© 2025 Vista Higher Learning Vista’s Bridges: A Study of Reading Growth in MLs iv KEY FINDINGS This section summarizes the major outcomes of a quasi-experimental study conducted during the 2024–2025 school year, evaluating the effectiveness of Vista’s Bridges to Literature and Content in improving reading skills among multilingual learners in grades 6–8. Summary of Major Findings • Significant reading growth: Students who received instruction incorporating Vista’s Bridges to Literature and Content demonstrated statistically significant gains in reading skills from fall to spring compared to peers receiving traditional instruction. • Comparable starting points: Treatment and control groups began the study with nearly identical initial reading levels (mean difference <1 point), confirming a fair and valid comparison across conditions. • Positive outcomes across subgroups: The treatment group outperformed the control group across sex and race. Notably, students eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch made greater gains than their peers in the control group, indicating stronger effects among economically disadvantaged learners. • Consistent growth across grade levels: Reading gains were observed in grades 6, 7, and 8, with results for grades 6 and 8 mirroring the overall trend, and grade 7 showing a smaller, but still positive effect. • Equitable and replicable impact: Results indicate that the Bridges program was equally effective across diverse student populations, supporting its use in inclusive middle school literacy instruction. • Evidence-based instructional value: Findings align with current research emphasizing structured, language-rich interventions as a means of supporting decoding and comprehension growth among middle school multilingual learners. Conclusion Together, these findings demonstrate that Vista’s Bridges to Literature and Content effectively supports reading development and equitable literacy growth among middle school multilingual learners. The consistency of gains across grades and subgroups underscores the program’s potential as a research-based model for improving language and literacy outcomes in diverse classrooms.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjUyNzA0NQ==