7/21/2024

Impact of Lexia® Core5® Reading in Underperforming Florida Schools

PURPOSE: Given the critical need to improve reading skills in underperforming schools across the country, this study focused on the impact of Lexia® Core5® Reading on students’ ELA achievement in Florida schools rated unsatisfactory in the 2022–2023 school year. The study evaluated the effects of using Core5 on a new standardized test called the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST).

METHOD: In this quasi-experimental study, Lexia® researchers compared Florida schools that used Core5 with similar schools that did not use the program. Analyses were restricted to students in grades 3–5. Any schools that had at least 25% of their students using Core5 with fidelity were labeled “Core5 schools.” There were 22 Core5 schools and 136 non-Core5 schools in the study. Relationships between use of Core5 and schools’ 2022–2023 school- and grade-level ELA scores on the FAST were assessed using multiple linear regression, controlling for school-level demographics and schools’ spring 2022 ELA achievement scores.

KEY FINDINGS

• Underperforming Core5 schools in Florida had English Language Arts FAST scores that were on average 1.5 points higher than similar non-Core5 schools.
• The strongest effect occurred in grade 5, with Core5 schools scoring on average 3 points higher than non-Core5 schools on FAST.