UDL and Academic Achievement

The evidence base for UDL has grown substantially over the past two decades. A meta-analysis of 20 studies conducted by King-Sears and colleagues in 2023 found that UDL instruction showed moderate-to-large positive effects on student academic achievement across diverse educational settings. In literacy, Dalton and colleagues (2011) found that middle school students participating in a UDL-based curriculum showed significant improvement in reading comprehension skills. In STEM education, King-Sears and colleagues (2015) showed that students with and without disabilities had improved test scores in high school chemistry after UDL-based instructional strategies were implemented.