9/26/2024

Lexia PowerUp Literacy Research Summary: Evidence of Effectiveness With Non-Proficient Middle School Readers

PURPOSE: By the end of eighth grade, more than 60% of students in the U.S. fail to meet reading proficiency standards established by the U.S. Department of Education. These gaps in English Language Arts (ELA) have negative downstream effects on students’ performance across content areas. To help students in middle school gain proficiency in ELA, Lexia® developed Lexia® PowerUp Literacy®, a blended learning program that combines online instruction with teacher-delivered lessons. This study considers the extent to which PowerUp can be used to bolster the reading scores of middle school students.

METHOD: This study is based on data from 33 students who scored in the “non-proficient” range on the state ELA test at the end of seventh grade (spring 2017). The students used PowerUp in eighth grade and completed the state ELA test at the end of eighth grade (spring 2018). We asked whether PowerUp students improved on the state ELA test, and if time spent working on PowerUp strands was associated with increases in different domains on the state test.

KEY FINDINGS

• One-third of students identified as “non-proficient” on a statewide ELA test in spring 2017 and used PowerUp for the 2017–2018 school year went on to achieve “proficient” scores in the spring 2018.
• Every 10 minutes per week students spent using PowerUp’s Comprehension strand was associated with a 5% increase in state test scores on Reading for Information and 3% increase on Writing.
• Every 10 minutes per week students spent in PowerUp’s Grammar strand was associated with a 4% increase in state scores on Writing.