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Third-party research links increased Vocabulary.com use to substantial gains

A landmark study completed by Project Tomorrow, the internationally recognized education nonprofit organization, found that students whose teachers used Vocabulary.com in the classroom had significantly higher achievement scores and experienced substantially more growth on state standardized ELA tests than students whose teachers did not use the platform.

Researchers examined achievement score data from four middle schools in Broward County Public Schools, one of the nation's largest school districts. The research established these key findings:

• Across grades 7 and 8, students whose teachers used Vocabulary.com with fidelity showed almost double the year-over-year increase in ELA test scores as compared to those who did not use the platform.
• Additionally, students whose teachers regularly used Vocubulary.com achieved higher mean scaled FSA ELA test scores than their peers who did not regularly use the platform.
• This pattern was consistent when the student data was disaggregated for African-American and Hispanic/Latinx students.

Case study shows vocabulary instruction across content areas amplifies positive outcomes

Project Tomorrow also conducted a more in-depth case study on Broward County's Margate Middle School, which shows how Vocabulary.com usage across different content areas can have even more of an effect. In those classrooms where Vocabulary.com has become deeply embedded in instructional practices and the culture of learning, students who used the platform saw twice the improvement on FSA ELA scores as those that did not.

Academic journal publishes report on efficacy of Vocabulary.com’s “gamified” approach

According to a study published in the International Reading Association's Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (JAAL), Vocabulary.com "offered an effective hybrid teaching tool that honored independent and flexible learning opportunities." The authors investigate how Vocabulary.com’s adaptivity helped to support differentiated learning and improved understanding of vocabulary in context among eleventh-graders.

Evidence connects increased use of Vocabulary.com with increased student achievement

Researchers at Florida-based education services group Progressive Bridges examined state standardized ELA test scores at an urban middle school. Student data for both seventh and eighth graders showed that those who consistently used Vocabulary.com scored well over the district average, while students who used the platform infrequently or not at all scored significantly below the school average.

How we apply the science of learning

The Vocabulary.com white paper lays out how Vocabulary.com harnesses big data to bring insights from the science of learning into practical use for teachers and students.