International Lexile Study 2020-2021

The study examines the impact of Achieve3000 Literacy, a technology-enabled differentiated reading program, on student Lexile® growth during the 2020–2021 school year. The program serves Grades 2–12 and includes students from public, private, and religious schools, as well as universities and private language schools across 39 countries. The sample consists of 70,674 students, 701 schools, and 216 districts. Students included in the study had pretest and end-of-year Lexile measures, completed at least one multiple-choice assessment, and had a minimum of 150 days between assessments.

Researchers analyzed differences between Lexile measures from beginning to end of year as well as expected versus actual Lexile growth. The implementation models were also examined, categorized by usage (number of activities completed) and performance (average first-try score, AFTS).

Results show that highly engaged students achieved up to 5.2 times their expected growth, with overall growth averaging 170L compared to the expected 65L. Below-grade-level readers achieved up to five times expected growth, while advanced readers attained up to 9.1 times expected growth. The percentage of students on track for university and career readiness increased from 17% to 34%. Statistical significance was confirmed across all growth comparisons (p < .001). The study highlights the importance of high engagement and performance in driving accelerated literacy growth.