Hillsborough County Expands HMH's Read 180 After 18-Point Literacy Proficiency Jump
Event summary
- Hillsborough County Public Schools saw Read 180 student proficiency rise from 5% to 23% on Florida's ELA FAST assessment over two years.
- Full-level growth among Read 180 students increased from 18% to 49% in the same period.
- Hillsborough will expand Read 180 to all high schools and some middle schools for 2026–27.
- HMH's contract with Hillsborough ties ~50% of its value to student outcome goals.
- Read 180 served 7,000+ high schoolers in Hillsborough during 2025–26.
The big picture
Hillsborough's success with Read 180 underscores the growing appeal of outcomes-based contracting in education, where districts seek measurable returns on instructional investments. The model aligns vendor incentives with student performance, addressing persistent literacy gaps. HMH's ability to demonstrate scalable results could position it as a leader in evidence-based intervention programs, particularly as budget constraints force districts to prioritize proven outcomes over traditional procurement models.
What we're watching
- Scalability Challenge
- Whether HMH can replicate Hillsborough's outcomes-based model across other districts with varying needs and resources.
- Market Adoption
- The pace at which outcomes-based contracting gains traction in K-12 education amid budget pressures.
- Program Expansion
- How effectively Read 180 scales from high schools to middle schools within Hillsborough's system.