This study looked at 118 English Language Learner students who used Fast ForWord® products in the 2009-2010 school year from Everett Public Schools in Everett, MA. A small minority of the students also used the Fast ForWord products in the previous 2008-2009 school year. These students were tested in both 2009 and 2010 with the Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment, or the “MEPA” for short. The impact of Fast ForWord products was dramatic and positive. Following Fast ForWord participation, students averaged about 15 and a half scaled score points of improvement between 2009 and 2010. In addition, no student scored at proficiency level 1 (the lowest proficiency level) after using Fast ForWord products. On the other end of the spectrum, the number of students in the top two proficiency levels (levels 4 and 5) more than doubled, from 33 to 74 students. Finally, 68% of participants improved one or more proficiency levels; 26% maintained the same proficiency level they had in 2009; while only 6% dropped a level. This shift is statistically significant.
