KnowledgePoints Evaluation Results:

An Educators Overview

Academic Study Report

Over the past five years, KnowledgePoints has commissioned an independent consultant to evaluate the effectiveness of our program for all students who have completed 40 tutoring lessons. Our goal in gathering this important information was to show parents, students and educators that KnowledgePoints is committed to ensuring all of our students, boys and girls in minority and majority groups are experiencing the same high quality of learning nationwide and more importantly, that the program is successful in addressing the gaps in student skills.

Using School Measures To Demonstrate Growth

In the spring of 2005, Dr. Jerry Litzenberger, an educational research consultant to universities, state agencies and school organizations for over 30 years, completed an independent study on the effectiveness of the KnowledgePoints program. According to Dr. Litzenberger, “While grade equivalent scores are often used to communicate with parents, their limitations in evaluating school programs are well known to teachers and administrators. Because these scores can distort results for students who are far behind in their achievement, schools more often use normal curve equivalents (NCE’s) as the measure of success.” The table below show success measures based on this evaluation definition.

A student who scores at the 50th NCE (the exact middle) and maintains the same ranking on tests given the following year has made a year of growth. Those who score a lower NCE have fallen behind and those students with higher scores have been accelerated academically.

1. In reading, the average student started the tutoring program 25 NCE points below the national midpoint. By the end of 40 tutoring lessons at KnowledgePoints students demonstrated that they had been accelerated to the national average and that they now possess the reading skills necessary to be successful in the school classroom.
2. In math the average student started a little higher, but still about 15 NCE points below the national average. By the end of 40 lessons, KnowledgePoints’ students were performing six to thirteen points higher than the average student nationwide and also demonstrated that they had the skills necessary to successfully complete classroom math lessons and assignments.
3. The average reading student has an NCE gain score of 27 points and the average math student has an NCE gain score of 28 points by the end of 40 tutoring lessaons at KnowledgePoints. (National programs consider a gain of 10 NCE points over the duration of one school year to be exceptional.)

Learning for all Students

National data indicates that the issue of equity for all students continues to be a key consideration for the public education system. KnowledgePoints Learning Centers have shown a commitment to address these issues and continues to ensure all students learn to read and do math without regard to gender or ethnicity.
The evaluation of the KnowledgePoints program revealed this effort has been successful. 

1. Both male and female students of various ethnicities made statistically significant growth
2. Of exceptional note is that the Female students averaged a NCE gain of 31 points in 40 lessons
3. In math African American and Hispanic students made greater gains than any other student group
4. In reading African American and Hispanic students made gains exceeding one full year of growth in both vocabulary and comprehension

2005 NCE Gains by Gender & Ethnic Group

In summary, Dr. Litzenberger concluded, “The KnowledgePoints tutoring program improves the performance of all students and can reduce the ‘performance gap’ that plagues our education system.” The same results have been evident in similar studies conducted in 2001 and 2003. As KnowledgePoints has expanded nationwide into urban, suburban and rural settings, the outcome has been the same. “KnowledgePoints is an effective tutoring program that provides skills in reading and math leading to success in the classroom,” said Dr. Litzenberger.

For a Printer Friendly Version Click Here.