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Fast ForWord Research & Independent Evidence
No other reading and language intervention program has been as thoroughly researched or peer-reviewed.
Extensive Published Research
Does Fast ForWord Really Work?
Developed by leading neuroscientists, the program has undergone over two decades of rigorous external scrutiny, independent validation, and so-called “gold-standard” studies. It has been used by 3+ million students in 55 countries.
- 300+ studies by researchers and school districts
- 700+ white papers, published in 60+ peer-reviewed journal articles
- 100,000+ students were part of studies across hundreds of schools
- 80 patents
Fast ForWord is the most reviewed educational software in the world and meets the absolute highest benchmarks in the industry.
- ESSA’s Highest Standard: Fast ForWord meets the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) highest tier of “Strong Evidence”, requiring well-designed, randomized controlled trials.
- Digital Promise Certification: Earned the Research-Based Design Product Certification, confirming that product design aligns deeply with the empirical laws of how human minds acquire language.
- National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII): Independent state reviews across the country—including Iowa and Nevada—have documented positive, broad effect sizes, earning a “high-gain” classification.
What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Performance
The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) is an initiative by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to evaluate the evidence supporting educational programs, practices, and policies. It functions as a trusted database to help educators make decisions.
Fast ForWord earned a “Strong Evidence” rating after unbiased scientific scrutiny. Read the WWC evaluation of Fast ForWord here.
See the software in action, request a free demo link, and video walkthrough.
“My daughter has been at the program for almost five months. I have seen a big improvement in all aspects of learning. Most of all her reading and understanding has been awesome. This program has been such a blessing for us that I have recommended it to a few people. My daughter has had a great time with all the games and the rewards. So, a big THANK YOU!!!!! You have given “hope” to my child.”
Independent Scientific Research
Fast ForWord research examples from over 300 studies and submissions – view more studies here
Reading Gains for Dyslexic Students
Stanford University 2003 & 2008 (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(5), 2860- 2865)
Scientists at Stanford University showed dyslexic brains can be rewired with Fast ForWord. In addition to physical changes in the brain seen by brain imaging, the dyslexic students’ reading also improved.
Language Gains in Learning Delayed Students
Heim, Choudhury, Benasich 2015 (Braintopography)
Changes in neural activity and improved language skills in students with Language Learning difficulties following Fast ForWord
Language Gains in APD Students
Krishnamurti et al 2013 (Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology)
Significant changes from pre- to post-intervention in Fast ForWord reflect plasticity in the auditory brainstem’s neural activity in response to speech stimuli, as measured using BioMARK.
Positive Impact of Auditory Training on Dyslexia and SLI
Ylinen, S. & Kujala, T. 2015 (Frontiers of Psychology)
Fast ForWord training induced plastic changes to help reading, writing, and spelling in deficient neural networks. fMRI studies.
Published Research & Third Party Verifications
Level One Research
Foundational Fast ForWord Research & Efficacy Studies
386 papers published, including in these peer-reviewed journals
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA
- Journal of Neuroscience
- Nature Neuroscience
- Journal of Neurophysiology
- Brain Research (Elsevier)
- Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
- Nature
Level Two Research
Real-World Effectiveness Studies
Fast ForWord research by major universities and school districts, including:
- Stanford University
- The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
- Rutgers University
- UC San Francisco
- Nevada State Dept. of Education
- Iowa State Dept. of Education
- Pocatello District (Ohio)
- District 16, Canada
Level Three Research
Expert Panel and Independent Peer-Reviewed Studies
29 independent studies and research submissions to government agencies, including:
- What Works Clearinghouse
- National Center on Intensive Intervention
- US and Canadian school districts
- Tallal et al., Science journal
- Habib et al., International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders
20+ Years of Scrutiny
When a program promises significant reading gains in just a few months, it naturally raises the question: Does Fast ForWork work?
1. fMRIs Tell the Story
Brain imaging studies conducted at Stanford University and Harvard University show physical changes in the neural biology of struggling readers. Post-program fMRI scans reveal entirely new neural activity in the brain’s language regions.
2. 300+ Studies
Those that doubt the efficacy of educational software in general need to contend with the results from Fast ForWord.
This led to a handful of studies designed to fail. Notably, participation came in under 50% particiation, which the researchers argued reflected “real-world conditions.” Judging efficacy based on non-compliant students is like concluding a gym’s equipment doesn’t work because a member sat passively on the bench. Read more on these studies here.
Gemm Learning students average 95%+.
3. Helping Students Worldwide
Clinicians and schools in 45 countries use Fast ForWord to help children, teens, and adults of all ages with reading and learning struggles. And has been doing so for 20+ years.
If Fast ForWord didn’t, it would not be as extensively used for such a long time. T
Will This Work for My Child?
It’s a fair question, as every individual is unique and Fast ForWord will not work in every case. We do our best to screen out children who would not benefit from Fast ForWord in a free 1-on-1 consultation.
Gains After Program Completion – Longitudinal Studies
The science of Fast ForWord predicts that gains should continue after program completion, as improved fundamental skills provide a platform for the accelerated development of higher-level skills, such as executive functioning and metacognition. It’s the push that gets the ball rolling down the hill, then nature takes over.
The nearby chart shows a multi-year study, following more than 500 high school students from 20 Texas schools:
- On Fast ForWord, and
- After program completion.
This Fast ForWord study uses the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), which is closely aligned with state standards.
Fast ForWord students experienced continued growth relative to their peers during and after the program.
Fast ForWord Research – Nine-Year Study at St Mary’s
This study tracks elementary and middle school children over 9 years, using the state ELA reading test as the standard. All children at St Mary’s completed Fast ForWord in their second year. The shaded yellow area shows the continued gains for these students in subsequent years as higher-level comprehension skills developed.
Other Longitudinal Research: A longitudinal IQ test from a school district in the Southeast, using annual IQ tests, shows that Fast ForWord accelerates learning well after program completion by removing cognitive impediments to progress.
Note, although true IQ is fixed, improved working memory and learning efficiency do boost IQ test scores. This may be because programs like Fast ForWord improve the working memory input to IQ, or because they improve IQ test-taking skills.
Note also that a Fast ForWord study by Rogokwosky and others showed that Fast ForWord boosted writing scores (OWLS is the Oral & Written Language Scale) in teenagers. Fast ForWord helps with writing by improving reading and language familiarity and by providing exercises that support sentence development and the application of grammar rules.
The 4 Founding Neuroscientists
Co-Founders of the Fast ForWord Program
Dr. Mike Merzenich
Dr. Paula Tallal
Dr. William Jenkins
Dr. Steve Miller
Michael M. Merzenich, Ph.D.
- Expertise: Brain plasticity, therapeutic software development, and otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat science).
- Background: Elected member of the National Academy of Sciences; Francis A. Sooy Chair at UC San Francisco. Also serves as Chief Scientific Officer of Posit Science.
- Credentials: Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University; Graduate of the University of Portland.
- Key Achievements: Holds over 50 patents; recipient of the Kavli Prize (called the “Neuroscience Nobel Prize”), and the international IPSEN and Zülch Prizes. Dr. Merzenich’s research at UCSF contributed to the development of cochlear implants, and his pioneering work on neuroplasticity was instrumental in moving science beyond the notion that the brain (and therefore learning) is fixed.
William M. Jenkins, Ph.D.
- Expertise: Learning-based brain plasticity, behavioral algorithms, and multimedia/Internet technology. Dr. Jenkins developed much of the adaptive logic in Fast ForWord.
- Background: Former research faculty member at the Keck Center for Integrative Neurosciences at UC San Francisco.
- Credentials: Ph.D. and Master’s in Psychobiology, Bachelor’s in Psychology from Florida State University.
- Key Achievements: Holds 34 U.S. and international patents; authored 7 commercial software products; recognized by Discovery Magazine and received the 2000 Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award.
Paula A. Tallal, Ph.D.
- Expertise: Cognitive neuroscience, developmental language disorders, learning disabilities, and clinical psychology.
- Background: Board of Governors Professor of Neuroscience at Rutgers University, where she co-directs the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience.
- Credentials: Ph.D. from Cambridge University; Bachelor’s degree from NYU.
- Key Achievements: Dr. Tallal’s research linking reading delays to auditory sequencing difficulties (and language processing delays) changed scientific thinking about the causes of dyslexia and reading difficulties. This fed directly into Fast ForWord research and science. Authored over 200 publications; awarded the Thomas Alva Edison Patent Prize; selected as a psychology commentator by the Library of Congress, speaking to Congress on dyslexia and processing.
Steven L. Miller, Ph.D.
- Expertise: Neuropsychology, clinical study design, and the assessment/treatment of developmental language and reading impairments.
- Background: Former research faculty member at the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience at Rutgers University.
- Credentials: Ph.D. in Psychology (UNC Greensboro); Master’s in Neuroscience (University of Hartford); Advanced training in the neuropsychology of reading at Wake Forest University.
- Key Achievements: Extensive track record in leading longitudinal clinical studies on learning disabilities; widely published and award-winning researcher.
Footnote: Measuring What Matters
“Research results” can be misleading. Many interventions measure ‘gains’ based only on students’ progress in their internal exercises; that’s not the same as improvements translating into real-world abilities.
Fast ForWord research, though, as designed by its high-profile founding scientists, holds Fast ForWord to a higher standard. They measure real-world language and reading skill gains using nationally-normed testing.
After all, what’s the point if the gains don’t transfer?
Throughout the many years of development and subsequently, this ‘transfer problem’ was front and center. Student progress is measured using validated, nationally normed reading assessments. This is also how Gemm Learning tracks progress.
This ethical approach ensures that our reported gains reflect genuine, measurable growth in reading and learning skills rather than mere proficiency on an exercise.