Large-scale federally funded study finds Literacy Collaborative raises rates of learning by 32% A Value-Added Study of Literacy Collaborative Funded

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A Value-Added Study of Literacy Collaborative Funded by the USDOE Shows a 32% Increase in the Average Rate of Student Learning Over Three Years and Substantial Growth in Teacher Expertise

A $3 million, 4-year value-added study of Literacy Collaborative effects on teaching and student learning was recently completed. The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Science (IES) and directed by Dr. Anthony Bryk, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Stanford University, and Literacy Collaborative. The findings include the following:

Students’ average rates of learning increased by 16% in the first implementation year, 28% in the second implementation year, and 32% in the third implementation year.


Teacher expertise increased substantially, and the rate of improvement was predicted by the amount of coaching a teacher received.


Professional communication amongst teachers in the schools increased over the three years of implementation, and the literacy coordinators became more central in the schools’ communication networks.