BOSTON, Aug. 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At the beginning of the 2018-19 school year, only 50% of a national sample of K–5 students were working on literacy skills at or above their grade level in Lexia® Core5® Reading (Core5). But after using Core5, that proportion nearly doubled to 91%. Almost two-thirds of the sample (65%) reached their end-of-year, grade-level benchmark or advanced to complete the next grade’s end-of-year benchmark in Core5.

These results were revealed in a recent end-of-year gains analysis conducted by Lexia Learning, a Rosetta Stone® (NYSE: RST) company. The report looked at almost 900,000 K–5 students using Core5 with fidelity across the United States and found that students of all abilities made substantial progress in the program:

• Over half of students (53%) who started Core5 working on skills two or more grades below their grade level substantially reduced their risk of reading failure, ending the school year working on skills in their grade level or above in Core5. Among these students, 63% gained two or more grade levels of skills in one year.

• More than half of students (52%) who started Core5 working on skills one grade below their grade level closed the reading gap and reached their end-of-year, grade-level benchmark in Core5.

• The vast majority of students (86%) who started Core5 working on skills in their grade level reached their end-of-year, grade-level benchmark or advanced to complete the next grade’s end-of-year benchmark in Core5.

Core5 is a research-proven, technology-based program that accelerates the development of fundamental through advanced literacy skills for students of all abilities in grades pre-K-5. Following a rigorous scope and sequence built for college and career ready standards, Core5 provides explicit, systematic instruction through personalized learning paths in six areas of reading. Core5 seamlessly adapts based on student performance, targeting skill gaps as they emerge and equipping teachers with the data and instructional resources they need to personalize instruction for every student. Embedded assessment technology predicts students’ year-end performance and provides ongoing norm-referenced and actionable data to help teachers prioritize and plan instruction with the offline instructional materials.

The latest version of Core5, released in July 2019, has over 100 new printable Lexia Lessons® and Lexia Skill Builders® that support the program’s powerful adaptive blended learning model. In addition, Core5 has three new levels of activities designed to help students in grades 3–5:

• Build academic language skills and word-learning strategies through work with advanced vocabulary words and word parts, complex language structures, advanced grammar concepts, and academic texts.

• Cultivate disciplinary knowledge and deepen comprehension skills through work with high-interest texts from an even wider array of genres, from fiction, drama, and poetry, to informational, procedural, historical, and scientific texts.

• Spark higher-order thinking through activities that require synthesis and analysis of texts and concepts.

• Bridge reading and writing skills through work with grammar concepts and text structures, using interactive graphic organizers and highlighting to reinforce structure and sequence.

• Engage with new formats such as interactive fiction and polls, blending student choice, interest, and purpose.

“The results of this student gains analysis emulate those from our 2017-18 school year analysis, showing that Core5 has been extremely consistent in delivering excellent results,” said Lexia President Nick Gaehde. “And with the exciting launch of our expanded version of the program this past summer, we’re expecting nothing less with next year’s results.”

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About Lexia Learning

Lexia Learning, a Rosetta Stone company, empowers educators through adaptive assessment and personalized instruction. For more than 30 years, the company has been on the leading edge of research and product development as it relates to student reading skills. With a robust offering that includes solutions for differentiated instruction, personalized learning, and assessment, Lexia Learning provides educators with the tools to intensify and accelerate literacy skills development for students of all abilities. For more information, visit www.lexialearning.com.

About Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone Inc. (NYSE: RST) is dedicated to changing people’s lives through the power of language and literacy education. The company’s innovative digital solutions drive positive learning outcomes for the inspired learner at home or in schools and workplaces around the world.

Founded in 1992, Rosetta Stone’s language division uses cloud-based solutions to help all types of learners read, write, and speak more than 30 languages. Lexia Learning, Rosetta Stone's literacy education division, was founded more than 30 years ago and is a leader in the literacy education space. Today, Lexia helps students build fundamental reading skills through its rigorously researched, independently evaluated, and widely respected instruction and assessment programs.

For more information, visit www.rosettastone.com. “Rosetta Stone” is a registered trademark or trademark of Rosetta Stone Ltd. in the United States and other countries.