6/5/2024

Lexia® Core5® Reading Benefits Students in Utah: Outcomes from 8 Years of Utah’s Early Intervention Reading Software Initiative

PURPOSE: In 2015, the state of Utah introduced the Early Intervention Reading Software initiative to supplement student learning with the support of edtech programs. This report summarizes findings of the initiative—focusing on Core5—through the 2022–2023 school year.

METHOD: Using a quasi-experimental design, the Evaluation and Training Institute (ETI) evaluated the impact of the edtech programs each year of the Utah initiative. Students in grades K–3 were assessed with a standardized reading test at the end of the school year. Statistical matching was used to create comparison groups that were similar to students using the programs. Usage and impact data were reported separately for each program in six of the seven years. The only exception was during the pandemic-disrupted 2019–2020 school year when outcomes were aggregated over programs.

KEY FINDINGS

• Core5 was the most preferred program in Utah’s initiative. In 2022–2023, Core5 was used by nine times more students than the average of other reading programs.
• Core5 students met program usage targets to a greater extent than all other programs in three of the four years in which program comparisons were made.
• Core5 significantly impacted students’ performance on the standardized reading test in grades K–1 with large to medium effect sizes across all eight years of the initiative.
• In the four years that the initiative included all students in grades 2–3, Core5 had a significant impact in these grades with medium effect sizes.