PreK students who participated in Nevada’s UPSTART program had strong early literacy and math outcomes. The program’s effects were large enough to have a substantive impact on children’s learning and development, with a 42% return on investment. Benefits were similar for dual‑language and monolingual learners.
Study Focus: Home-Based
Utah Upstart Year 10 Results
UPSTART continues to help preschoolers build strong early literacy skills that last into kindergarten and first grade. In 2018–19, 87% of children graduated, and those who met usage goals showed stronger outcomes. Maintaining consistent participation is especially important for supporting at‑risk families, who are more likely to miss usage requirements.
Indiana Upstart Evaluation
UPSTART continues to strengthen preschoolers’ early literacy without hindering social development. Children using the program had statistically significant positive effects compared to control children on measures of early literacy. Increased program usage was associated with significantly higher literacy outcome scores, making consistent participation especially important for the most at‑risk families.
Utah Upstart Year 13 Results
UPSTART’s Cohort 13 results show 73% graduated, mostly by meeting usage goals. Students with full implementation support used the program more consistently. Over 90% of Upstart students achieved literacy and numeracy proficiency by program completion. Cohort 12 longitudinal findings showed most UPSTART students maintained literacy and numeracy grade-ready through kindergarten.
Can Children Achieve Literacy Gains During the Summer?
Waterford Early Learning supported literacy skills in the summer before kindergarten, with students showing strong outcomes across all demographics. With just 20 minutes of daily learning, students improved their literacy scores over the summer program. Findings suggest that WEL can help prevent summer learning loss.
Preparing Students to Kindergarten Using UPSTART at Home
UPSTART gives preschoolers personalized early learning at home, and research shows consistent, lasting gains in reading and school readiness. Children using UPSTART scored significantly higher than peers across multiple assessments and years. Families facing economic or other disadvantages often used the program more, suggesting UPSTART may help narrow achievement gaps.
Utah Preparing Students Today for a Rewarding Tomorrow (UPSTART) Report
UPSTART’s benefits last beyond preschool. First‑grade students who participated in UPSTART during PreK scored higher on DIBELS than peers, and results were even stronger for children who also participated in EISP during kindergarten. Results show small but meaningful sustained impacts, with the strongest outcomes when children received both individualized programs.
Impact of the UPSTART Program on Forestalling Summer Learning Loss
The UPSTART Summer program helped rural rising first graders avoid summer reading loss, especially in letter naming and phonics. Results suggest UPSTART is most effective for these foundational early reading skills and can help prepare young students for entry into first grade.
“Impact of the UPSTART Program on Forestalling Summer Learning Loss “
The UPSTART Summer program helped rural rising first graders avoid summer reading loss, especially in letter naming and phonics. Results suggest UPSTART is most effective for these foundational early reading skills and can help prepare young students for entry into first grade.
HQSR-E Program Evaluation 2018-2019
UPSTART children scored higher in key literacy skills than matched peers, and those benefits continued into kindergarten and first grade. When compared to students who attended public and private PreK, only UPSTART students had significantly positive literacy results at kindergarten entry. UPSTART’s individualized design drives its strong results.