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Lexia Reading Program

Using research to determine efficacy and success as a reading program for


older students.
What is Lexia Reading?
--Lexia Reading is a computerized, supplementary reading software program designed for regular use,
consisting of two to five weekly sessions of 20 to 30 minutes each, in a lab or classroom setting.

--Lexia Reading is compatible with a tiered model of instruction and is designed to be used for 20 to 30
minutes per session. The program is intended for use twice per week for students reading on grade level
or above, three to four times per week for students who are at-risk or are English as Second
Language/English Language Learners (ESL/ ELL) students, and five times per week for special education,
Title I, and ESL/ELL students with serious reading deficiencies.

--Students work independently, and the software tracks student responses and automatically provides
additional practice when needed.
Lexia: An Introduction
Lexia SOS (Strategies for Older Students)
--Lexia SOS or Lexia Strategies is designed for remedial students in grades 6 and above, at a Tier II and
Tier III level.

--The program focuses on fundamental literacy skills, starting at first grade skill levels, with a more mature,
age-appropriate interface and a range of content that covers basic phonological awareness through
advanced decoding skills, vocabulary development, and comprehension activities.
Who is the founder of Lexia?
--Bob Lemire founded Lexia in 1984. He was not a
reading specialist or researcher, but he had a son
diagnosed with dyslexia. He talked with Dr. Edwin
Cole who was a neurologist and head of the
Reading Clinic at the Massachusetts General
Hospital and founded several schools for dyslexics.
They worked with Dr. Littleton Meeks who was an
expert in technology to create a program that would
help all students with a reading difficulty.

--In 2013 Rosetta Stone took over Lexia.


The Research
--According to the Lexia Strategies webpage, A study published in 2009 in the European Journal of
Special Needs Education shows the effectiveness of Lexia beyond the elementary level. This study
tracked the performance of sixth- and seventh-grade remedial reading students in a Utah school district,
where Lexia Strategies supplemented intense phonics-based reading instruction.

--Students in the Lexia group made significant gains relative to a control group on the Word Attack
subtest, from the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement. [Macaruso, P., & Rodman, A. (2009).
Benefits of computer-assisted instruction for struggling readers in middle school. European Journal of
Special Needs Education, 24, 103113.]
More Research
--Eleven studies reviewed by the WWC investigated the effects of Lexia Reading. Two studies (Gale,
2006; Macaruso, Hook, & McCabe, 2006) are randomized controlled trials that meet WWC evidence
standards.

--One study (Macaruso & Walker, 2008) uses a quasi-experimental design that meets WWC evidence
standards with reservations. The remaining eight studies do not meet either WWC evidence standards or
eligibility screens.

--Gale (2006) identified kindergarten and first-grade students whose fall Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early
Literacy Skills (DIBELS) test scores indicated that they needed substantial intensive intervention. Among
those students, 41 kindergarten students and 38 first-grade students were randomly assigned to one of
three groups, with 39 kindergarten and 37 first-grade students remaining after attrition: (1) Lexia Early
Reading, (2) Earobics Step 1, or (3) control.

--Students in groups 1 and 2 received the supplemental interventions during the five-week study period in
addition to their regular instruction; students in the control group received no reading instruction beyond
their regular language arts class time.
The Research Indicated...
--Lexia Reading was found to have potentially
positive effects on alphabetics, no discernible
effects on fluency, potentially positive effects on
comprehension, and no discernible effects on
general reading achievement.
(http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/intervention_reports/
wwc_lexia_063009.pdf)

http://www.lexialearning.com/uploads/page-
body/national_report_step_graph_forWeb.png
COMMENTS:
External Reviews Partnered with Lexia Learning to revolutionize PreK-12
reading assessments. (March 2014)
Whats particularly exciting about FCRR and Lexias new
SOURCE: assessment system are the new oral and academic language
tasks that tap the listening and speaking skills required by
states new academic standards and allow for measurement
FCRR (Florida Center for Reading Research) of student growth in language as well as in reading, said
Barbara Foorman, director of FCRR and the Francis Eppes
Professor of Education
The new literacy assessments include quick screening tasks
that predict grade-level cut points on norm-referenced reading
achievement tests. Students can then be given listening or
reading comprehension passages and diagnostic tasks that
give accurate profiles of their strengths and weaknesses.
External Reviews
SOURCE: COMMENTS:

Discovery Education Well-designed step-by-step program


specifically designed for struggling readers
ages 9 and up (including adults).
The program is unique in its
adaptability...which greatly reduces
frustration and creates a positive
atmosphere for learning.
Score of 9.5/10
COMMENTS:
External Reviews
Received strong marks for installation and
access (installing the software, setting up
SOURCE: the teacher, student, class, and
administrative IDs)
Internet at Schools One important feature is Assessment
without testing, which offers an accurate,
Reviewer is Charles Doe, a 39-year teacher, including 10 detailed picture of reading performance for
years as elementary media specialist in Hastings Area districts, schools, and students done in real
Schools in Hastings, Mich. time, without having to administer tests.
It is intended to be a complete reading
curriculum, combining software, web-based
material, and 75 supporting paper-based
lessons. In addition, [there are] Lexia
Lessons for use on interactive
whiteboards
One problem: Adequate use requires lots of
computer access for all student. This can
be expensive and difficult for many districts.
Score: 4/5 (recommended)
Strengths
--When students first log into Lexia Strategies, they are automatically placed at the proper level and work at
their own pace on developing their foundational reading skills in an age-appropriate, focused learning
interface.

--If a student begins to struggle in any skill activity, the program provides scaffolding, simplifying the task to
allow students to practice that skill with additional support to help ensure success. Once they demonstrate
proficiency in this scaffolded practice environment, students return to the standard task to continue in the
program.
More Strengths
--The program can be used in the Tier I and Tier II classroom where students receive student-driven and
teacher-directed learning through online-activities.

--Lexia Strategies can also be accessed at home, before/after school, in extended day programs, etc. It is
also available as an app and students have the same access on a tablet that they would on the computer.
Limitations
--One limitation could be that since computers are required to complete the program, many districts may
not have enough resources and may be in a position where are they unable to purchase enough
computers/tablets.

--Scheduling adequate time for students to meet their daily/weekly minute goals and lessons for review.
Example of a Lexia Practice
How does this align with C&T 842 readings?
1) Rapid word identification is an essential component of skilled reading. Students must be able to
recognize familiar words quickly and to decode unfamiliar words rapidly enough that the process of
meaning construction is not unduly interrupted (Lipson & Wixson, 2013 p. 32).

Lexia Strategies provides instruction in phonological awareness and phonics activities that present
foundational reading skills in an age-appropriate interface. The activities include basic sound-symbol
correspondence for consonants, short vowels, and digraphs and also develop awareness of the six-
syllable types. By engaging with these activities, students reinforce their awareness of sounds in
words as well as their decoding and word-attack skills (Lexia Strategies: Overview, 2016).
How does this align with C&T 842 readings?
2) Research has now established that there is a strong relationship between fluency and
comprehension, including evidence from two special studies related to the 1992 and 2002 National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading assessments (Daane, Campbell, Grigg,
Goodman, & Orange, 2005; Pinnell et al., 1995) as cited in Lipson & Wixson, 2013, p. 38.

According to Lexia Strategies, Fluency development includes work on developing automaticity and
fluency through timed components that increase speed of processing. Students are also provided
with the opportunity to hear paragraphs read aloud, modeling appropriate prosody and oral reading
fluency as they practice (Lexia Strategies: Scope and Sequence, 2016).
How does this align with C&T 842 readings?
3) Interventions are specifically designed to meet the needs of students and are based on an informal
reading inventory assessment or some other assessment tool. Unfortunately, there are always
situations that prevent a student from receiving individualized assessment and some from of
specialized literacy interventions...This is why it is so important to design our classrooms to provide
the best possible instruction for all readers , which is a basic assumption of RTI (Caldwell & Leslie,
2013, p. 36).

When using Lexia Strategies, Students are placed automatically at the proper level based on their
performance and will work independently on developing their foundational reading skills in targeted
activities based on individual needs. In addition, When a student successfully completes a skill in
Lexia, the program provides a set of paper-and-pencil activities, called Lexia Skill Builders, for
independent seat work, activities in peer groups, or work with a teacher or paraprofessional (Lexia
Strategies: Scope and Sequence, 2016).
How does this align with C&T 842 readings?
4) Intelligent Branching: Once a student is placed at the appropriate level and activity based on the
teachers assessment of the students needs, a recursive branching system that is built into the Lexia
software automatically directs a student to the needed level of activity difficulty, depending on the
students response. Florida Center for Reading Research

Both observation and interviews may be necessary to get a clear pictures of the complex ways in
which students are organized. Although most teachers make careful and intentional grouping
decisions using some systematic procedure, others generate groupings on the basis of untested
assumptions (Lipson & Wixson, p. 208).
How does this align with C&T 842 readings?
5) Student Experience: Students are given support throughout the activities with cues offered when
needed and additional lessons provided when they experience difficulty. Florida Center for
Reading Research

In general, successful interventions ensure adequate time on task for students, a high quality of
instruction, and appropriateness of the curriculum (Lipson & Wixson, p. 210).
How does this align with C&T 842 readings?
6) According to Lipson and Wixson (2013), It is clear that older students present a diverse array of
needs--from real word-level difficulties to vocabulary and comprehension. Second, interventions designed
for older students require more time. Most successful interventions have involved approximately fifty
minutes daily with intervention extending over thirty weeks or more (p. 210).

In order for students to accelerate development of foundational reading skills, it is important that
they are meeting the recommended minutes in the program. In the myLexia reports, educators have
the ability to monitor class and student login usage to ensure the program is being used with fidelity
in order to achieve reading success. The myLexia reports give teachers the tools to be effective and
monitor student growth and progress (Lexia Strategies: Using Data to Drive Instruction, 2016).
How does this align with C&T 842 readings?
7) Lipson and Wixson (2013) found that One of the encouraging conclusions [Edmonds et. al (2009)
draws] is that older students with reading difficulties/disabilities can improve their comprehension
quite significantly when they are provided with appropriately targeted interventions (p. 210).

Within the myLexia reports, a data-driven action plan is provided to take the guesswork out of
differentiating instruction. It focuses the teachers time on the greatest needs in the classroom and
prescribes the instructional intensity needed to help students improve reading proficiency. The
action plan identifies the skill areas in which the student is currently working, specific skills on which
student needs instruction (Lexia Strategies: Teacher-Led Instruction, 2016).
How does this align with C&T 842 readings?
8) Motivation plays a pivotal role during the middle and high school years, so educators must consider
ways to engage students-through inviting and interesting texts and tasks, and by providing some
degree of choice (Lipson & Wixson 2013, p. 211).

Lexia Reading Strategies for Older Students provides:


1. A broad range of activities (basic to advanced) enabling readers of all levels to improve their
skills.
2. Interactive exercises which branch automatically, providing practice where needed and
increasing in difficulty when the student is ready.
3. Students with independent work, thereby increasing confidence in their skills.
4. Directions in Spanish; aiding non English-speaking students to progress more quickly.
5. Easy-to-read Reports for Parents or Tutors that assist with their instructional planning.

(What is Lexia Core 5?, 2011)


http://www.lexiaforhome.com/content/
what-lexia-core5-and-why-lexia-reading-best-my-child-home
Additional Information

--Cost of Program- Price: $8,500/year (school subscription with unlimited access)


http://www.academicschoice.com/apps/lexia-reading.php

--The cost is $174.95 for the first student for one year and $109.00 for each additional student in the same
family for one year. http://www.lexiaforhome.com/content/lexia-materials
Thoughts from the Group
I would use this with any student. I really enjoy the program and would recommend it as long as students
can get in the amount of minutes they need in a week. My kids found it fun to play and didnt seem to get
tired of it. They also had individualized lessons that I could print out and give to a parent helper/para to do
if the student was struggling with a concept.

When conducting research, I kept reading about how successful interventions for older students are
successful when they are able to connect what is happening in the classroom to the content in the
intervention program. And I have yet to find adequate research or teacher input that shows how Lexia
Strategies can be implemented successfully into the regular classroom. In one of the quotes I found, it
also said that for older students to be successful, they should spend at least fifty minutes a day with the
program. I teach in a rural junior high/high school where there isnt room in our schedule to add a daily
time slot for reading interventions. I like the structure of this program, but like many others I have seen, it
is difficult to see how to implement it into regular classroom instruction.
Thoughts from the Group
I have used this program with my kindergarteners. The students are actively engaged in the program and
it aligned well with what I was teaching in class. I used it during center time as an independent activity. If a
student struggles with a concept and cannot pass the lessons, it has individualized lessons that are ready
for an adult to teach the child. Most of my students were improving on their skills with the combination of
me teaching them and the extra practice. They have to complete the same concept lesson multiple times
and pass to be able to move on. The only problem with it for me was that I had one student who was not
understanding the skill of rhyming. He had passed the other concepts on that level, but couldnt get
through the rhyming skill. There was no way for me to push him past that so he could work on other skills
while I kept working on rhyming with him. He was stuck on that level for a long time continuously doing the
rhyming lessons. Teachers in my school also use this program in fifth grade and really like it.
Conclusion
--Lexia is a good resource to use with students who are striving readers, but according to the research, it
did not have positive effects in all areas on learning.

--Lexia Reading was found to have potentially positive effects on alphabetics, no discernible effects on
fluency, potentially positive effects on comprehension, and no discernible effects on general reading
achievement.

--Depending upon what skill the striving reader is struggling with, Lexia could be helpful for them.
Sources
Caldwell, J., & Leslie, L. (2005). Intervention strategies to follow informal reading inventory assessment: So what do I do now? Boston:
Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Company History. (n.d.). Retrieved May 08, 2016, from http://lexialearning.com/about/company-history/company-history

DiscoverySchool.com - Review Corner. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from


http://school.discoveryeducation.com/parents/reviewcorner/software/readingsos.html

Florida State University, Florida Center for Reading Research. (2014, March 27). FCRR and Lexia to
Produce Next Generation of Pre-K12 Reading Assessments [Press release]. Retrieved April 24, 2016, from http://www.fcrr.org/about-
fcrr/lexia_release.asp

Lexia Reading Core5. (n.d.). Retrieved May 08, 2016, from http://www.academicschoice.com/apps/lexia-reading.php

Lexia Reading v 8.0. (2011). Retrieved April 26, 2016, from


http://www.internetatschools.com/Articles/Editorial/Product-Reviews/Lexia-Reading-v-8.0-78679.aspx

Lexia Strategies | | Lexia Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2016, from http://lexialearning.com/lexia-strategies/

Lipson, M. Y., Wixson, K. K., & Lipson, M. Y. (2013). Assessment of reading and writing difficulties: An interactive approach. Boston: Pearson.

What is Lexia Core5? and why is Lexia Reading best for my child at home? (n.d.). Retrieved May 08, 2016, from
http://www.lexiaforhome.com/content/what-lexia-core5-and-why-lexia-reading-best-my-child-home

What Works Clearinghouse. (2009, June). Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/intervention_reports/wwc_lexia_063009.pdf

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