Study: Struggling readers gain with musical approach

Dr. Susan Homan, researcher on adolescent literacy from the University of South Florida, released a fifth and sixth year of research data reporting literacy gains for struggling readers who used TUNEin™ to READING. Dr. Homan found that over a six-year period, struggling readers using TUNEin to READING, from Electronic Learning Products, significantly outperformed their peers (who were using other reading intervention programs) on the FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test). The year-over-year gains ranged from 27% to 214%.

Data from over 1,400 students of varying socio-economic status from ten different Florida schools and six grade levels were analyzed. Gains were measured using data from six years of FCAT Developmental Scale Scores (DSS) for students who used TUNEin to READING in grades 3-12. Some years of data provided control-matched samples for analysis. Other students in the study used a variety of state-approved intervention programs for comparison to measure the gains that could be attributed to TiR. Read the full PDF report here.

TUNEin to READING uses a patented learning technology where both sides of the brain are engaged through music. Students listen, learn and sing songs that are crafted with contemporary themes and high-frequency vocabulary words. When students use both sides of the brain simultaneously—music on the right and reading on the left —they more readily absorb the new information and retain what they have learned. Children and teens expand their vocabulary, build their fluency and ultimately improve reading comprehension while singing their hearts out.