We believe in the role of research to achieve better outcomes in education. This belief is why our approach to teaching is both informed by science and validated by research.
If you’re considering conducting your own research, we’d love to hear from you.
Below is a closer look at the latest studies that inform our work and that test its efficacy.
This study examines the effect of increased Vocabulary.com usage on reading achievement among 7th- and 8th-graders in a Wisconsin middle school, as measured by the Wisconsin Forward Exam in ELA. How did the amount of Vocabulary.com usage relate to students' performance?
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This study examining the effect of increased Vocabulary.com usage on reading and writing achievement shows that higher Vocabulary.com usage is associated with better Star assessment scores. Students performed better on Star Reading when they mastered more words on Vocabulary.com.
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This study examining the effect of increased Vocabulary.com usage on reading and writing achievement shows that higher Vocabulary.com usage is associated with better PSAT/SAT performance. Students performed better on PSAT/SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing when they mastered more words on Vocabulary.com.
Read moreThis study’s findings provide support for Vocabulary.com’s efficacy in boosting students’ vocabulary and reading exam performance. Consistent usage of Vocabulary.com resulted in larger gains among students relative to their peers. Additionally, these findings speak to the cumulative effect of Vocabulary.com usage—the longer students practice with words on Vocabulary.com, the greater their learning gains.
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A landmark study completed by Project Tomorrow, the internationally recognized education nonprofit organization, found that students whose teachers used Vocabulary.com in the classroom had significantly higher achievement scores and experienced substantially more growth on state standardized ELA tests than students whose teachers did not use the platform.
Researchers examined achievement score data from four middle schools in Broward County Public Schools, one of the nation's largest school districts. The research established these key findings:
Project Tomorrow also conducted a more in-depth case study on Broward County's Margate Middle School, which shows how Vocabulary.com usage across different content areas can have even more of an effect. In those classrooms where Vocabulary.com has become deeply embedded in instructional practices and the culture of learning, students who used the platform saw twice the improvement on FSA ELA scores as those that did not.
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According to a study published in the International Reading Association's Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (JAAL), Vocabulary.com "offered an effective hybrid teaching tool that honored independent and flexible learning opportunities." The authors investigate how Vocabulary.com’s adaptivity helped to support differentiated learning and improved understanding of vocabulary in context among eleventh-graders.
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Researchers at Florida-based education services group Progressive Bridges examined state standardized ELA test scores at an urban middle school. Student data for both seventh and eighth graders showed that those who consistently used Vocabulary.com scored well over the district average, while students who used the platform infrequently or not at all scored significantly below the school average.
Read the studyThe Vocabulary.com white paper lays out how Vocabulary.com harnesses big data to bring insights from the science of learning into practical use for teachers and students.
Read the white paper