At Glen Lake Elementary School (GLES), educators began their curriculum search by asking one key question: “What do our students need?” As they vetted and compared six ELA programs, they used the Reading League Curriculum Evaluation Guidelines to analyze each program’s alignment with the Science of Reading.

After a thorough review, ARC Core® from American Reading Company rose to the top. Teachers were drawn to its student-centered pedagogy, knowledge-building units that integrate reading and writing, authentic high-interest content, and structured daily independent reading time—all essential elements for accelerating literacy growth.

In fall 2023, GLES piloted ARC Core in select classrooms: 

• One of three Kindergarten classrooms 

• One of three Grade 2 classrooms 

• All three Grade 4 classrooms 

 Additionally, all K–5 classrooms implemented ARC's Independent Reading Level Assessment® (IRLA®) for formative assessment and used IRLA Toolkits for small-group intervention.

The results? Remarkable progress in just six months! Students showed increased enthusiasm for reading, and their Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) scores reflected these gains.

Between spring 2023 and spring 2024, the percentage of Grade 3–5 students scoring proficient or advanced on the M-STEP jumped from 54% to 66%.

This early success highlights the power of using research-based, knowledge-building literacy instruction grounded in the Science of Reading. By equipping teachers with data-driven tools like the IRLA, GLES is making literacy growth a reality for more students.

Click here to dig into the full District Profile for more details on their success. Stay tuned for more success stories from the field!