10/9/2022

Impact of Lexia® Core5® Reading in California Schools

PURPOSE: In 2021, California launched a new initiative to have every student reading by third grade. This initiative took place in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic which impacted students at a pivotal time in their reading growth. According to national standards, average scores for age 9 students declined 5 points in reading from 2020 to 2022. This study asked whether use of Lexia® Core5® Reading in the 2020-2021 school year could help accelerate students’ reading scores in alignment with the new initiative.

METHOD: In this quasi-experimental study, Lexia® researchers merged school-level Smarter Balanced English Language Arts (SBAC ELA) assessment data with school-level demographic data for third-grade students in the 2020-2021 school year. These data were then merged with school-level program data for schools that used Core5. Lexia researchers examined differences between Core5 and non-Core5 schools in terms of SBAC ELA achievement scored using multiple linear regression, controlling for school-level demographics and schools’ prior SBAC ELA scores from 2018-19.

KEY FINDINGS

• California schools with strong Core5 implementation scored significantly higher and had more students reach overall proficiency on the SBAC ELA assessment than California schools not using Core5.
• Core5 schools with at least 50% of their third-grade students meeting usage scored 7 points higher on the SBAC ELA assessment compared to non-Core5 schools.
• Core5 schools with at least 75% of their third-grade students meeting usage scored 16 points higher on the SBAC ELA assessment than non-Core5 schools.