Evaluation of the Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI), United States, 2020-2022

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.