A new study from the University of Michigan, Saginaw Valley State University, and Ypsilanti Community Schools found that elementary students improve their reading skills faster with an interactive, digital learning platform than with traditional pen-and-paper lessons.
Students at Ypsilanti Community Schools who used the Roadmap Learning Platform on school laptops at least twice a week scored in the 48th percentile in an online reading test.
Those who used only the paper version of the same curriculum scored in the 39th percentile. The study is published in the Journal of Interactive Learning Research.
Elliot Soloway, a computer science, education, and information professor, and co-director for the U-M Center for Digital Curricula, said, “It’s exciting to see the quantitative impact match the anecdotal stories we hear regularly. It reaffirms the value of what we’re trying to do.”
Soloway and his team designed the Roadmap Platform to boost student engagement, which nearly half of all teachers say is declining. Soloway’s strategy is to provide the interactive, digital content that Generation Alpha students expect. According to the Pew Research Center, more than half of today’s elementary school students started using smartphones before they were 5.
“Smartphones have been the interactive tool of choice for students,” said Carlos Lopez, assistant superintendent of Ypsilanti Community Schools and co-author of the study. “The challenge was to create an equally engaging platform.”
The goal is to reengage students and improve literacy, which continues to decline. According to The Nation’s Report Card, in 2024, only 31% of U.S. fourth graders were proficient readers, a four-point drop from 2019.
The study suggests that the solution of the U-M Center for Digital Curricula is helpful. The reading improvements are significant in districts like Ypsilanti Community Schools, where half the students received free and reduced lunch in 2022.
“A nine percentile gain can mean meeting grade-level reading standards or falling short,” said Anne Tapp Jaksa, professor of teacher education at Saginaw Valley State University and the study’s first author. “The Roadmap Platform has transformed static curricula into dynamic, collaborative lessons that boost student engagement and learning.”
The Roadmap Platform engages students with lessons organized into graphical networks called Roadmaps. This allows them to navigate their learning at their own pace rather than just scanning paper assignments into digital forms. This interactive format lets students explore lessons independently or in groups, adding interactive activities to existing curricula.
Online videos can provide students more effective learning experience
Independent work can be challenging for students who struggle with reading, but the Roadmap Platform allows teachers to voice-record directions and vocabulary words while students can record their answers. These features make independent work more accessible to struggling students.
“We have vast differences between our highest and lowest scoring students, but Roadmaps provide all the accommodations they need,” said Melanie Eccles, a fifth-grade teacher at Ypsilanti International Elementary School who has used the platform for three years. “If students who read below grade level can hear the text read aloud, they gain exposure to higher-level vocabulary and thinking skills, even while I’m busy helping other students.”
The Roadmap Platform’s accessibility is what makes it so appealing to the school district. “The innovative work we’ve seen through this project is exciting because it meets kids where they’re at and brings them to the world of literature,” said Carlos Lopez, assistant superintendent of Ypsilanti Community Schools and co-author of the help.
Journal Reference
- Jaksa, A., Lopez, C., Norris, C., Rodeffer, C., Simiao, G., Soloway, E. & Zachery-Ross, A. (2024). Using Roadmap-Formatted Curriculum in Elementary School to Improve NWEA Reading Growth. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 35(4), 451-466. Paper.
