District pilots Lexonic and Beable reading programs for PEC students; early data show large Lexile gains

Bibb County School District on March 20 presented early results from two reading interventions targeted to students in the Program for Exceptional Children (PEC): the teacher‑led Lexonic program and Beable, a computer‑based literacy and career exploration platform.

Leanne Sowell, presenting Lexonic implementation, said the district piloted Lexonic Leap and Lexonic Advance at Ballard Hudson, Miller, Rutland and Weaver middle schools and at Westside High School. “Data shows that of the 17 students that participated in 1 weekly 50 minute session over the course of 6 weeks, our students grew an average of 141 points,” Sowell said, citing Lexile‑score gains from the pilot. She added that group sizes in the Lexonic model are small (usually four students per group), the curriculum is teacher‑led rather than computer‑generated, and coaches continue to screen, group and model instruction while monitoring fidelity.

Board members asked whether that scale‑up would sustain similar results. Doctor Henry C. Fickland asked, “Do you think you're gonna continue to get the same kind of results when you integrate the other students in?” Sowell replied that the pilot used small cohorts and that districtwide implementation shows an “implementation dip” as new teachers learn the program; she said fidelity coaching and continued training are planned as the program expands.

The district also presented Beable, a platform that pairs adaptive Lexile assessments with the RIASEC career‑interest framework. Tiffany Glasser said Beable is in PEC classrooms at middle and high schools with roughly “about 75 licenses at each campus.” Glasser summarized district results she said the platform shows: “On average, students across all schools grew an average of 147 Lexile points year to date compared to the expected growth of 22 Lexile points.” She said 277 students had “high fidelity” measures (students who completed at least two monthly Power Up Challenges) and that 698 students had completed the initial adaptive Lexile assessment out of 900 licenses purchased.

Beable staff described the platform’s career mapping (RIASEC) and the monthly Power Up Challenge that adjusts Lexile benchmarks. The vendor said teachers have dashboards for item‑level analysis and standard alignment, though district staff and trustees noted the materials presented to the board did not include detailed crosswalks showing mastery of district or state standards tied to intervention lessons.

Trustees pressed for additional evidence that the reported Lexile gains translate to sustained, standards‑aligned mastery when scaled. Several trustees asked for more complete answers to questions sent in advance and requested the district show cost, staffing, and fidelity plans for expanding both programs to more students. District leaders said the pilot data were promising and that the next presentation will include more complete responses and appendix materials.

Ending

District staff plan to continue training teachers, monitor fidelity and return with additional results and cost‑of‑scale information. Board members asked for measures showing content mastery, not only Lexile growth, before approving major expansions.