Efficacy Study of WORD Force Early Literacy Program

This document is a research report detailing an efficacy study conducted by EVERFI on the WORD Force program, which focuses on early literacy digital game-based learning. The study, conducted in Spring 2024, involved 320 students who were randomly assigned to either a course group or a no-course group. The findings indicate that participants who engaged with the WORD Force program exhibited significant improvements in their early literacy skills, particularly in phonological awareness and vocabulary. Caregivers reported a noticeable increase in the variety of sentence structures in their children's spoken language after using the program. The report also discusses the importance of structured literacy frameworks and highlights the role of caregiver involvement in enhancing literacy outcomes. Furthermore, it emphasizes the need for effective instructional methods and the potential of digital learning programs to address the reading acquisition crisis, particularly in the context of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study's results suggest that consistent engagement with the program leads to greater skill improvement among students.