Research on CARS & STARS Success

Successful Results with CARS & STARS

In an academic study of reading success, students using STARS instruction showed significant improvement on foundational reading skills. The CARS & STARS treatment group in year 3 scored 40% higher on the post test than did the control group. Struggling learners showed especially strong growth, with scores that jumped 40–79% in just 18 weeks.

For more information on this study of the instructional effectiveness of CARS & STARS, click here. 

Research Confirms the Instructional Effectiveness of CARS & STARS

Research over several decades has supported the belief that explicit and focused instruction on reading strategies improves reading comprehension and raises achievement levels for ALL students in assessments of reading comprehension. The Educational Research Institute of America (ERIA) was commissioned to determine whether the reading programs, Comprehensive Assessment of Reading Strategies and Strategies to Achieve Reading Success (CARS & STARS), published in Australia by Hawker Brownlow Education, improved students' reading comprehension strategies and raised test scores.

The ERIA study was conducted in three states in the USA – California, Florida and New York – for students in years 3 and 7. The schools selected provided both the study group and the control group classes and were classified as disadvantaged in that they had large populations of students who were from low socioeconomic and minority communities or who were struggling readers.

The study was designed to answer two questions:

1. Does the CARS & STARS program improve reading comprehension strategies in years 3 and 7?
2. Was the CARS & STARS program equally effective in improving reading comprehension strategies of lower-performing students as well as higher-performing students in years 3 and 7?

The conclusion, substantiated by the data, is that classroom instruction using the CARS & STARS reading comprehension program resulted in significant gains from Pretest to Post Test for ALL students. Most significantly, the program was equally effective in improving the reading comprehension strategies of both lower-performing and higher-performing students.

For more information on the study, click here.