Adverse Fast ForWord Reviews

Does Fast ForWord really work?  A response to a negative review.

As long-time providers of Fast ForWord, we are well passed the point of worrying if Fast ForWord really works. We have seen it change more lives than we could have reasonably expected – testimonials here.

However, this is not a universally held view. Despite years of favorable Fast ForWord reviews and continuing success in 42 countries, there is Fast ForWord controversy – the program has detractors.

But ask yourself this: If Fast ForWord really were ineffective, 20+ years after its launch, wouldn’t word have gotten out? Instead, it is stronger than ever.

Answering The Negative Reviewers
To help parents review the arguments in the Fast ForWord controversy, for and against, here is an article from Prevention Action that asks the question, does Fast ForWord really work, but seems to have formed conclusions before doing the work. Our comments are in italics.

Fast ForWord Controversy: Article by Prevention Action

“The program’s developers make ambitious claims for it. It “develops the cognitive skills that enhance learning”, they say. ‘The strengthening of these skills results in a wide range of improved critical language and reading skills such as phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, decoding, working memory, syntax, grammar, and other skills necessary to learn how to read or to become a better reader.”

“Launched as commercial product by the Scientific Learning Corporation in 1997, the claims for the success of the program are based on a number of privately conducted, in-house studies.”

Not true. The vast majority of studies are school districts doing pilot programs. They are genuinely interested in knowing if Fast ForWord really works, testing the program before rolling it out to all of their schools. While it is true that these studies are only available on the Scientific Learning website, they are independent studies that reflect internal investigation into Fast ForWord efficacy,  posted with the named school and district’s approval. Fast ForWord research here.

Selective Choice of Studies To Review

“Now, though, a team of researchers from the Universities of York and Birmingham in the UK have undertaken a review of all reviews of evidence for the program. The results are not encouraging for Fast ForWord.”

“The initial search located 79 potential studies. After screening, only 13 papers were eligible. Of these, seven additional papers were excluded, either because they did not test the same version of the program or because they lacked equivalence between the intervention and control groups at baseline. The six remaining studies were used to conduct the meta-analysis.”

To base an outcome on six studies, using all kinds of reasons to exclude 300+ other efficacy and research studies, should raise suspicions about whether this paper is truly interested in answering the “does Fast ForWord really work?” question. Especially given that the studies they left out had results so positive that school districts purchased Fast ForWord—it is now in 15,000+ schools worldwide.

Also, the study screening criteria did not include compliance requirements. Fast ForWord reviews have used tests that aim to prove Fast ForWord is ineffective. These studies insist on no attendance requirement, claiming that poor student attendance, trouble getting students to do the work, is a real world factor. Furthermore, they do not allow intervention help if a student is struggling. This is setting Fast ForWord up to fail. It is not unlike declaring gyms ineffective by studying people who are gym members but either don’t go very often and/or who misuse the gym equipment.

Reviewing Outcomes

The authors state that the pattern of their analyses is “clear and consistent: whether comparing Fast ForWord with untreated or alternative treatment control groups, we found no sign of a reliable effect of treatment in any analysis.” In addition, where alternative treatments were used as a comparison, the evidence suggests support for other remedial efforts with children who appear to have language learning difficulties.”

“The meta-analysis examined the impact of the program on children’s single word reading skills; passage reading comprehension; receptive language and expressive language. The researchers’ findings were stark. The program had no significant effects on any of these measures and, in fact, four of the effect sizes were negative, indicating that children who received Fast ForWord did worse than controls or other treatments.

These are reckless and misleading claims. To claim that language skills would reverse as a result of working for weeks on language processing, sound discrimination, and listening comprehension exercises defies common sense.  We have not seen a single case of regression in any of the thousands of children we have helped go through this program. Again, our 96% client satisfaction rate suggests the opposite—Fast ForWord works.

Finding An Appropriate Time Frame Over Which To Measure Results

“In a commentary in the same journal, Professor Jim Stevenson argues that “the findings and conclusions of the meta-analysis were both accurate and fair.”  In addition, “it is time that children with difficulties in language and/or reading acquisition were given access only to teaching methods of known effectiveness.”

Herein lies the challenge for Fast ForWord, and indeed, any educational software. It is possible to manipulate or spin results. Fast ForWord does not teach content, so a post-test immediately after completion is not a fair test of efficacy. It is a cognitive program that improves processing and other general skills, but measures success by how those gains translate into reading and learning gains. This is a complex process that takes time, and so being able to measure if Fast ForWord really works needs time also, sometimes a few weeks, sometimes longer. Testing right after program completion shortchanges Fast ForWord’s efficacy. School districts understand this and test accordingly.

To find out if your child is a candidate for Fast ForWord, call for a free consult or ask your questions here.

Gemm Learning uses Fast ForWord software at home to build essential language processing and pre-reading skills, and then reading comprehension.