The Effects of Personalized Learning on Student Achievement

Keile Phillips, Western Kentucky University

Abstract

Although many studies have been conducted on personalized learning strategies, teacher attitudes and perceptions, and student engagement, few studies have focused on personalized learning and its impact on student achievement when compared to the traditional classroom. The purpose of this study was to determine if personalized learning increased student achievement in three school districts by analyzing student assessments for three consecutive school years. The study utilized data from three school districts located in Western Kentucky for the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 school years. The data were collected from Renaissance Learning for math and reading. In addition to examining the students’ achievement scores, the study also included interview responses from teachers in one school district who taught personalized learning and traditional learning. The information collected from the interviews focused on the teaching strategies used in each model and the professional development each teacher attended. There was no significant statistical difference between the achievement of students who received instruction in the personalized learning classrooms versus those who were taught in traditional learning classrooms. Results also showed that the teachers of both models used similar teaching strategies to increase student achievement and engaged with similar professional development opportunities that they felt increased student achievement.