Dr. Julia Smith from Oakland University conducted independent research studies on the effectiveness of the GrapeSEED program on English learners in preschool to Grade 2 classrooms, including ESL and at-risk subgroups. The studies were conducted at multiple schools and in diverse populations of children. They used various testing measurements. These studies were longitudinal in nature – the researchers tracked the performance of the children from year-to-year. Most of these studies are ongoing. In the following sections, we will review a few key findings from the research.

1. 2011-2014 OVERVIEW
Preschool-Grade 2 English
Learning Research Findings
About GrapeSEED 2
About the research studies 2
At-risk preschool students grew significantly
and moved out of at-risk status 3
ESL students reached reading proficiency
in half the time of the national average 4
The “dose effect” was very evident and
the gains carried over into higher grades 5
Boys outperformed girls in reading skill area 6
Early start with four-year-olds resulted in greatest growth 7
Gains in all subgroups, not just in at-risk populations 8
Summary 8
References 8
TABLE OF CONTENTS
RESEARCH BY
Oakland University
RESEARCHERS
Dr. Julia Smith, Ph. D.,
Professor & Ph. D. Coordinator,
Educational Leadership
Department at
Oakland University
Dr. Judith Smith, Ph. D.,
Program evaluation, literacy,
behavior management
at the University of Michigan
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2. GrapeSEED is an English-language acquisition
program for children (ages 4-12). It is currently
in use in 15 countries, in over 600 schools,
serving more than 40,000 students. In the
United States, the program has been used
for language development with children who
are English Language Learners (ELL / ESL),
preschool children, economically disadvantaged
children, and children who have learning
disabilities. It has been designated as an
appropriate Tier I and Tier II program for
Response to Intervention initiatives.
The program is “research based” in that it is
based on the theoretical and scientific research
of scholars such as Finocchario and Brumfit
(functional-notional approach) and Krashen
and Crawford (communicative-based approach).
Other scholars, such as Maslow, Glasser,
Csikszentmuhalyi, Deming and Willis, are
cited in the program manual as influential
in the design of the program. In addition,
GrapeSEED includes the five essential or
critical components for reading instruction
identified by the National Reading Panel, and
all the components identified by a broader
group of scholars as critical in an early literacy
program. The program is unique in its emphasis
on the development of oral language.
The Department of Organizational Leadership
within Oakland University’s School of Education
and Human Services (SEHS) is home to
programs in human resources development,
teacher leadership, school leadership at the
principal and central office levels, and higher
education leadership. The mission of this
department is to develop educational leaders
in a variety of organizational settings through
academic and field-based experiences that
facilitate transformative, research-based,
ethical and socially-just leadership practices.
Dr. Julia Smith from this department conducted
independent research studies on the effective-
ness of the GrapeSEED program on students.
The studies were conducted at multiple schools
and in diverse populations of children. They
used various testing measurements. These
studies were longitudinal in nature – the
researchers tracked the performance of the
children from year-to-year. Most of these
studies are ongoing.
In the following sections, we will review a few
key findings from the research.
ABOUT GRAPESEED ABOUT THE RESEARCH STUDIES
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3. 1 Smith, Julia B, Ed.D. Oakland University Smith, Judith M, Ph.D.,
University of Michigan. Effectiveness of the GrapeSEED program with
Great Start Readiness students in Berrien R.E.S.A. (SY 2013-2014).
In summary, the GrapeSEED students grew faster
than expected for their age. The growth was
deemed highly significant, meaning it could not
happen by chance.
AT-RISK PRESCHOOL STUDENTS GREW SIGNIFICANTLY
AND MOVED OUT OF AT-RISK STATUS1
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Clinical Evaluation of Language
Fundamentals (CELF) —
PRESCHOOL
STUDENTS GREW MUCH FASTER
THAN EXPECTED FOR THEIR AGE
PERCENTAT/ABOVEAGENORMS
ASSESSMENT TIME
65 —
60 —
55 —
50 —
45 —
40 —
35 —
30 —
25 —
20
Fall Spring
EXPRESSIVE
VOCABULARY
RECALL
SENTENCES
IN CONTEXT
RECALLING
SENTENCES
WORD
STRUCTURE
SENTENCE
STRUCTURE
PHONOLOGICAL
AWARENESS
This was the major study1
of GrapeSEED
conducted across 22 preschool classrooms
in Michigan. The 432 students that took the
assessment were part of Michigan’s Great
Start Readiness Program (GSRP) for
at-risk preschoolers.
The testing measure used was the Clinical
Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF).
Students were evaluated in six key areas that
determine language ability: phonological
awareness, sentence structure, word structure,
expressive vocabulary, recalling sentences,
and recalling sentences in context.
This graph shows how the Great Start Readi-
ness Program (GSRP) students compared to
other students their age across the U.S.
Students naturally grow over time and the
CELF test accounts for this by using nationally
normed data (normal growth would show as a
flat line). The upward slope on this graph shows
the GrapeSEED students growing much faster
than their national peers (in every category).
The percent of students performing at or above
their age norm increased significantly from the
Fall to Spring assessment. The difference is due
entirely to the improvement of at-risk students
since all students who performed at or above their
age norms in the Fall assessment maintained that
status in the Spring assessment.

4. 1 Smith, Julia B, Ed.D. Oakland University Smith, Judith M, Ph.D.,
University of Michigan. Effectiveness of the GrapeSEED program with
Great Start Readiness students in Berrien R.E.S.A. (SY 2013-2014).
In a study2
of GrapeSEED with ESL students,
the teachers used a pull-out program to teach
children in kindergarten through second grade.
This study was conducted over three years.
Children from 22 different languages received
GrapeSEED. The assessment measure used in
this study was the World-Class Instructional
Design and Assessment (WIDA).
The WIDA Consortium (World-Class Instructional
Design and Assessment - WIDA) is an educational
consortium of state departments of education.
Currently, 33 U.S. states participate in the WIDA
Consortium. WIDA designs and implements
proficiency standards and assessment for
grade K-12 English learners.
The students’ proficiency as evidenced in their
WIDA scores reflected the natural progression
of children learning language.
Listening comes first because the children have
to be able to hear the words of the language
before they can speak. The kindergarten students
were certainly successful in listening.
Next comes speaking. The research showed
that the first and second graders scored high
in speaking and oral language.
And finally, by the third grade, children should
develop reading skills. The GrapeSEED students
achieved reading proficiency by the end of
second grade.
World-Class Instructional Design
and Assessment (WIDA) — ESL K–2
75% OF ESL STUDENTS REACHED READING
PROFICIENCY BY 2ND GRADE, IN HALF THE TIME
OF THE NATIONAL AVERAGE
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
4-Expanding2-Emerging 5-Bridging
Reaching
3-Developing1-Entering
PROFICIENCY LEVEL PROGRESSION
THE ESL STUDENTS REACHED READING PROFICIENCY
IN HALF THE TIME OF THE NATIONAL AVERAGE2
National research shows that children typically
take 6–8 years to reach grade level proficiency.
GrapeSEED students, however, reached proficiency
in speaking and reading in just 2–3 years.
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5. 3 Smith, Julia B, Ed.D. Oakland University Smith, Judith M,
Ph.D., University of Michigan. Effectiveness of the GrapeSEED
program with at-risk kindergarten and first grade students in
Clintondale Public Schools (SY 2013-2014).
A major study3
of children from low-income
and homeless English speaking families over a
period of three years used the Developmental
Reading Assessment (DRA) measurement.
The challenge was that these children often
times were speaking their own dialect of
English, or a cultural language. So in many
ways, Standard English was like a second
language for these children. A related factor
was that the students were taught by multiple
teachers with varying abilities and styles.
After using GrapeSEED in the first year, 100
percent of the children tested at grade level or
above. This had never before happened in the
history of the school. In the second year, the
same thing happened with an entirely new group
of kindergarteners. In the third year, with yet
another new group of kindergarteners, 98 percent
of students achieved grade level or above.
The researchers took note of the so-called
“dose effect”. The more GrapeSEED the
children received, the better their performance.
The chart below shows the dose effect at work.
Starting from the left, it compares children who
had no GrapeSEED to children who had Grape-
SEED only in kindergarten, only in first grade, and
those who had GrapeSEED in both kindergarten
and in first grade. Clearly, the children who had
the most GrapeSEED performed the best on
their DRA (reading test) scores.
DRAENDOF2NDGRADE
GRAPESEED RECEIVED
None Kindergarten Only 1st Grade Only Kindergarten
1st grade
26 —
25 —
24 —
23 —
22 —
21 —
20 —
19 —
18 —
Developmental Reading
Assessment (DRA) Grade K–2
THE DOSE EFFECT: THE MORE
GRAPESEED, THE BETTER THE RESULTS
THE “DOSE EFFECT” WAS VERY EVIDENT
AND THE GAINS CARRIED OVER INTO HIGHER GRADES3
Finally, the researchers pointed out a finding
of great importance to educators: the gains
from GrapeSEED were sticking with the children,
even after they had left the program.
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6. 4 Smith, Julia B, Ed.D. Oakland University Smith, Judith M, Ph.D., University of Michigan. Effectiveness of the GrapeSEED program with
at-risk kindergarten and first grade students in Clintondale Public Schools (SY 2013-2014).
In the same study4
of children from low-in-
come and homeless English speaking families
over a period of three years, the researchers
highlighted an unexpected result. The graph
to the right shows the boys outperforming the
girls on the Michigan Literacy Progress Profile
(MLPP) sight word test.
This was a surprise, since girls typically out-
perform boys on literacy assessments at the
elementary level. The gap tends to increase
with age. The IES National Center for Education
Sciences reports on the recent study by the
U.S. Department of Education, First–Time
Kindergarteners in 2010-2011: First Findings
of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study,
Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011).
The findings indicate that boys scored 1.4 points
lower than girls on the literacy measures in
the Fall assessment and 2.0 points lower in
the Spring assessment. Both differences are
highly significant, meaning they could not
happen by chance.
Fall Mid-Year Spring
TIME
ESTIMATEDMARGINALMEANS
40 —
30 —
20 —
10 —
MALE
FEMALE
MLPP SIGHT WORD TEST
MICHIGAN LITERACY
PROGRESS PROFILE
BOYS OUTPERFORMED GIRLS IN SIGHT WORD
ASSESSMENT BECAUSE OF HIGH ENGAGEMENT
BOYS OUTPERFORMED GIRLS IN READING SKILLS AREA4
The significance of this is that GrapeSEED is
clearly working for both boys and girls. Boys
matched or outperformed girls in skill areas,
and there was no difference between the
abilities of boys and girls to read books.
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7. 5 Smith, Julia B, Ed.D. Oakland University Smith, Judith M, Ph.D., University of Michigan. Effectiveness of the GrapeSEED program with Great Start
Readiness students in Berrien R.E.S.A. (SY 2013-2014).
One of the studies5
conducted over two years
involved the Great Start Readiness Program
(GSRP), a Michigan state-funded preschool
program for at-risk students. In the second
year of the study, the researchers followed
the students as they moved into kindergarten.
The students were divided into four groups
based on whether they had GrapeSEED in
preschool or in kindergarten (or none). The
testing measurement used in this case was the
DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment).
The solid line at the bottom represents the
control group, meaning they had no Grape-
SEED. These students had the lowest gains.
All three other groups were given GrapeSEED.
There were two key findings. Four-year-olds
showed the most significant growth in
learning. Secondly, those who had the most
GrapeSEED clearly outperformed their peers.
The “dose effect” is evident in the graph.
5
EARLY START WITH FOUR-YEAR-OLDS
RESULTED IN GREATEST GROWTH
GRAPESEED IN
BOTH
PRESCHOOL
KINDERGARTEN
NO GRAPESEED
IN PRESCHOOL,
GRAPESEED IN
KINDERGARTEN
GRAPESEED IN
PRESCHOOL,
NOT IN
KINDERGARTEN
NO GRAPESEED
PRESCHOOL OR
KINDERGARTEN
DRATEXTLEVEL
6 —
5 —
4 —
3 —
2 —
1 — | | |
Fall Mid-Year Spring
Developmental Reading
Assessment (DRA) Grade PreK-K
FOUR-YEAR-OLDS SHOWED THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN LEARNING
And here is something worth noting: the
very highest performers shown here (the solid
red line) were in fact the students who were
judged to be at risk. These at-risk students,
the ones who had GrapeSEED for two full years,
actually outperformed their peers who were
not considered to be at risk!
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8. In all studies, the researchers noticed that
not only was GrapeSEED bringing up the
scores of the lower performers, it was actually
benefitting the entire student population,
even the higher performing students.
The different categories of students exhibited
gains in different areas depending on their
needs. For example:
1. Smith, Julia B, Ed.D. Oakland University Smith, Judith M, Ph.D., University of Michigan. Effectiveness
of the GrapeSEED program with at-risk Kindergarten and First Grade students in Clintondale Public
Schools (SY 2013-2014).
2. Smith, Julia B, Ed.D. Oakland University Smith, Judith M, Ph.D., University of Michigan. Effectiveness
of the GrapeSEED program with at-risk Kindergarten students in Berrien Springs Public Schools
(SY 2013-2014).
3. Smith, Julia B, Ed.D. Oakland University Smith, Judith M, Ph.D., University of Michigan. Effectiveness of
the GrapeSEED program with K-1-2 ESL/ELL students in Berrien Springs Public Schools (SY 2013-2014).
4. Smith, Julia B, Ed.D. Oakland University Smith, Judith M, Ph.D., University of Michigan. Effectiveness
of the GrapeSEED program with Great Start Readiness students in Berrien R.E.S.A. (SY 2013-2014).
REFERENCES
© 2015 GrapeSEED Media Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
www.grapeseed.com
800-449-8841
contact.us@grapeseed.com
6 GAINS IN ALL SUBGROUPS
The lowest students improved their ability
to hold a pattern.
The average students improved in reading.
The highest students improved in
expressive reading.
To conclude, here are the six highlights from the research findings:
At-risk preschool students grew significantly
and moved out of at-risk status.
ESL students reached reading proficiency in
half the time of the national average.
The “dose” effect was evident, and the gains
carried over into higher grades.
Boys outperformed girls in reading
skill area.
Starting GrapeSEED early with four-year-olds
resulted in greatest growth.
GrapeSEED resulted in gains in all
subgroups, not just in at-risk populations.
SUMMARY
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