4/2/2019

New Longitudinal Study from Lexia Learning Examines Effective Ways to Help Low-Income Students Make Reading Gains

Three-Year Study Published in ‘Computers in the Schools’ Finds that Use of Lexia Core5 Reading Addresses “Summer Slide” and Boosts the Performance of More Than 90 Percent of Struggling Readers

BOSTON (April 3, 2019) – Research shows that when students are unable to read proficiently by the end of third grade, they usually struggle throughout their academic career. So the fact that the majority of fourth graders eligible for free or reduced lunches only scored at or below the Basic level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress’ 2017 reading assessment is a matter of grave concern. To identify the instruction most effective at advancing literacy skills for students from low socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds, Lexia Learning, a Rosetta Stone^® (NYSE: RST) company, conducted a three-year longitudinal study with students in early elementary grades. The study and its results have been published in the academic peer-reviewed journal Computers in the Schools: Interdisciplinary Journal of Practice, Theory, and Applied Research. 

“This study was important because there are only a few longitudinal studies that have considered the extent to which reading interventions can alter the trajectory of development for struggling readers,” said Lexia President Nick Gaehde. “And those that did, have nearly always considered use over one or two years rather than three years.”

Beginning in the fall of the 2014-15 school year, the study tracked the reading performance of a group of low-income kindergarten students through their completion of second grade. All students received three years of ELA instruction through the adaptive blended learning program Lexia Core5 Reading (Core5).

One noteworthy finding was substantial evidence of the “summer slide” phenomenon. Researchers found that students’ performance on a standardized test declined significantly from the spring of one school year to the fall of the next. However, despite the summer slide, performance from the fall of one school year to the fall of the next showed significant improvement, pointing to the benefits of using Core5 to help overcome the summer slide.

In fact, significant long-term reading gains were found across the three school years. More than 90 percent of low performers who started kindergarten scoring below average on the standardized test finished second grade scoring average or better.

“A consistent finding on summer slide is that its impact is worse for students from low SES backgrounds,” said Gaehde. “This study provides compelling evidence about Core5’s potential to benefit those students in an additive way over multiple years, providing critical scaffolding to at-risk readers and helping to combat the summer slide.”

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About Lexia Learning

Lexia Learning, a Rosetta Stone company, empowers educators through adaptive assessment and personalized instruction. For more than 30 years, the company has been on the leading edge of research and product development as it relates to student reading skills. With a robust offering that includes solutions for differentiated instruction, personalized learning, and assessment, Lexia Learning provides educators with the tools to intensify and accelerate literacy skills development for students of all abilities. For more information, visit www.lexialearning.com.

About Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone Inc. (NYSE: RST) is dedicated to changing people’s lives through the power of language and literacy education. The company’s innovative digital solutions drive positive learning outcomes for the inspired learner at home or in schools and workplaces around the world.

Founded in 1992, Rosetta Stone’s language division uses cloud-based solutions to help all types of learners read, write, and speak more than 30 languages. Lexia Learning, Rosetta Stone's literacy education division, was founded more than 30 years ago and is a leader in the literacy education space. Today, Lexia helps students build fundamental reading skills through its rigorously researched, independently evaluated, and widely respected instruction and assessment programs.

For more information, visit www.rosettastone.com. “Rosetta Stone” is a registered trademark or trademark of Rosetta Stone Ltd. in the United States and other countries.

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Contact: Charlotte Andrist 
Nickel Communications 
charlotte@nickelcommpr.com
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