Lexia Learning: Costs and Benefits of Core5 Reading for Schools

Lexia® Core5® Reading (Core5) is a blended learning program designed to accelerate the development of fundamental literacy skills for students of all abilities in grades pre-K-5. It achieves this through explicit, systematic instruction delivered via personalized learning paths. This article will explore the costs associated with implementing Lexia Core5 in schools, as well as the program's features, benefits, and supporting research.

Core5: A Comprehensive Literacy Program

Core5 provides explicit, systematic instruction through personalized learning paths in areas such as phonological awareness, phonics, structural analysis, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The program adapts to student performance, addressing skill gaps as they emerge and providing teachers with the data and instructional resources needed to personalize instruction. Embedded assessment technology predicts students’ year-end performance and provides ongoing norm-referenced and actionable data to help teachers prioritize and plan instruction with offline instructional materials. The online student dashboard encourages students to set goals and take ownership of their learning.

Key Features and Benefits

Here's a breakdown of the key features and benefits of Lexia Core5 Reading:

Personalized Learning: Core5 adapts to each student's performance, targeting specific skill gaps as they arise.
Comprehensive Literacy Skills: The program covers phonological awareness, phonics, structural analysis, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Data-Driven Instruction: Embedded assessment provides ongoing, actionable data to help teachers prioritize and plan offline instruction.
Student Engagement: The online student dashboard encourages students to set goals and take ownership of their learning.
Flexible Implementation: Core5 can be used by classroom teachers, trained paraprofessionals, and specialists in various settings, including onsite and virtual environments. It is commonly implemented in classroom rotation, computer lab rotation, and 1:1 blended learning models.
Accessibility: Core5 is available for PC, Mac, Chromebook, iPad, and Android devices.

Cost Structure and Licensing

Core5 is sold on an annual, per-student or school-wide license basis, providing students with access to Core5 Reading. The pricing structure is as follows:

Basic Pricing: The cost is $40 per student for implementations with less than 250 students. The price reduces for larger implementations.
Included Resources: The purchase includes implementation training and professional development with Learning Now videos and a variety of teacher resources to provide continual learning and guidance for teachers using the program. Educator Resources, including guides and manuals, supplementary materials, and a variety of school-to-home documents to support families, are also included.
Additional Options: Additional professional development and training opportunities are available for purchase. Lexia offers a variety of eLearning, school-level, and district-level partnerships to support all stakeholders in implementing Core5 with fidelity.

Technical Requirements

To utilize Core5, the following are required:

Read also: Learn about Lexia Core5

A computer or tablet with internet access.
Headphones are recommended, but not required, for use in a classroom setting.
Core5 will work on updated iPads 5+ through the app. Android devices are no longer compatible.

Professional Development and Training

Lexia provides multiple professional development offerings to support educators in effectively implementing Core5. A dedicated customer success team can partner with a school or district to customize training based on their goals and timelines. Support includes implementation planning, product training, and data reviews and data coaching throughout the year. School and district staff can also engage with Lexia Academy, a self-paced eLearning platform that supports educators’ professional growth.

The format of Lexia’s training includes both asynchronous and synchronous training offerings. Training on Demand videos and interactive modules are available 24/7. Additionally, customer support has online resources that are available 24/7, as well as live support via a toll-free number.

Lexia’s Learning Now videos and a variety of teacher resources are included with purchase to provide continual learning and guidance for teachers implementing Core5. These videos provide an overview of Core5’s instructional model, instructional resources, and reports, and include best practices for beginning the school year, as well as for student use of the program at home. In-person or live virtual training is also available to support educators in becoming comfortable and confident in using Lexia’s data and resources to help address student skill gaps and improve reading performance.

Implementation Success Partnership Models

Lexia has developed a variety of Implementation Success Partnership Models to meet the diverse needs of districts and schools as they grow their skills in delivering blended learning reading instruction. The Lexia team of implementation experts will partner with district and school leadership teams to develop a year-long, personalized implementation plan focused on increasing student reading performance by enhancing leaders’ and teachers’ comfort, skill, and ability to use Lexia’s data and targeted resources to uncover and address student skill deficits.

District Level Partnerships: The Lexia District Level Partnership ensures that the capacity of district stakeholders are appropriately supported so that long-term achievement can be sustained over time.
School Level Partnerships: Lexia believes that strong building level leadership teams are essential to creating and sustaining the successful implementation of any initiative.
School Level Educator Support: The Implementation Team provides professional learning sessions and tools to support educators in becoming comfortable and confident in using Lexia’s data and resources to help address student skill gaps and improve reading performance.

Research and Efficacy

Several research studies have been conducted to support the efficacy of Lexia Core5 Reading. These studies have explored the impact of the program on various student populations and literacy skills. Some of these studies include:

Macaruso, P., Hook, P.E., & McCabe, R. (2006). The efficacy of computer-based supplementary phonics programs for advancing reading skills in at-risk elementary students. Journal of Research in Reading, 29, 162-172.
Macaruso, P., & Walker, A. (2008). The efficacy of computer-assisted instruction for advancing literacy skills in kindergarten children. Reading Psychology, 29, 266-287.
Macaruso, P., & Rodman, A. (2011). Efficacy of computer-assisted instruction for the development of early literacy skills in young children. Reading Psychology, 32, 172-196.
Schechter, R., Macaruso, P., Kazakoff, E.R., & Brooke, E. (2015). Exploration of a Blended Learning Approach to Reading Instruction for Low SES Students in Early Elementary Grades, Computers in the Schools, 32(3-4), 183-200.
O’Callaghan, P., McIvor, A., McVeigh, C., & Rushe, T. (2016). A randomized controlled trial of an early intervention, computer-based literacy program to boost phonological skills in 4- to 6-year-old children. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 546-558.
Wilkes, S., Macaruso, P., Kazakoff, E. & Albert, J. (2016). Exploration of a Blended Learning Approach to Reading Instruction in Second Grade. In Proceedings of EdMedia: World Conference on Educational Media and Technology 2016 (pp. 822-827). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Vancouver, B.C.
Macaruso, P., Wilkes, S., & Prescott J.E. (2020). An investigation of blended learning to support reading instruction in elementary schools.

One cluster-randomized study examined the impact of Core5 in five schools in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. The study focused on 116 students in grades K-5 receiving special education support for reading difficulties. Students received “push-in” and/or “pull-out” support from a special education teacher. The district participated in a Lexia Implementation Success Partnership (ISP).

Considerations for Implementation

Device Requirements: The Core5 program requires a web-enabled device, such as a desktop computer, laptop, or tablet (7 inches or more - IOS or Andriod).
Independent Use: The online component is conducted independently, with one student per device.
Reporting Access: Reporting on the embedded assessment can be accessed through a web-browser on any device, or through our IOS app myLexia (versions for iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch).
Small Group Instruction: Small group instruction does not require anything more than the printed lesson and pedagogical materials (e.g., picture cards, letter tiles, crayons). However, teachers can view the scripted part of the lesson on a tablet and only print the sheets that require student manipulation.
Time Commitment: Each student will be given a “prescription” of time each week they should spend in the program. Most students will have between 60-80 minutes a week. The entire program is made up of several hundred “units.” Each unit generally takes fewer than 5 minutes to complete.

Lexia for Home Use

While Lexia Learning does not sell individual licenses for home use or homeschool directly, Core5 and PowerUp can be purchased through their partner reseller, Family Literacy Centers. Lexia PowerUp is for non-proficient readers 6th grade and older. It includes grammar, word study and comprehension and goes to a high school level. Each strand (grammar, comprehension and word study) has its own placement. If your student is pre-5th grade you should consider Lexia Core5.

Addressing Common Concerns

Placement Accuracy: The program will start with a true-grade level assessment, and as the student makes mistakes, the program will move down to easier questions. It’s very important that the student does not receive help during the initial assessment, otherwise the placement will be inaccurate. The placement should not take more than 20 minutes.
Level Difficulty: Each student will be given a “prescription” of time each week they should spend in the program. Most students will have between 60-80 minutes a week.
Program Progression: The entire program is made up of several hundred “units.” Each unit generally takes fewer than 5 minutes to complete. Set goals for units rather than minutes so the student will make quality progress.

Maximizing the Effectiveness of Core5

Lexia Core5 is most effective when used in conjunction with the offline materials provided at myLexia.com.

Skill Builders: Skill Builders are a written version of the online program. These should be provided after a student has completed a level in Core5. They are designed to build upon the skills they have mastered. These are also excellent for review of previous levels.
Lexia Lessons: Lexia Lessons are available to help when a student is struggling in Core5. When the student has shown they do not understand, a red apple will appear on their screen and the student will be listed as “struggling” in myLexia.com. These are scripted lessons the parent can print and give the student to help them understand concepts.

tags: #lexia #learning #cost #for #schools