When the early reports post COVID sounded the alarm on the lack of student progress, The Los Angeles Times highlighted that the disparity was greatest among disadvantaged populations. And while the recent news is less promising than hoped for, there are shining examples of learning tools that are making a difference—Nearpod being one of them.

Foster a love of learning in every student with Nearpod. Teachers can sign up for free below to access and create interactive lessons. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

Research reveals Nearpod’s positive impact on math and ELA performance

LearnPlatform by Instructure, a third-party edtech efficacy research company, first partnered with Nearpod in 2023 to successfully conduct an ESSA Level III study. LearnPlatform just released a second independent study highlighting that Nearpod has earned an ESSA Evidence Level II rating designating “Moderate Evidence” for impacting student outcomes as shown in the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) spring tests. The team looked at a sample of 6,087 students from 25 schools in one California K-12 district during the 2022-2023 school year to determine the impact of Nearpod on student performance. 89% of the students were from low-income backgrounds, 20% were English language learners (ELLs), and 13% had Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).

What is ESSA Level II Evidence?

ESSA, the Every Student Succeeds Act signed by President Obama in 2015, is a commitment to equal opportunity for all students. It emphasizes the importance of evidenced-based investment in products proven to make a difference by publishing rigorous research on their efficacy.

The study performed by LearnPlatform satisfied all of the ESSA evidence requirements for Level II: Proper design and implementation, including: 

• Valid and reliable outcome measure that is not overaligned with the intervention 
• Baseline equivalence for treatment and comparison groups 
• Statistical controls through covariates 
• At least 350 students in the analysis sample 
• Representative, multi-site study
• At least one statistically significant, positive finding

Nearpod’s designation as meeting Level II requirements means that the researchers were confident that the increased scores observed during the study were due to an intervention using Nearpod.

The research questions focused on the following:

• What was the impact of Nearpod on students’ ELA and math 2022-2023 summative outcomes? 
• What was the impact of Nearpod on ELA and math 2022-2023 summative outcomes for English language learners? 
• What was the impact of Nearpod on ELA and math 2022-2023 summative outcomes for students on an IEP?

Nearpod’s ESSA Level II Evidence

Zeroing in on grades 4-8, the quasi-experimental study aimed to better understand the impact of Nearpod on the students’ learning outcomes. Worth noting is that this sample of students was 85% Hispanic and 14% Black or African American—representative of student populations most at risk. The study found that with 83% of the students interacting with Nearpod-created content for an average of just 7.2 weeks (which amounted to an average of 16 sessions launched), there was a statistically significant impact on student learning overall and for those with IEPS.

Key Results: English Language Arts (ELA)

Looking at adjusted CAASPP scale scores for English language arts (ELA) achievement, those who used Nearpod compared to students in similar grades who did not use Nearpod had higher scores in the following grades:

• 8th graders had higher scores: 2558 v. 2534
• 8th graders with IEPs had higher scores: 2469 v 2430
• 5th graders with IEPs had higher scores: 2428 v 2404

Key Results: Math

Looking at adjusted CAASPP scores for math achievement, those who used Nearpod compared to students in similar grades who did not use Nearpod had higher scores in the following grades:

• 8th graders had higher scores: 2516 v. 2486
• 6th graders had higher scores: 2501 v. 2483
• 6th graders with IEPs had higher scores: 2424 v 2393

Impact student learning with Nearpod

Nearpod continues to be a “fan favorite” since its introduction more than 10 years ago, due to its rigorous approach to engaging students in active learning. Classroom teachers and school administrators rely on Nearpod’s vast library of expert-created content, intuitive interactive learning activities, and real-time data reports, which have a proven track record of leading to better instructional strategies and better student outcomes.

Educators can tailor their approach to engage students in high-quality, research-backed interactive lessons, whether for the whole class, small groups, or 1:1 instruction. At a time when math and reading scores continue to sound alarms, this impact study and ESSA Level II recognition will continue to bolster educators’ confidence in leveraging Nearpod across the curriculum. Nearpod is dedicated to improving the instructional experience for all kids by making sure that they can make real-world, relevant connections through culturally responsive pedagogy. And these outcomes don’t just address short-term needs—they also enable schools to build positive cultures by looking long-term when it comes to leaning on data-driven methodology to increase motivation, engagement, and retention. Along with better outcomes, such efforts can promote a deeper sense of belonging and dedication to 21st-century skills for students, plus progression growth and job satisfaction for teachers.

Start using Nearpod

Despite the dismal data about reading and math achievement scores nationwide following the COVID shutdown, we are beginning to see a few glimmering examples of schools helping students make strides forward. Early on, Nearpod doubled down on its commitment to help schools modify their instructional plans in order to reengage students into hybrid and in-person instruction. And this most recent recognition of earning the second-highest ranking, ESSA Level II, showcases how Nearpod can be part of a school’s comprehensive solution to helping all students reach higher and achieve more.

Foster a love of learning in every student with Nearpod. Teachers can sign up for free below to access and create interactive lessons. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

Darri Stephens

Darri Stephens is a dedicated LX (learning experience) designer, passionate about creating quality content and programs for kids, families, and educators. With MAs in Education from both Harvard and Stanford, and work experience at best-in-class ed tech organizations including Wonder Workshop, Nickelodeon, and Common Sense Education, she is steeped in the design thinking process and committed to agile and iterative project management, which has resulted in multi-award-winning programs and products.

The post Research reveals Nearpod’s positive impact on Math and ELA performance appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

Look across the multitude of surveys and studies asking teachers about the obstacles they face in delivering quality instruction, and often the underlying issue is related to the lack of time. Time is such a precious commodity in teaching. Educators don’t have the time to assess and address individuals’ learning needs by having quality content and programming on hand. Too often, they find themselves scrambling to identify high-quality resources or modify a lesson for a student during a new school year. At the same time—or lack thereof—educators are also trying to keep up with the changing landscape of education by staying abreast of the latest and greatest teaching practices themselves, whether it’s new tools, technology, research, or pedagogy.

The power of Nearpod

Since its inception more than 10 years ago, Nearpod has aimed to optimize teachers’ instructional time by promoting student motivation, engagement, and achievement. It supports educators with intuitive tools, real-time data, and a plethora of curated content resulting in effective instruction. Nearpod’s core principles focus on:

• Transforming students’ educational experiences through active learning
• Providing rigorous, scaffolded content that appeals to students while aligning to core standards
• Illustrating real-time data to highlight individual and group insights to guide meaningful instruction and feedback

Nearpod makes it easy for teachers to source high-quality, research-backed, interactive lessons for whole class, small groups, and 1:1 instruction to accelerate learning for every student at a time when math and reading scores are lower than ever. A new LearnPlatform by Instructure research study explores the relationship between Nearpod usage and student outcomes, and shows that Nearpod satisfies ESSA Level III (Promising Evidence) standards.

What are the ESSA Tiers of Evidence?

The ESSA Tiers of Evidence provide districts and schools with a framework for determining which programs, practices, strategies, and interventions work in which contexts and for which students.” This framework helps school leaders and administrators confidently choose evidence-based interventions since the ratings are related to five factors:

• Study design
• Results of the study
• Finding from related studies
• Sample size and setting
• Match

To achieve a rating, the research studies’ methodologies should thus point to interventions bettering student outcomes. With LearnPlatform’s most recent findings, Nearpod earned a Tier III rating of “Promising Evidence.”

Nearpod ESSA Evidence Level III

Background

Nearpod collaborated with LearnPlatform by Instructure, a reputable edtech research company, to conduct the recent 2021-2022 study. LearnPlatform analyzed the top 100 most-used edtech platforms from August 1-December 31, 2022, and found that of the 100 tools, only 26 had published research aligned to ESSA. With the release of this report, Nearpod is one of few tools featured in the LearnPlatform Top 100 to have studies that satisfy ESSA Evidence Level III or better.

Overview

The study focused on an extensive sample size of 28,968 students and 4,020 teachers from various grade levels within a large, urban school district in Texas and sought to answer if Nearpod implementation was associated with better student performance at the end of the year. According to LearnPlatform, researchers used descriptive and correlational analytic approaches, including student-level covariates (including prior achievement when available), to control selection bias.

• Was Nearpod implementation associated with higher student scores on end-of-year ELA and math STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness)?
• Did the relationship between the average weekly frequency of Nearpod sessions and student STAAR scores differ by the consistency of usage?
• Did the relationship between the average weekly frequency of Nearpod sessions and student STAAR scores differ for English learner students?

Summary of research findings

Based on the strong results, Nearpod meets ESSA Level III evidence standards. LearnPlatform’s research findings highlight three key takeaways for classrooms that used Nearpod on average 4 times per week for a duration of 10-15 weeks. First, Nearpod positively impacts students’ end-of-year State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR), with students scoring higher in ELA and math. Educators and administrators can rely on Nearpod to deliver on its goal of efficacy when it comes to improving student performance throughout the school year. Second, a direct correlation exists between increased Nearpod sessions and higher student STAAR scores. This positive relationship underscores frequent and consistent usage of Nearpod boosts student performance. Third, Nearpod was able to support English language learners. Nearpod’s interactive digital content and learning activities support language learners in a more personalized approach, and thus, the frequency of Nearpod sessions also impacts English learners’ STAAR scores.

Impact student learning with Nearpod

This latest study from LearnPlatform augments a prior study conducted in 2019 by MBZ Labs in Hendry County, Florida that indicated Nearpod satisfied ESSA Level II requirements. As classroom teachers and school leaders seek to optimize each and every minute of the school day, high-quality and evidence-based tools like Nearpod provide educators with the confidence to identify a quality edtech solution for diverse school communities. They need to rely on edtech platforms that are truly research-based to transform teaching and learning practices. With an evidence standards rating like ESSA Level II and Level III, educators can continue to rely on Nearpod with confidence in its impact on student outcomes (also named the top-ranked Supplemental Platform in the most recent LearnPlatform Top 40 most widely used edtech tools report).

Foster a love of learning in every student with Nearpod. Teachers can sign up for free below to access and create interactive lessons. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

Nearpod Team

Nearpod’s award-winning platform is used by thousands of schools around the globe, transforming classroom engagement.

nearpod.com/

The post Elevate student outcomes: Unveiling the research-backed impact of Nearpod appeared first on Nearpod Blog.