basics made improvements in early reading skills. |
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Tennessee |
Grainger County School District (2002-2003) |
Fifth and sixth grade students who used Fast ForWord significantly outperformed a comparison group in assessments of language and reading skills. More information… |
Hamilton County School District (2004-2005) |
Elementary school students made substantial academic gains, with 90% of participants meeting state performance standards in reading. |
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Manchester City School District (2001-2001) |
Fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students significantly exceeded expected scores in state testing of language and reading skills. More information… |
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Manchester City School District (2004-2005) |
Students made significant improvements on the various assessments, with percentiles improving as much as 25 units on the TOPA and 13 units on the DRP. More information… |
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Weakley County School District (2004-2005) |
Students made significant improvements, gaining 11 months in reading ability after an average of six months of Fast ForWord. More information… |
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Texas |
Amarillo Independent School District |
Students who used Fast ForWord products showed 73% greater gains, achieving a TGI of 0.19. They significantly outperformed their expected gains on the TAKS, and the number of students meeting the state reading standard increased dramatically.More information… |
Dallas Independent School District (2005-2006) |
Middle and high school student improved significantly in reading comprehension skills. More information… |
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Dallas Independent School District (2004-2005) |
High school students gain 11 months in reading comprehension. |
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Dallas Independent School District (Alternative High School) |
Low-performing high school students who used Fast ForWord products gained 2 grade levels in reading performance. More information… |
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Dallas Independent School District (Diverse Students) (2001-2001) |
A diverse group of students improved assessment test scores in a variety of subjects, including reading and math. More information… |
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Dallas Independent School District (ELL and Special Education Students) (2004-2005) |
High school students who were learning English or were receiving special education services significantly improved their reading comprehension skills by up to 2 years. More information… |
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El Campo Independent School District (At-Risk Students) (2004-2005) |
Elementary school students at risk for academic failure gained 14 months in reading grade level after Fast ForWord product use. More information… |
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El Campo Independent School District (30-Minute Protocol) (2004-2005) |
Elementary students had significant gains of three months improvement in reading grade-level after Fast ForWord participation with a 30-Minute Protocol. More information… |
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Eustace Independent School District (2005-2006) |
First graders were reading at grade level and 84% of students were reading at an accuracy level of “Independent” following Fast ForWord participation. |
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Harlandale Independent School District (Spring 2001) |
Fast ForWord students made significant improvements in their reading achievement, improving by over 60% more points than the comparison group. More information… |
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Joshua Independent School District (2004-2005) |
Students made significant improvements and were reading at grade-level after Fast ForWord use. Students had average gains of ten months in math performance and 44% increase in reading fluency. More information… |
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Killeen Independent School District (2002-2003) |
Fast ForWord students demonstrated accelerated reading acquisition which continued after Fast ForWord use. More information… |
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La Joya Independent School District (2004-2005) |
Elementary school students made significant gains in early reading skills. |
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Texas State Report (1999-2001) |
Fast ForWord students in a Title I school made significant gains in language and reading skills after sequential use of Fast ForWord products. |
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Texas State Report (2004-2005) |
Second through fifth graders made significant improvements in phonological processing skills, fluency and reading ability. |
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United Independent School District (2004-2005) |
High school students who were receiving services for special education made significant improvements in their reading skills, gaining an average of nine months improvement in reading comprehension. More information… |
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Van Independent School District (2004-2006) |
At-risk students gained one year in reading grade equivalent and were reading at grade level. More information… |
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Wichita Falls Independent School District (2004-2005) |
Third and fifth graders made significant improvements in vocabulary and comprehension skills. More information… |
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Virginia |
Bristol City Public Schools |
Students improved their early reading skills by three levels. More information… |
Virginia Department of Corrections (2003-2004) |
Students in juvenile correctional facilities showed accelerated reading acquisition with significant gains in reading ability. More information… |
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Virginia Department of Corrections (2004-2005) |
Students at juvenile correctional facilities gained over one year reading skills. More information… |
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Virginia Department of Corrections (2005-2006) |
Students who took the STAR improved their reading skills by an average of one year after Fast ForWord participation, while students who took the WJ-III improved their broad reading skills by six months. More information… |
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Washington |
Clover Park School District |
Students improved up to one-half of a standard deviation on measures of overall reading ability. More information… |
Puyallup School District |
Academically at-risk students significantly improved their language skills and phonemic awareness. More information… |
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Wisconsin |
Berlin School District |
Elementary school students significantly improved their cognitive and early reading skills and had greater gains than a comparison group. More information… |
Burlington Area School District |
Students made significant gains in reading skills following Fast ForWord use, improving by more than one year after approximately 3 months. More information… |
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Waupun School District |
Students who were performing at grade level made significant gains in listening comprehension skills. More information… |
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Wyoming |
Albany County School District |
Students improved from the 18th percentile to the 54th percentile in language skills after using Fast ForWord products. More information… |
Country |
District |
Results |
Australia |
Western Australia |
Fast ForWord participants made statistically significant gains, outperforming a comparison group on a battery of language and literacy tests. More information... |
Canada |
School District 16, New Brunswick |
Fast ForWord students outperform a comparison group and reach the high average or above average range on evaluations of early reading skills. More information… |
Germany |
Planegg, Germany |
Students made significant gains in language achievement following Fast ForWord use, with performance improving more than one standard deviation. More information… |
India |
Nalanda Institute |
Bilingual English students who participated in Fast ForWord improved their cognitive skills from the 29th to the 41st percentile. More information… |
Ireland |
Neuron Learning and SMART Education |
Reading comprehension for students in Ireland who used Fast ForWord products improved two years. More information… |
Singapore |
KidzGrow |
Struggling readers, with and without auditory processing disorders, made gains in reading fluency after Fast ForWord participation. |
United Kingdom |
Innovative Therapies |
Students with speech and language difficulties in the UK who used Fast ForWord products improved their auditory processing skills from the 5th to the 37th percentile. More information… |
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