METHODS article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Digital Education
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1513465
A study protocol for a cluster randomised trial of the DreamBox Reading Plus adaptive literacy intervention for primary school pupils
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, North West England, United Kingdom
- 2School of Education, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom
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Improving reading skills in primary school pupils is a crucial focus for educators, researchers, and policymakers worldwide. Within the UK many schools are opting to use "evidence-based" reading programmes to deliver or supplement the teaching of reading. This article reports a protocol for a rigorous efficacy study of DreamBox Reading Plus, an online adaptive program aimed at improving reading fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary for elementary pupils.We conduct a pragmatic, parallel cluster randomised controlled trial in English primary schools, with schools serving as the unit of randomisation. Schools are allocated to either a treatment group, which received the DreamBox Reading Plus intervention, or a control group following standard practices, on a 1:1 basis. The study's primary outcome focuses on reading attainment, assessed using a standardised reading test for pupils starting in Year 5. Secondary outcomes include various measures of reading fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, reading self-efficacy, and motivation. The intervention is scheduled to begin in October 2024, with outcome analysis planned for August 2025.By generating high-quality evidence on the efficacy of DreamBox Reading Plus, this study aims to inform best practices and contribute to the broader discourse on effective educational technologies in the classroom.
Keywords: Digital Education, rct, reading attainment, primary school, literacy
Received: 18 Oct 2024; Accepted: 30 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gellen, Ainsworth, Morris, Lewin and Wicker. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sandor Gellen, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, M15 6LL, North West England, United Kingdom
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