BROOKLYN, NY (January 27, 2025) – Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, today released the results of a study on the impact of using Boost Reading™, an adaptive K–5 personalized learning program grounded in the Science of Reading. Designed to complement the Amplify Core Knowledge and Language Arts (CKLA) curriculum, Boost Reading provides both intervention and enrichment support, reinforcing Amplify CKLA’s core instruction.

Findings reveal that Boost Reading accelerates growth for K-5 students already using Amplify CKLA. On average across grades, Amplify CKLA students who began the year at below-average reading levels and used Boost Reading for 30 minutes a week or more were 18 percent more likely to exceed national benchmarks for reading growth relative to students who did not.

Boost Reading is an adaptive and student-led program that tailors practice to each student’s individual needs, reinforcing core knowledge topics while addressing critical skill gaps. It integrates into any classroom model, allowing for full independent practice and freeing teachers to work with other students.

“It’s clear that Boost Reading and Amplify CKLA are powerful, research-backed tools that have the potential to help many K-5 students,” said Melissa Ulan, executive vice president of the literacy suite at Amplify. “Because they share the same pedagogical foundation and sequencing of foundational skills, when you combine the two, you really start to see accelerated growth. This is particularly important given the literacy rates among students nationwide.”

The study included more than 90,000 students who used Boost Reading for at least 30 minutes a week and a comparison group of more than 90,000 students who did not use Boost Reading, matched on key student characteristics. Students’ reading skills were measured using mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition.

About Amplify
A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our core and supplemental programs in ELA, math and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively and for themselves. Our formative assessment products help teachers identify the targeted instruction students need to build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs and services provide educators with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves more than 15 million students in all 50 states and on six continents. For more information, visit Amplify.com.

Media Contact: Kristine Frech; media@amplify.com

Brooklyn, NY— (June 4, 2020) Amplify ELA’s second edition for middle school received an all-green rating and perfect scores from EdReports for grades six through eight. Green ratings represent EdReports’ highest ranking, indicating that the curriculum meets expectations for every gateway of their rigorous, educator-led reviews for quality curriculum programs.  

Amplify ELA is a standards-aligned, blended language arts curriculum that places text at the center of every lesson. The second edition features rich, updated content and captivating illustrations that reflect the diversity of the students that use the program every day.

Amplify ELA’s new edition was crafted to respond to the distinct challenges and opportunities faced by middle school students and their teachers. This blended program supports digital, print, and hybrid classrooms. It also features Amplify’s Embedded Assessment Measure (EAM), which is a game-changer for teachers. With EAM, assessment moments are woven into the instructional sequence and embedded in student activities and assignments. Students don’t feel they are being assessed, but teachers get powerful data on their progress to support stronger whole-class instruction and effective personalized support.

“We are delighted to see this all-green rating,” said Alexandra Clarke, senior vice president of product and general manager for ELA curriculum at Amplify, “At a time when student engagement is more crucial than ever, Amplify ELA is designed to support teachers in connecting with middle school students across ever-changing instructional scenarios. With resources they can trust and fully integrated insights, data, and guidance, educators can spend their time bringing great texts to life. We’re thrilled to see that reality recognized by EdReports.”

Amplify ELA enables educators to establish classroom environments where students thrive academically, socially, and emotionally, while developing the essential skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

About Amplify

A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves more than five million students in all 50 states. For more information, visit amplify.com.

Contact: media@amplify.com

Brooklyn, NY (March 18, 2021) — Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, today announced that Amplify has been awarded a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s “Balance the Equation: A Grand Challenge for Algebra 1” (The Grand Challenge) grant program. The program selected education partners who have designed solutions to make Algebra 1 more accessible, relevant, and collaborative for Black, Latino, English language learners, and students experiencing poverty.

To help students gain a deeper conceptual understanding of data and statistics, Amplify, in partnership with the English Learners Success Forum, is developing a solution that leverages a visual approach to learning mathematics, making advanced concepts more accessible to a broader population of students, especially students learning English. Building on both algebraic and geometric concepts from earlier grades, the materials enable students to better apply statistics to their everyday lives.

For nearly two decades, The Grand Challenge has focused on addressing key global health and development problems by seeking out and engaging the world’s brightest minds through an open and transparent process focused on the best ideas most likely to make an impact. “Balance the Equation: A Grand Challenge for Algebra“ is the foundation’s first education-focused challenge, centered on the importance of providing all students with high-quality, equitable Algebra 1 education.

“We are grateful to the foundation for the opportunity to be a partner in their effort to transform and rethink the traditional math classroom to better support students who have been historically marginalized in math,” said Zach Wissner-Gross, vice president of math education at Amplify. “Amplify Math seeks to improve statistical literacy and conceptual understanding in our country, and we are honored to be awarded the opportunity to build atop the statistics units of our already strong math curriculum.”

Amplify is one of 15 grantees receiving a Phase 1 grant of $100,000. Later this summer, 8–10 grantees will receive up to $1M from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to design solutions to make Algebra 1 a gateway, rather than a gatekeeper, to future success. For students who do not complete Algebra 1, their chances of graduating from high school are one in five. Black and Latino students, English language learners, and students experiencing poverty are particularly affected, putting these students at a disadvantage in pursuing high-paying, in-demand careers.

About Amplify

A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves more than seven million students in all 50 states.

Brooklyn, NY – (3/15/19): Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, announced today that it is expanding its offerings in the supplemental curriculum market with a new, highly engaging personalized reading program for grades K-8, Amplify Reading.

Based on the latest research on how children learn to read, Amplify Reading was designed with an advisory board of leading researchers and practitioners in the fields of early literacy and reading comprehension, including Jane Oakhill, Bruce McCandliss, Tim Shanahan, Kelly Cartwright, Art Graesser, Heidi Anne E. Mesmer, and Elfrieda Hiebert.

“Amplify Reading uniquely combines compelling, age-appropriate storylines with skill-appropriate instruction and practice driven by powerful adaptive technology,” said Melissa Ulan, senior vice president, Product, at Amplify. “Educators are seeing amazing reading progress with the program, in large part because students enjoy the characters and plot lines so much that teachers actually have to beg them to stop playing. We’re excited that the full K–8 program is now available for all educators to bring to their classrooms.”

Storytelling is at the heart of Amplify Reading, whether in an imaginative game world where a character that students create (called a Curioso) grows as their reading skills grow (grades K–1) or as a rebel fighter in a dystopian graphic novel (grades 6–8). The program was created with reading experts, game designers, educators, and students to be hyper-engaging and uses a patented algorithm to offer innovative adaptive instruction. This technology, combined with the engaging story world, ensures that students are working on the skills they need at the right time while embedded in an age-appropriate narrative. The program contains more than 50 research-based games mapped to specific reading skills and standards, authentic texts allowing students to apply their new reading skills, and robust teacher support tools, including an easy reporting dashboard and PDFs for additional teacher-led instruction.

“This program is extremely engaging and interactive for each student,” said Brittany, a 2nd-grade teacher in Utah who used an early version of Amplify Reading. “They begged to get on Amplify Reading, and they cried when it was time to log off! This program is a great addition to our curriculum.”

Amplify entered the core curriculum market in 2012 with the launch of Amplify CKLA, a knowledge-based elementary language arts program. It launched its middle school Amplify ELA program in 2014 and its K–8 Amplify Science program in 2017. Amplify introduced pilot versions of supplemental digital reading programs for grades K–2 and 6–8 for the 2017–2018 school year (the 6–8 version was formerly called Amplify Close Reading). The full Amplify Reading program now offers reading instruction and practice for all K–8 reading standards.

Amplify also offers mCLASS: Amplify Reading Edition, which combines its gold-standard assessment program, mCLASS, with adaptive instruction through Amplify Reading. mCLASS: Amplify Reading Edition is a seamlessly integrated early literacy solution with universal screening and personalized learning designed to support all students in learning to read on grade level by the end of elementary school. Amplify Reading is also compatible with Amplify’s K–5 ELA core curriculum, Amplify CKLA. Amplify Reading’s flexible, student-driven structure can be used in a number of ways to supplement Amplify CKLA’s core instruction—from reinforcing a unit’s key skills, to offering additional support, to providing academic enrichment.

About Amplify

A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves more than four million students in all 50 states. For more information, visit amplify.com.

Contact: media@amplify.com

Brooklyn, NY (May 7, 2019) Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, today announced that Amplify Science has been named a 2019 SIIA CODiE Award finalist in the Best Emerging Instructional Technology Solution category. Award finalists represent applications, products and services from developers of educational software, digital content, online learning services and related technologies across the PreK–20 sector.

Amplify Science is a breakthrough K–8 curriculum designed from the ground up for the Next Generation Science Standards by the curriculum experts at the University of California, Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science. In each Amplify Science unit, students inhabit the role of a scientist or engineer to investigate a real-world problem, using relevant, 21st-century contexts to investigate scientific phenomena. Educators who adopt Amplify Science receive a comprehensive curriculum that includes literacy-rich activities, hands-on investigations, digital simulations, embedded assessments, and robust teacher supports.

“We are honored that SIIA recognized the strength of Amplify Science and named us as a finalist in the CODiE awards,” said Steven Zavari, senior vice president and general manager, science curriculum, at Amplify. “We are excited to share this news about our innovative program with educators across the country.”

The SIIA CODiE Awards are the premier awards for the software and information industries and have recognized product excellence for more than 30 years. The awards have 76 categories that are organized by industry focus of education technology and business technology. Amplify Science was honored as one of 139 finalists across the 32 education technology categories.

“The 2019 CODIE Award finalists represent the finest in innovation and creativity in educational technology,” said President Jeff Joseph at SIIA. “These breakthrough products are opening doors for learners of all ages by developing and utilizing new technologies to respond to diverse student and educator needs.”

The SIIA CODiE Awards are the industry’s only peer-reviewed awards program. Educators and administrators serve as judges and conduct the first-round review of all education nominees. Their scores determine the SIIA CODiE Award finalists, and SIIA members then vote on the finalist products. The scores from both rounds are tabulated to select the winners.

Winners will be announced during a CODiE Award Celebration at the Ed Tech Industry Conference & CODiE Awards in San Francisco on June 11.

Details about each finalist are listed at https://www.siia.net/codie/2019-Finalists

About Amplify

A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves five million students in all 50 states. For more information, visit amplify.com.

About the SIIA CODiE™ Awards

The SIIA CODiE Awards is the only peer-reviewed program to showcase business and education technology’s finest products and services. Since 1986, thousands of products, services and solutions have been recognized for achieving excellence. For more information, visit siia.net/CODiE.

About Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA)

SIIA is an umbrella association representing 800+ technology, data and media companies globally. Industry leaders work through SIIA’s divisions to address issues and challenges that impact their industry segments with the goal of driving innovation and growth for the industry and each member company.  This is accomplished through in-person and online business development opportunities, peer networking, corporate education, intellectual property protection and government relations. For more information, visit siia.net.

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Brooklyn, NY (September 26, 2019) Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, announced substantial new enhancements to Amplify Science, its core science program authored by the University of California, Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science. Teachers can now prepare and present lessons with Classroom Slides for grades K–5; review and grade student work with an intuitive Classwork tool in grades 6–8; and use new digital Spanish-language resources, accessibility supports, and additional hands-on activities. In addition, Amplify rolled out Amplify Science Transitional Kindergarten, a new program designed to introduce young students to real-world phenomena and jumpstart a lifelong love of science. 

Based on feedback from teachers, which the Amplify team gathers on a regular basis through a variety of channels, the new elements available as part of Amplify Science this 2019-2020 school year include:

• Classroom Slides, fully editable time-saving supports for teachers, with lesson visuals, activity instructions, animations, investigation setup videos, technology support and more.
• Classwork, a feedback and grading tool that gives teachers easy access to unreviewed work, student portfolios and groups based on student performance.
• New digital Spanish-language supports (available as purchased add-on licenses) that enable educators to toggle between English versions online. Educators can also select which resources students can see. 
• New accessibility supports, including screen-readable content, keyboard navigation improvements and read-aloud support for assessments.
• Hands-on Flextensions, new additional investigations that give teachers the flexibility to incorporate more hands-on focused activities into select units, if time permits.

The company also debuted Amplify Science Transitional Kindergarten, a new program from UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science that is developmentally and pedagogically appropriate and designed to foster a lifelong love of science in young students.

Looking ahead to Back to School 2020, Amplify is already hard at work on Classroom Slides for grades 6–8 and more enhancements to the digital platform that make planning and delivering instruction even easier.

“One of the best parts about working with K–8 educators is listening to how they actually use our program, taking their feedback seriously, and doing something with it,” said Steven Zavari, senior vice president and general manager of science curriculum at Amplify. “We are already hearing great things about the Classroom Slides and other new features available this school year, and we can’t wait to share more details with educators soon about what’s coming next year.”

Amplify Science is a breakthrough K–8 curriculum designed from the ground up for the Next Generation Science Standards by the curriculum experts at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science. In each Amplify Science unit, students inhabit the role of a scientist or engineer to investigate a real-world problem, using relevant, 21st-century contexts to investigate scientific phenomena. Educators who adopt Amplify Science receive a comprehensive curriculum that includes literacy-rich activities, hands-on investigations, digital simulations, embedded assessments and robust teacher supports. Amplify Science for grades 6–8 was the only program to receive all-green ratings on EdReports.org in 2019. The K-5 program is currently in review by EdReports.

Currently in use by more than two million students, Amplify Science has been adopted by the New York City Department of Education, Chicago Public Schools, Denver Public Schools, San Francisco Unified School District, Seattle Public Schools, the KIPP charter network, and hundreds of other districts across the country.

About Amplify

A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help students at every skill level build a strong foundation in early reading and math. Our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of all their students. Today, Amplify serves five million students in all 50 states. 

For more information, visit Amplify.com.

Contact: media@amplify.com

Brooklyn, NY (October 17, 2019) Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, today announced significant updates to its K-8 core ELA curriculum programs based on input from educators and schools.

Using a fundamentally different approach to PreK–5 language arts curriculum, Amplify CKLA combines rich, diverse content knowledge in history, science, literature, and the arts with systematic, research-based foundational skills instruction. The program’s more intentional approach to background knowledge allows students to build a robust base for accessing and unpacking complex texts, so real comprehension can occur.

Among the new and updated features to Amplify CKLA are:

• Animated videos for grades K–2 called Knowledge Builders that provide students with a wealth of background information on each knowledge domain. Knowledge Builders introduce students to exciting characters, places, and concepts, introducing them to the diverse worlds of the content. 
• A sound library of videos and songs for every phoneme in the English language, supporting the program’s phonics approach. The Sound Library combines modeling, repetition, guided practice, and engaging animation for teachers to incorporate into activities.
• Additional support for vocabulary development, including supplemental vocabulary lessons for teachers to use, and a highly engaging Vocab App, our first digital app for Amplify CKLA students (for grades 3–5).

Designed specifically to meet the unique needs of middle school students and teachers, Amplify ELA is a standards-aligned, blended language arts curriculum that places text at the center of every lesson. The recently published second edition features rich, updated content and captivating illustrations that reflect the diversity of the students that use the program every day. 

Alexandra Clarke, senior vice president of product and general manager for ELA curriculum at Amplify, says the lesson content and rich illustrations provide next-level engagement for students, and Amplify’s new Embedded Assessment Measure (EAM) is a game-changer for teachers. “The first of its kind, our EAM system monitors progress and provides teachers with weighted scoring based on daily assignments, supporting data-driven, uninterrupted instruction for students,” Clarke said. “It’s a win-win situation. We are helping both middle school educators and students—by enabling more teaching and less testing.” With EAM, assessment moments are woven into the instructional sequence and embedded in student activities and assignments. Students don’t even feel they are being assessed, but teachers get powerful data on their progress to support stronger whole-class instruction and effective personalized support. 

Additional new and updated features of Amplify ELA include:

• New units of study in each grade level, covering literary and informational texts.
• Significant increases in resources for English Language Learners, including embedded differentiation and other specific tools that support ELL student achievement.
• Classwork, a completely redesigned dashboard of all student work, intuitively designed to allow teachers to spend less time looking for student work and more time reviewing it.
• Accessibility updates that support the needs of all students, including improved screen readability with expanded text-to-speech capabilities, increased keyboard navigational support, and read-aloud technology for assessments.

About Amplify

A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help students at every skill level build a strong foundation in early reading and math. Our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of all their students. Today, Amplify serves five million students in all 50 states. For more information, visit Amplify.com.

Brooklyn, NY (January 21, 2020) — Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, and Huddle, the maker of student goal-setting technology, have announced the integration of Huddle’s goal-setting product into Amplify’s portfolio of blended curriculum programs. Amplify will have exclusive access to incorporate Huddle’s technology and feature set within the school market.

“Huddle offers an exciting opportunity for Amplify to bring core curriculum programs  into the classroom that help students not only engage deeply in academic content but also develop a mindset for success,” said Larry Berger, founder and chief executive officer of Amplify. 

“In response to schools seeking ways to help their students develop a growth mindset, we sought to create a tool that enables more conversations between students and teachers about their goals and makes it easy to keep students motivated along the way,” commented Sean Farrell, co-founder and chief executive officer of Huddle. “We are honored to have the opportunity to broaden Huddle’s reach and excited to see it grow within the Amplify family.”

Huddle’s Co-Founder and Chief Academic Officer Kathleen Sheehy noted, “Amplify is known for creating instructional materials that are high quality and designed with students in mind. We know that the students and teachers who use Amplify’s programs are going to love Huddle’s useful and engaging tools for helping every student accomplish their goals.”

One of the unique aspects of Huddle’s technology is its ability to integrate seamlessly with existing digital products. Rather than require teachers and students to log into another site or app, Huddle can embed itself within the programs they use everyday while bringing a host of goal-setting, coaching, and motivational features that enhance their experience.

About Amplify

A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves five million students in all 50 states. For more information, visit amplify.com.

About Huddle

Founded in 2018, Huddle provides a digital solution to help students create personal and academic goals, automatically track their progress, and facilitate 1:1 meetings with teachers to check in and discuss progress.

Brooklyn, NY (February 10, 2020) — Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, was among only thirteen education companies awarded Digital Promise’s first Research-Based Design Product Certification for its commitment to consulting and incorporating research findings in its supplemental reading program, Amplify Reading.

The new product certification is intended to serve as a rigorous, reliable signal for consumers, including school administrators, educators, and families, looking for evidence of research-based educational technology products. 

“Schools and families want to know which edtech products can actually help students learn,” said Karen Cator, president and CEO of Digital Promise. “Digital Promise’s Product Certifications are designed to help strengthen consumers’ confidence in choosing research-based products, while recognizing product developers doing the important work of incorporating valid research into their designs.”

Amplify Reading is a K–8 supplemental reading program that provides students with practice and instruction in the underlying phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and close reading skills that are essential for fluent reading with strong comprehension. It engages and motivates a diverse array of learners with an adaptive story-driven adventure through a variety of activities, including mini-games, vocabulary practice, ebooks, and interactive instruction in close reading topics.

“Receiving this Digital Promise Product Certification solidifies Amplify’s commitment to all students across all entry points of learning, abilities, and demographics through intentional research methodology,” said Melissa Ulan, senior vice president and general manager, supplementals at Amplify. 

About Digital Promise
Digital Promise is a nonprofit organization that builds powerful networks and takes on grand challenges by working at the intersection of researchers, entrepreneurs, and educators. Digital Promise’s vision is that all people, at every stage of their lives, have access to learning experiences that help them acquire the knowledge and skills they need to thrive and continuously learn in an ever-changing world. For more information, visit the Digital Promise website and follow @digitalpromise for updates.

About Amplify
A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves five million students in all 50 states. For more information, visit amplify.com.

Contact: media@amplify.com

Brooklyn, NY (February 24, 2020) — Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, announced today the appointment of Paul Griffin as vice president of strategic urban initiatives. In Griffin’s new role, he will partner with sales managers across Amplify and work with large urban accounts and superintendents. Griffin previously served as head of national partnerships at Lexia Learning and director of urban initiatives at Houghton Mifflin, where he built relationships with key urban school districts and decision-makers across the nation.

“Amplify is thrilled to welcome Paul Griffin to the company,” said Rita Schaefer, senior vice president and national sales manager at Amplify. “Paul’s extensive K–12 experience, strong record of success, and long-standing ties within the industry will allow us to deliver the dynamic opportunities that educators and students across the country deserve.”

At Lexia Learning, Griffin worked with sales teams and district administrators to bring learning solutions to schools nationwide; at Houghton Mifflin he was the organization’s trusted liaison to member districts of the Council of Great City Schools. He has a long history of participation with nationally recognized organizations such as the Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE), The School Superintendents Association (AASA), the National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE), and the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS).

Griffin is a former advisory board member of the National League of Cities, Youth, Education and Families Institute. He holds The President’s Award from the National Alliance of Black School Educators, the organization’s highest honor, as well as the California Alliance of African American Educators’ Corporate Leadership Award. He has been listed in Ebony Magazine’s 100 most influential Black Americans. Griffin continues to have a strong interest in increasing educational excellence across the country.

About Amplify

A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves five million students in all 50 states. For more information, visit amplify.com.

Contact: media@amplify.com 

BROOKLYN, New York—August 25, 2020—Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, today announced the release of a voice-enabled reading assessment for grades 1–6, created in collaboration with Dublin-based SoapBox Labs, which develops accuracy and privacy driven voice technology for children. Text Reading Online is the first literacy assessment of its kind to enable remote evaluation of oral reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension—critical indicators of reading development for young readers.

“Given the realities of teaching and learning in a pandemic, educators are seeking approaches to assessing a child’s independent reading when they cannot be together in person,” said Larry Berger, chief executive officer at Amplify. “We are pleased to offer Text Reading Online as a part of the overall mCLASS literacy suite to help educators assess their students’ reading development remotely, including the accurate identification of learning loss and how best to address it, this year.”

Reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension are important indicators of whether students are making the transition from learning to read to reading to learn. Like most early literacy assessments, however, evaluation of oral reading fluency typically requires direct in-person observation of students by trained educators. By enabling educators to understand and evaluate fluency, accuracy, and comprehension development, even in a remote setting, Text Reading Online can help educators tailor instruction and avoid reading loss during a critical developmental stage.

To perform the assessment, students read two texts aloud: the first text is at the student’s grade level, the second is adapted based on the student’s performance on the initial text. Students then answer a set of text-dependent comprehension questions to evaluate their degree of understanding. Data from the assessment, including reading rate and specific error types, provides educators with near real-time feedback, which they can use to identify areas of focus and cater lessons to each child’s needs.

Named one of Europe’s hottest startups by Wired UK in 2019, SoapBox Labs was founded by Dr. Patricia Scanlon, whose popular TEDx talk explains the ways in which technology can “transform a child’s reading journey.” In 2018, Scanlon was named to the Forbes list of Top 50 Women in Tech globally.

“This is about making educators’ lives just a little bit easier by providing them with tech-enabled tools that allow them to engage in accurate and private literacy assessment for all their students,” said SoapBox Labs CEO Dr. Patricia Scanlon. “But the implications are even more far reaching. The moment for voice tech in learning has arrived, and we view our work as essential in the development of a more inclusive, equitable education future.”

Text Reading Online will be available for free to all of Amplify’s mCLASS customers during the 2020-2021 school year. Visit the Text Reading Online page on Amplify.com to learn more.

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About Amplify
A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves five million students in all 50 states. For more information, visit amplify.com.

About SoapBox Labs
SoapBox Labs develops award-winning voice technology for kids modeled on kids’ speech, language, and behaviors. Proprietary and built from the ground up, our accurate, private, and age-appropriate voice technology powers immersive play and learning experiences, including literacy and language learning tools, for children ages 2 to 12 years old. To view demos, download reports and white papers, or learn more about how our technology powers third party education and toy companies, go to www.SoapBoxLabs.com.

(Brooklyn, NY – January 12, 2021) Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, announced today that EdReports.org, the independent, nonprofit curriculum reviewer, gave Amplify CKLA Skills for grades K-2 an all-green rating—the only all-green rating in the ELA foundational skills category. Green represents EdReports’ highest ranking, indicating that the program meets expectations for every gateway of the EdReports rigorous, teacher-led review process.

Amplify CKLA Skills is a foundational skills program built on the latest research on how children learn to read. The program is designed for teachers to use as a supplement to core ELA instruction, with a systematic scope and sequence that offers the explicit skills instruction needed to support all students in becoming confident readers. Decodables with dynamic stories and characters make learning to read rewarding and help educators teach all 44 sounds and their 150 spellings in a logical sequence that builds student independence.

“Our team here at Amplify is honored to receive an all-green report from EdReports for Amplify CKLA Skills,” said Susan Lambert, chief academic officer, elementary humanities at Amplify. “In a year when it’s especially critical to get reading instruction right, Amplify CKLA Skills can be worked into any classroom—whether it’s remote, hybrid, or in person. Based on the science of reading, Amplify CKLA Skills supports new and experienced teachers alike to teach foundational skills in a systematic and explicit way that will support all their students in becoming confident readers.”

Amplify CKLA Skills is often used by teachers in conjunction with Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (Amplify CKLA), the comprehensive core curriculum that brings a proven, systematic approach to foundational skills together with knowledge-rich reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities.

In addition to Amplify CKLA Skills, Amplify’s core literacy programs—Amplify CKLA (grades K–5) and Amplify ELA (grades 6–8) also received all-green scores on EdReports—as did Amplify Science for grades 6–8.

More information about Amplify CKLA Skills can be found here.

About Amplify
A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves seven million students in all 50 states. For more information, visit amplify.com.

BROOKLYN, NY (January 14, 2021) — Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, announced today the appointment of Paul Sheppard as chief financial officer. Sheppard previously served as chief financial officer of Entangled (now Guild Education) and has held senior positions at several other education companies, including McGraw-Hill and Pearson.

As CFO at Entangled, a venture capital and advisory firm focused on education innovation, Sheppard helped the company implement best practices at scale across several departments, including finance, accounting, and operations. In 2020, Entangled was sold to Guild Education. 

“Paul Sheppard is both an innovator and trusted leader who consistently delivers results. He is also deeply committed to our mission, which is important to us,” said Amplify CEO Larry Berger. “As an accomplished executive with demonstrated success in the education and corporate training sectors, Paul will further drive our financial planning and business growth, enabling Amplify to serve more educators and students across the country.”

During his time at McGraw-Hill, Sheppard served as chief operating officer for Learning Science Platforms and vice president of strategy. He helped transition the core business to a digital subscription model and led major research on the future of education. In his earlier career, Sheppard served as vice president of corporate development and strategy for Pearson.

About Amplify
A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves seven million students in all 50 states. For more information, visit amplify.com.

BROOKLYN, N.Y., May 18, 2021 — Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, announced the launch of Amplify Skills Boost, a grades 1–6 solution that works alongside any core program to provide 30 minutes of highly targeted foundational skills instruction each day.

Based on Amplify’s 20 years of expertise in early literacy, and built on the science of reading, Amplify Skills Boost is an easy-to-implement, integrated system that schools and districts can use to identify reading gaps and accelerate student learning. The offering includes quick assessment tools, targeted instruction, personalized practice, and intervention. By focusing on the skills each student needs most, Amplify Skills Boost enables educators to stay focused on grade-level instruction the rest of the day.

“Amplify Skills Boost raises the bar in terms of quality and accessibility — any teacher can use this alongside any core program to boost their students’ reading skills after a year of interrupted instruction,” said Alexandra Clarke, senior vice president and general manager of ELA curriculum at Amplify. “It integrates quick assessment with instruction, practice, and intervention, allowing educators to focus on connecting and teaching versus testing.”

Drawn from Amplify’s rigorous assessment, core, personalized practice, and intervention programs, Amplify Skills Boost can be combined with any existing program. Instructional content is easy for any teacher to implement and is adaptable for use with entire classrooms, small groups, or individual students.

The product includes a series of videos on phonemic awareness developed in collaboration with literacy experts David and Meredith Liben. In conjunction with the Amplify Skills Boost release, Amplify is partnering with the Right to Read Project to develop and make available for free a groundbreaking series of student-facing Science of Reading videos that teach students how their reading brain develops over time.

District and school leaders interested in learning more about Amplify Skills Boost may visit www.amplify.com/skills-boost.

About Amplify

A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves more than seven million students in all 50 states. 

(Brooklyn, NY – October 13, 2021): Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, announced today that it has acquired K–12 mathematics online learning company Mathigon. The London-based edtech startup develops and publishes unique, highly interactive, and visually compelling tools, activities, and courses that enable students to explore the beauty and power of mathematics.

Since 2016, Mathigon has provided free content and tools to teachers, students, and parents in more than 20 languages. Polypad is a “mathematical playground” that features best-in-class virtual manipulatives and other tools to enable exploration, creativity, and problem-solving. Mathigon’s interactive courses for middle and high school cover topics such as algebra, geometry, fractals, graph theory, and cryptography. Every course contains dozens of simulations, animations, games, and interactives, along with a virtual tutor that provides hints and encouragement. Storytelling, real-life applications, and historical content show students why what they’re learning is important and meaningful. Mathigon is used by more than 600,000 students and teachers every month around the world.

Polypad and other Mathigon resources will continue to be freely available, as Amplify is committed to removing barriers to high-quality math instruction and supporting all students in becoming creative problem-solvers. Polypad and other Mathigon tools also will be integrated into Amplify’s in-development math programs, inspiring students to explore and discover mathematics and empowering teachers to see students’ thinking and facilitate meaningful dialogue between students.

“I have almost never seen a product that inspires such pure intellectual delight in children and adults. Delight may be the hardest outcome to achieve in education. Mathigon achieves it over and over again,” said Larry Berger, chief executive officer of Amplify. “When we saw the beautiful, easy-to-use tools that the Mathigon team had built, we knew we wanted to help bring them to even more teachers and students across the world. We also knew we wanted the Mathigon technology and team to be part of our journey of creating the highest quality and most delightful math programs available.”

Mathigon Founder and CEO Philipp Legner will join the Amplify team as vice president, Mathigon Studio, overseeing enhancements to Mathigon’s offerings and integration of key elements into Amplify’s programs. Legner will help spur innovation and power up the company’s already robust product design and engineering teams. His contributions will boost Amplify’s ability to deliver high-quality, student-empowering instructional tools in K–12 mathematics.

“From the very beginning, my goal with Mathigon was to make online learning more interactive and engaging than ever before. Rather than just watching a video and ‘consuming information,’ students should explore, discover, and be creative,” said Philipp Legner, founder and chief executive officer of Mathigon. “Mathematics is both incredibly powerful and surprisingly beautiful, and I want every student to enjoy learning. I’m incredibly excited to work with Amplify to reach even more students.”

About Amplify
A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves more than ten million students in all 50 states. For more information, visit www.amplify.com.

About Mathigon
Mathigon is an award-winning platform for learning mathematics, and completely free to use. It’s apps and website contain games, puzzles, activities, virtual manipulatives, and interactive textbooks, allowing students to explore, be creative, learn problem-solving and critical thinking. A unique new content format lets abstract concepts come to life, a virtual personal tutor provides real-time support, and storytelling and real applications make learning more fun and engaging. Mathigon has been used by more than six million students and teachers from all over the world. For more information, visit www.mathigon.org.

Contact:
Molly McCue
media@amplify.com

BROOKLYN, N.Y., May 18, 2022 — Amplify, a next-generation publisher of curriculum and assessment, announced today that it has acquired the curriculum and instructional technology of Desmos, the acclaimed developer of digital math tools and curriculum. The deal is the culmination of a close partnership between Amplify and Desmos over the past two years. Desmos’ world-renowned calculators will remain independent as part of a separate Public Benefit Corporation called Desmos Studio that will focus on the development of free, best-in-class online calculators and other tools.

The Amplify and Desmos curriculum teams will now deeply integrate the technology and content they’ve both been developing and piloting for several years. The resulting combined program, based on IM K–12 Math™, will bring together Amplify’s proven ability to deliver the highest quality STEM curriculum to millions of students, and the groundbreaking digital tools and instructional approach of Desmos. Desmos technology will also power new modes of creative, collaborative learning in the next generation of Amplify’s science and literacy core programs.

Now a part of Amplify, teacher.desmos.com will be called Desmos Classroom and will continue to provide free lesson-building tools and lessons to teachers around the world. Users can expect more instructional content, professional learning resources, and classroom learning tools, continuing to enhance Desmos Classroom as the most powerful free resource for math educators.

“We have admired Desmos for more than a decade, watching them sail from strength to strength on a current of excellence and teacher enthusiasm. The past two years of working closely together reinforced a shared vision for improving math education,” said Larry Berger, Amplify’s chief executive officer. “We will now merge our math curriculum development efforts, with the goal of building a new kind of teaching and learning experience that helps every student love learning math and gain access to math’s power and beauty.”

Desmos Studio will become a separate Public Benefit Corporation led by original Founder and Chief Executive Officer Eli Luberoff, and will continue to build and grow the Desmos suite of calculators and other tools, and the community that relies on them. The calculators will remain free to teachers and students globally and available for companies to license for use in their products. Its partnerships with over 75 organizations around the world will provide Desmos Studio with the resources to continue intensive research and development around Desmos calculators and other tools long into the future.

“We chose this unique deal with Amplify because, in our years working together, it’s become clear that Amplify shares our pedagogical vision and our commitment to quality, and recognizes what’s made Desmos special. We know that Amplify’s exceptional team can help us continue to improve while bringing our curriculum and activities to as many teachers and students as possible,” said Eli Luberoff, founder and chief executive officer of Desmos. “As an independent entity, Desmos Studio will continue to improve the calculators that teachers and students know and love. The Desmos calculator is now embedded in math classrooms across the world, and for that reason should be managed as a resource for the public good, which means keeping it free for educators and students while continuously improving it for years to come.”

About Amplify
A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products help teachers identify the targeted instruction students need to build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide educators with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves more than 10 million students in all 50 states. For more information, visit amplify.com.

About Desmos
Desmos wants to build a world where every student learns math and loves learning math, where a student’s access to the power and beauty of math doesn’t depend on their place of birth, race, ethnicity, gender, or any other aspect of their identity. Our free suite of calculators are used annually by millions of teachers and students around the world, and our activities and curriculum power the daily work of hundreds of thousands of teachers and millions of students. For more information, visit desmos.com.

Contact: media@amplify.com

Brooklyn, NY – (December 15, 2022) Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, announced today that EdReports, the independent, nonprofit curriculum reviewer, awarded Desmos Math 6–8 perfect scores and an all-green rating for grades six through eight. Green ratings mean that materials met expectations for standards alignment and other indicators of quality, such as design and usability, after undergoing EdReports’ rigorous, educator-led reviews of curriculum programs.

Already beloved by a passionate teacher base,Desmos Math 6–8 became part of the Amplify suite of high-quality instructional programs last spring. With a focus on helping teachers celebrate student brilliance, build flexible mathematical understanding, and create the conditions for every student to be successful, the interactive lessons are standards-aligned, easy-to-use, and fully customizable by educators.

Students are presented with fun and delightful situations that spark curiosity, offer a variety of entry points into the content, and place student thinking and collaboration at the center of learning. Based on IM 6–8 Math™ by Illustrative Mathematics and Open Up Resources, Desmos Math 6–8 combines the best math content and technology to offer learning experiences that are intuitive, memorable, and effective.

​​”We have created a program that celebrates the best qualities of teachers and technology, using both to help students explore mathematics in depth,” said Eric Berger, senior vice president of Desmos Classroom at Amplify. “Our hope is that this distinction from EdReports allows us to bring this next-generation math program to even more teachers and students.”

About Amplify and Desmos Classroom
A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. In June 2022, Desmos split into two entities: “Desmos Studio,” a Public Benefit Corporation that builds and supports the Desmos Calculators, and “Desmos Classroom,” the team and technology behind Desmos Math 6-8. Together Amplify and Desmos Classroom are building a comprehensive core math curriculum called Amplify Desmos Math that will build off of Desmos Math 6–8 and be available for pilot and review in Fall 2023. Today, Amplify and Desmos Classroom serve more than 18 million students in all 50 states. For more information about Desmos Math 6-8, visit amplify.com/desmosmath. For more information about the in-development Amplify Desmos Math, visit amplify.com/math.

Contact: Kristine Frech; kfrech@amplify.com

BROOKLYN, NY (November 29, 2023) — Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, released the results of a second year-long study on the impact of Boost Reading, a personalized learning program for elementary grades powered by the Science of Reading. Students in grades K–5—including English/multilingual learners—who used Boost Reading for 30 minutes a week significantly outperformed their peers. Students at risk for reading difficulty who used Boost Reading were 26 percent more likely than students not using Boost Reading to meet or exceed grade-level benchmarks by the end of the school year.

The study compared more than 43,000 K–5 students who used Boost Reading for at least 30 minutes a week with a group of more than 130,000 students who did not use Boost Reading, matched on key student and school characteristics. Educators measured student reading skills using DIBELS® 8th Edition, the gold-standard early reading assessment developed by the University of Oregon.

A digital, student-driven program for grades K–5, Boost Reading enables educators to support every reader in their classrooms through its adaptive technology and powerful storytelling. Boost Reading aligns with Amplify’s other early literacy programs and pairs with Boost Lectura to provide personalized English and Spanish instructional parity.

“Seeing such clear and compelling outcomes for two years in a row is just the kind of promising data we could all use as we continue to navigate a post-COVID world,” said Melissa Ulan, senior vice president of the literacy suite at Amplify. “When educators have research-backed tools to personalize instruction, they are able to meet the needs of every student and drive significant growth in reading skills. The data confirm it.”

The research is rigorous: This national study from the 2021–22 school year meets the Every Student Succeeds Act’s (ESSA) Tier 2 Moderate Evidence criteria, showing significant and positive effects on student outcomes. Notably, 62 percent of at-risk English/multilingual kindergarten students in the Boost Reading group finished the year at benchmark or above, compared to 47 percent of students in the comparison group.

About Amplify
A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our core and supplemental programs in literacy, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs and services provide educators with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves more than 15 million students in all 50 states. For more information, visit amplify.com.

Media Contact
Kristine Frech
media@amplify.com

BROOKLYN, NY (April 3, 2024) – Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, today announced the acquisition of Math ANEX, a pioneering math assessment provider renowned for its innovative asset-based approach which focuses on analyzing students’ mathematical thinking.

Math ANEX will become a key feature of Amplify’s mCLASS Math product, helping educators go beyond the limitations of binary score reporting, explore deep analysis of student thinking, and build on the assets students showcase. This asset-based approach highlights students’ mathematical capabilities, showcasing evidence of what they can do, rather than making assumptions about what they cannot.

“Amplify mCLASS Math is going to represent a new standard for mathematics assessment. We aim to provide educators not only with reliable measures of student achievement and valid content priorities, but also with an asset-based system that analyzes student thinking and allows teachers to leverage their students’ mathematical strengths,” said Amplify’s Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of STEM Jason Zimba. “The groundbreaking work of Patrick Callahan and his team at Math ANEX will help us develop assessments with unprecedented quality, relevance, and instructional value for teachers.”

Math ANEX’s main product, District Essential Math Indicators (or DEMI), is a digital math assessment designed to deeply analyze how students think about and approach mathematical problems. By identifying students’ often overlooked mathematical assets, DEMI helps inform more effective instructional action, empowering teachers to leverage and build on those existing student assets. The integration of DEMI into mCLASS Math will help Amplify further its ambitious vision for math assessments, including:

• assessment items that are carefully designed to prompt student thinking about essential math;
• additional assessment items that cover the remaining skills and standards;
• the ability to tag and auto-score open-ended student responses to analyze student thinking and performance;
• detailed insights and actionable instructional recommendations for teachers; and
• aggregate reports that inform district-level decision-making for administrators.

ANEX currently serves nearly 220,000 students across more than 15 U.S. school districts, including the San Diego Unified School District, the second largest district in California. Math ANEX founder and CEO Patrick Callahan will join Amplify to support the company’s math suite.

“When we founded Math ANEX, our goal was to revolutionize math assessment by extending beyond just correct/incorrect reporting, towards more comprehensive analysis of student thinking,” said Math ANEX CEO Patrick Callahan. “We understood from years of previous work that equipping educators with rich insights into student thinking was one of the most powerful ways to catalyze learning in mathematics. Joining the Amplify team pairs us with the expertise and resources to share this major paradigm shift in math assessment in ways that reverberate throughout the entire education system.”

About Amplify
A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our core and supplemental programs in ELA, math and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively and for themselves. Our formative assessment products help teachers identify the targeted instruction students need to build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs and services provide educators with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves more than 15 million students in all 50 states and on six continents. For more information, visit Amplify.com.

About Math ANEX
Founded in 2021 by Patrick Callahan and Jeremy Thiesen, Math ANEX (short for ANalyzing EXplanations) is a math assessment provider that helps schools and districts implement asset-based tools and practices. Math ANEX assessments go far beyond scoring correct/incorrect answers by analyzing how students think about and approach mathematics. Our objective is to uncover insights into student thinking, identify what students are doing well, and support teachers in building on those existing strengths. Math ANEX uses an asset-based lens to analyze what mathematics students understand, how they apply that knowledge in various situations, and how they communicate their reasoning.

Contact: Kristine Frech; media@amplify.com

BROOKLYN, NY (June 27, 2024) – Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, today released a first-of-its-kind research brief that demonstrates the benefits of dual-language assessment in early literacy. The brief summarized a new study of 21,000 K–3 Spanish-speaking multilingual learners (MLs) who have Spanish literacy data from mCLASS® Lectura assessments and English literacy data from mCLASS DIBELS® 8th Edition assessments from the beginning, middle, and end of the 2023-2024 school year.

Findings reveal that using only English-language assessments for early literacy can lead to a higher rate of misidentifying Spanish-speaking MLs as at-risk for reading difficulties, underscoring the importance of comprehensive dual-language assessments that help educators better understand their students’ early literacy skills.

Currently, the industry relies on English-only approaches to assessment that not only underestimate a multilingual student’s reading comprehension ability, but may also give educators incomplete information to guide instructional planning for multilingual students.

“For too long, the industry has relied on an early literacy assessment standard for MLs that is, in many ways, flawed,” said Susan Lambert, chief academic officer of Elementary Humanities at Amplify. “It’s time to begin assessing MLs in English and their home language to understand their early literacy needs better and ultimately improve their educational outcomes.”

A dual-language approach for early literacy assessment has powerful implications, including:

• Providing more accurate information about whether students need intervention
• Giving educators a more complete understanding of students’ literacy skills, including which skills they possess in each language
• Helping educators support students’ language development needs with more precision

“Although the availability of universal screening assessments for Spanish-speaking MLs has increased in recent years, it’s still not where it needs to be,” said Kajal Patel Below, vice president of biliteracy at Amplify. “Our hope is that this study will shed light on the extent to which the identification of reading intervention support varies for MLs when assessed in both their home language and in English.”

About Amplify

A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our core and supplemental programs in ELA, math and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively and for themselves. Our formative assessment products help teachers identify the targeted instruction students need to build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs and services provide educators with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves more than 15 million students in all 50 states and on six continents. For more information, visit Amplify.com.

Media Contact: Kristine Frech; media@amplify.com

BROOKLYN, NY (October 31, 2024) – Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, today released a research brief on beginning-of-school-year reading data for K–3 students. Findings reveal that recent gains in K–3 early literacy have stalled overall, and that the youngest learners are demonstrating concerning instructional loss over the summer. Students progressing from kindergarten to first grade are the most vulnerable because they have received the least amount of explicit instruction to reinforce foundational reading skills: as many as one in four students return from their summer break no longer on track for core instruction. 

The report compares K–3 literacy data from the past six school years to analyze the effect of instructional loss on student learning. Across grades K–3, the number of students at risk for not learning to read has yet to improve more than pre-pandemic levels, and only half of students are on track to read at grade level. 

“What this really points to is the importance of quality core instruction for young students. Quality instruction should be systematic, cumulative, and explicit. And of course, reading instruction should be informed by assessment data,” said Susan Lambert, chief academic officer of elementary humanities at Amplify. “This data helps educators identify strengths and areas for growth, enabling them to provide strong foundational support for their youngest students.”

In the report, Amplify outlines recommendations for educators as they begin the school year. Schools and districts can support students by:

• Ensuring that all students receive quality instruction grounded in evidence-based practices such as the Science of Reading
• Identifying students who need additional support and developing a plan for addressing their needs
• Allocating resources for additional support and implementing those plans
• Regularly monitoring progress for students and making adjustments as needed

“Schools and districts should consider explicit instructional practices that provide more frequent opportunities for students to reinforce their reading skills,” continued Lambert. “The good news is that when evidence-based instruction takes place in the earliest possible grades, research shows that most students can be taught to read at or approaching grade level.”

About Amplify
A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our core and supplemental programs in ELA, math and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively and for themselves. Our formative assessment products help teachers identify the targeted instruction students need to build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs and services provide educators with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves more than 15 million students in all 50 states and on six continents. For more information, visit Amplify.com.

Media Contact: Kristine Frech; media@amplify.com