Ready4K Research
Ready4K programs meet the highest standards for evidence-based educational resources. Our approach has been shown to increase family engagement at home and school and increase child learning by 2 to 3 months over the course of a school year.
Ongoing research continues to show that Ready4K programs improve outcomes for students, families, and schools.
A Leader in Educational Research
Our founder, Dr. Benjamin York, and colleagues from Stanford University first studied the Ready4K approach in a randomized controlled trial in partnership with the early education department of a large urban district, which serves the city’s lowest–income preschool families. Parents who received program messages found them very helpful and reported engaging in more home literacy activities with their children. Teachers also reported increased involvement among parents in the treatment group.
Subsequent studies showed that outcomes for students were even more substantial when families received a whole child curriculum and when the curriculum was personalized to the student.
Ready4K programs are continuously updated to integrate findings from new research, to ensure families and schools receive the highest quality experience possible.
Ready4K meets the highest standards for evidence-based programs
With multiple randomized controlled trials and ongoing evaluations with top-tier researchers, Ready4K meets the most rigorous Head Start and ESSA Tier 1 standards. Here’s what the research has shown:
2-3 Months Literacy Gains
Parents who received Ready4K texts showed increased involvement at home and at school, and children gained important literacy skills.
Parents found Ready4K texts helpful in engaging children in early math skill building.
%
Learned New Math Tips
Source: Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital study
Parents report that Ready4K helps make learning a part of their daily lives.
%
Made Learning a Part of Every Day
Source: ParentPowered national longitudinal family survey
The Ready4K approach outperformed other digital family engagement tools in a head–to–head study.
%
Found Activities Easy To Do
Source: Minnesota early education study
Studies
One step at a time: The effects of an early literacy text messaging program for parents of preschoolers
This study evaluated the effectiveness of a home literacy-focused text messaging program for parents of preschoolers designed to break down the complexity of supportive parenting.
More than just a nudge: Supporting kindergarten parents with differentiated and personalized text-messages
(Doss, Fahle, Loeb & York, 2018) We study effects of a text-based program for parents of kindergarten children, distinguishing a general program from one adding...
Too little or too much? Actionable Advice in an Early-Childhood Text Messaging Experiment
(Cortes, Fricke, Loeb & Song, 2018) This study investigates whether actionable advice alone drives the results of text-message based parenting programs and whether additional...
When Behavioral Barriers are Too High or Low – How Timing Matters for Parenting Interventions
(Cortes, Fricke, Loeb, Song & York, 2019) This study compares the effects of an early childhood text-messaging program sent during the weekend to the same program sent on...
The results of this research have been highlighted in:
