How Targeted Literacy Instruction Drove 26% Higher MAP Reading Growth for Multilingual Learners

Is Your District Still Investing in Solutions that Don’t Deliver?

Despite your best efforts, the national trend tells a painful truth: Multilingual Learners (MLLs) are not catching up!  They are stuck in a cycle—reading scores are stagnant; language proficiency is stalled.  

In today’s educational landscape—especially in large, diverse urban districts—finding a research-based, results-driven, and cost-effective solution for MLLs isn’t just important, it’s urgent.

The Evidence Behind Accelerated Reading Growth for Multilingual Learners

ESSA-backed evidence shows that Multilingual Learners using Connect to Literacy™ with fidelity outpaced their peers by 26% on NWEA MAP Reading growth in a large urban Texas district—clear proof that targeted language and literacy instruction accelerates results.‍

This finding comes at a critical moment for district leaders. Accountability pressures are increasing, student populations are becoming more linguistically diverse, and districts are being asked to demonstrate measurable impact—especially for students acquiring English.

MLL Reading Growth Proven at Scale

The study analyzed Beginning-of-Year (BOY) to End-of-Year (EOY) MAP Reading data for 19,100 Multilingual Learners in grades 2–8 during the 2024–25 school year. 

Students represented a broad range of English language proficiency levels, from Beginning (Level 1) to Advanced High (Level 4).

For the purposes of this research, the students were divided into two groups:

• Treatment group: Students who used Connect to Literacy™ with high fidelity
• Control group: Students with low or no program usage

Both groups had access to the district’s core literacy curriculum. Connect to Literacy™ was the only instructional solution specifically designed to accelerate English language development through explicit, multilingual literacy instruction, aligning to best practices for multilingual teaching and learning.

What Is “High-Fidelity Implementation”—and Why Was It An Important Factor In This Study?

To ensure the analysis measured instructional impact—not incidental usage—the researchers defined high fidelity usage. They employed clear, quantifiable criteria. Students were included in the treatment group if they:

• Completed 3,200 or more instructional minutes (approximately 100 minutes per week)
• Finished 50 or more Language Foundation Skills lessons aligned to the Science of Reading

This allowed them to reliably link  outcomes to the learning that took place in Connect to Literacy.

Key Evidence: A 26% Growth Advantage on MAP Reading

The results were both statistically significant and instructionally meaningful.

• Students using Connect to Literacy™ with high fidelity demonstrated 26% higher MAP Reading growth than their peers
• Results were significant at the 99% confidence level, meaning the gains are highly reliable and extremely unlikely to be due to chance

Here’s a detailed summary of how the treatment group’s end-of-year MAP scores compared to their peers’ scores.

• +26% Higher Growth Overall
• +43% Average Higher Growth Across Grades 3–8
• +36% Higher Growth Among Hispanic MLLs
• +47% Average Higher Growth Across 7 MLL subgroups

They also achieved higher TELPAS Language Proficiency Composite Scores:

• ↓ 44.8% to 21.6%: Beginning (Level 1)
• ↑ 36.7% to 55%: Intermediate (Level 2)
• ↑ 18.5% to 23.5%: Advanced & Advanced High (Levels 3 and 4) 

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Accelerated Growth Across Diverse Student Populations

Statistically significant gains were observed across multiple student populations, including:

• Hispanic students
• Economically disadvantaged learners
• Male and female students
• Students in Grades 5, 7, and 8, where growth rates were especially pronounced

Notably, treatment group students began the year with similar or lower baseline MAP Reading scores, reinforcing that gains were driven by instruction—not prior academic advantage.

‍Why Instructional Dosage Mattered

A sensitivity analysis revealed a clear, consistent relationship between program usage and student growth.

• Even minimal usage resulted in 12% higher growth compared to peers
• Moderate increases in time and lesson completion led to steadily improved outcomes
• Students meeting the full implementation benchmark experienced the highest growth gains (26%)

These findings reinforce a core principle for multilingual leaders. Districtwide consistency—not classroom-by-classroom variation—is what drives results.

Gains Across All Performance Levels

A quintile analysis examined growth across five performance bands—Low, Low Average, Average, High Average, and High—across three MAP Reading goal areas:

• Vocabulary
• Multiple Genres
• Author’s Purpose and Craft

Treatment group students outperformed the control group in 14 of 15 possible comparisons. The most significant gains occurred among students in the lowest-performing quintile, while students in the highest-performing quintile also demonstrated strong growth.

These results show that Connect to Literacy™ accelerates learning for students who are behind and continues to challenge students who are already performing at higher levels, supporting instructional coherence across the system.

Proven Impact: Connect to Literacy Drives Measurable Gains for MLLs

The results of this large-scale study demonstrate that Summit K12’s Connect to Literacy™ is a research-backed, scalable solution for accelerating reading growth and English language development among Multilingual Learners.

With a 26% average growth advantage, statistically significant gains across key subgroups, and clear improvements in TELPAS proficiency, the program delivers measurable impact where districts need it most.

When implemented with fidelity, Connect to Literacy™ does more than support compliance—it helps districts close opportunity gaps, strengthen literacy outcomes, and build sustainable systems for multilingual learner success.

Why This Matters Now, More than Ever

Budgets are being reduced. This district is dropping programs that don’t deliver results and
is scaling Connect to Literacy™ across every campus—because results like these can’t wait.

If your MLLs don’t get the right support now, they’ll enter another year at a disadvantage. 

Take Action Today: You Can Rewrite the Reading Growth Trajectory for Your MLLs 

Here’s what you can do:

• Read the Research Brief to get the complete data and insights.
• Share the Research Brief with your leadership  team
• Schedule a Connect to Literacy™ demonstration this month
• Call your curriculum director, federal programs lead, and ELL coordinator
• Allocate funding and fight for solutions that work

When MLLs Get the Right Support, They Don’t Just Catch Up—They Thrive!