I stumbled upon this Lexia program in my work as a para-educator. The students love it. It’s a simple learning analytics platform that introduces students to various concepts in reading – phonological awareness, Rapid Automatized Naming, and reading comprehension to name a few. And it works with blended learning where the students receive instruction from their teachers, and that instruction is complemented by the online software. I actually looked at some research on this program for one of my assignments, and this is what I found.

Macaruso et al. (2019) conducted a longitudinal study with 68 kindergarteners of low socio-economic backgrounds living in Massachusetts. The researchers monitored the students’ progress upon their entrance to kindergarten through their completion of second grade. Initially, students completed the Group Reading Assessment Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE). Students completed this assessment at the beginning and end of each school year. Students also completed the introductory assessment offered by Lexia Core5 Reading, which placed students at appropriate levels of literacy based on their reading and comprehension levels. Students participated in the Lexia Core5 Reading in addition to their teachers’ English Language Arts curriculum. Macaruso et al. (2019) found through analysis that all students improved their reading abilities each year using Lexia Core5 Reading. Lexia sponsored this study.              

In a similar research study, Baron et al. (2019) evaluated Lexia Core5 Reading to better understand the tool and examine the correlation between Lexia Core5 Reading and aimsweb. 594 third graders participated in this study. Baron et al. (2019) assessed students with the Reading Curriculum-based Measure and the Reading Maze Test, two subtests of aimsweb used to establish baseline and monitor improving reading levels. Teachers use this assessment three times a year to monitor student progress in literacy. Students also participated in blending learning with the Wonders curriculum offered through McGraw-Hill. Baron et al. (2019) found a positive correlation between the aimsweb and Lexia Core5 Reading after conducting an analysis. They also found that Lexia Core5 Reading successfully predicted reading profiles and improved student reading abilities.

The research is very promising, and I hope to learn more as I continue as a para-educator and as a student in my doctorate program.

Baron, L. S., Hogan, T. P., Schechter, R. L., Hook, P. E., & Brooke, E. C. (2019). Can educational technology effectively differentiate instruction for reader profiles? Reading & Writing, 32(9), 2327-2352. https://www.doi.org/10.1007/s11145-019-09949-4

Macaruso, P., Wilkes, S., Franzén, S., & Schechter, R. (2019). Three-year longitudinal study: Impact of a blended learning program – Lexia Core5 Reading – on reading gains in low SES kindergarteners. Computers in the Schools, 36(1), 2-18. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/07380569.2018.1558884