The Learning Ally Audiobook Solution® has proven to be a powerful tool for empowering students with dyslexia and other learning differences. Our extensive collection of case studies demonstrates the effectiveness of this innovative resource in school systems across the country. By embracing the philosophy that “listening is learning,” educators have witnessed remarkable improvements in student engagement, comprehension, and overall academic performance. The Audiobook Solution supports inclusive education practices, providing equitable access to grade-level content for struggling readers and those with print disabilities. These success stories highlight how audiobooks can be a game-changer, fostering independence, boosting confidence, and closing the achievement gap for diverse learners. With Learning Ally’s human-read audiobooks, students can focus on understanding and analyzing content rather than decoding text, ultimately enhancing their learning experience and academic outcomes.
Breakthrough Literacy Results in Denver School System
Breakthrough results were achieved with struggling readers, who saw double the rate of reading growth with an ease of effort and time investment for educators through the implementation of the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution®. Educators, students, and families throughout the study experienced the benefits of student reading achievement, including academic success, heightened motivation, reduced frustration, and a culture that fosters a joy and celebration of reading.
The Challenge: Struggling Readers Nationwide
In 2019, 65% of American students read at a level considered below proficient. This challenge can be particularly acute among underserved students, especially those who struggle to read due to neurological differences that impair reading, including conditions like dyslexia. The data suggest that schools and districts wishing to improve reading performance need solutions that enable educators to deliver evidence-based reading support to their students who struggle to read. As children age— and learning shifts from learning to read to reading to learn—support can mean the difference between learning from reading or suffering sustained academic failure.
TARGETING THE CHALLENGE
In 2017, this nationwide struggle led a large Denver school system to turn to Learning Ally to support their students who were at risk of falling behind because they struggled to read grade-level text. They were also facing an imperative to be inclusive in their schools and accessible to all families.
» Students used the Learning Ally Audiobooks App to download books and read, thereby developing essential comprehension and background knowledge necessary to make progress in their education.
» Educators used the Learning Ally Educator Portal to help students select books and monitor their progress during school and throughout the summer.
Methodology
To measure the impact of the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution (ABS), the Denver school system provided student performance data related to reading level performance, as measured by the STAR Assessment. Students in grades 3-8 were evaluated over a series of three benchmark assessments during the 2018-2019 school year. The Learning Ally Audiobook Solution measured the extent to which students engage and achieve fidelity of the solution’s implementation. Learning Ally compared students’ performance on the STAR Assessment and the extent to which they demonstrated fidelity of implementation—or reading with frequency (at least 20 minutes a day for 33 days) showed correlations to reading level performance. Approximately 800 students attending 34 schools were included in the sample. The results were very significant.
Why the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution?
Learning Ally’s Audiobook Solution is a proven multisensory reading support designed for struggling readers in grades K-12. With an extensive library including thousands of human-read audiobooks, it provides equitable access to all the books students need and want to read, including curriculum-aligned textbooks, literature, and popular fiction. It enables deep comprehension, allowing students to keep pace with class and read to their cognitive capability. With a suite of educator tools for real-time progress monitoring and reporting, it helps educators implement personalized instruction and develop engaged learners, able to reach their full potential.
» For younger students, the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution builds fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
» For older students, the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution allows them to keep pace with class and work to their capability.
Results: Double the Rate of Reading Growth in Just 50 Days
Prior to using the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution (ABS), educators in the Denver school system could expect to improve reading levels among typical students who struggle to learn due to neurological differences in reading at a rate of about 0.4-grade levels of improvement. When examining students who engaged with ABS at rates indicative of reading with frequency, they typically achieved about double the rate of reading growth (0.9). In addition to students making about double the rate of reading growth, the probability of students achieving a full grade level of reading growth was almost twice as likely to occur when students were engaged in reading with ABS at rates approaching reading with frequency.
THE LEARNING ALLY AUDIOBOOK SOLUTION IN THE GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSROOM
Brigid Ryan, a 4th-grade teacher, implemented the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution and saw firsthand how it helped her struggling readers get through challenging textbooks and discover the joy of reading.
“Now that all my students have access to an audio version of the majority of our textbooks, I’ve seen how much growth they’ve had in subjects like science and social studies.”
– Brigid Ryan, Fourth Grade Teacher, Centennial, CO
THE LEARNING ALLY AUDIOBOOK SOLUTION FOR READING INTERVENTION
Kristen Trinder, a reading intervention teacher, speaks to her experiences with the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution, helping shift the educator, student, and parent experience from frustration and low motivation to confidence and success.
“Prior to having access to Learning Ally, not only did we have students who were struggling, but we had frustrated teachers as well….“It is a tool that simply helps level the playing field so that all students can have access to grade level material.”
– Kristen Trinder, Reading Intervention Teacher, Arvada, CO