3/14/2024

Impact of Lexia LETRS on Core5 Usage and Reading Ability

Purpose: Lexia® LETRS® (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) is comprehensive professional learning aimed at providing elementary educators the deep knowledge needed to be literacy and language experts in the science of reading. The LETRS logic model holds that LETRS can also improve student reading outcomes, if educator knowledge, classroom instruction, and self-efficacy improve beforehand. This study examined whether LETRS improved use of Lexia® Core5® Reading, one component of classroom instruction, and beginning reading ability in elementary students after one academic year.

Method: This study used propensity score matching and a quasi-experimental design. The sample consisted of 2,302 students across 114 classrooms in eight schools. All student participants were in grades K–5 and all used Core5. The schools were in the same district in the western United States. The treatment group consisted of Core5 students whose teachers began or completed LETRS during the 2020-2021 school year. On average, teachers completed 57% of LETRS (i.e., Volume 1 and part of Volume 2). The control group was made up of students who were only using Core5 and teachers who had not begun LETRS.

Key Findings: Core5 students were more likely to meet usage recommendations if their teachers began or completed LETRS, suggesting that LETRS may improve the implementation of evidence-based reading interventions. Students who used Core5 and had a teacher who began or completed LETRS scored higher in beginning reading ability after one academic year compared to students who were only using Core5.