According to a Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) press release, students in all 131 school districts will have access to the Zearn tool for math help and Ignite Reading and Lexia technologies for reading improvement under the $418.4 million ALL In program. The allocation, which is covered by post-pandemic federal grants for learning recovery, was approved last year. The added technology will be available in classrooms ahead of the 2024-2025 academic year.
ALL In is an amendment to the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA), which was enacted to combat learning loss and chronic absenteeism. VLA had already funded Zearn in 114 districts — about 1,030 schools — and Ignite or Lexia in 100 districts. Now, access to any and all of those tools is statewide, Todd Reid, VDOE assistant superintendent of strategic communications, explained in an email.
“The programs are available for any at-risk student in grade 3-8 throughout the commonwealth,” Reid wrote.
This state legislation was prompted by low test scores. According to an ALL In FAQ, more than half of Virginia’s elementary and middle school students are either below grade level or considered at-risk in reading and/or math. Scores for the 2022-2023 academic year indicated declining performance statewide in both subjects in comparison with pre-pandemic scores. At the high school level, however, there were no significant decreases in test scores.
Moreover, math test scores for Black and Hispanic students in grades 3-8 indicated a 20 percent drop since 2019, while 70 percent of students who were still learning English last year failed both the reading and math tests. Six in 10 students with disabilities, meanwhile, failed both tests, according to the FAQ.
“We have spent this year focused on supporting Virginia’s students as they work to recover from the pandemic closure’s effects on their academic progress. Those aftereffects run deeper than many realized, and we are standing shoulder to shoulder with our parents, teachers and school divisions as we all work to help our students catch up and get a step ahead,” Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons said in a public statement.
Reid said the tools funded by ALL In are “digital practice partners to help supplement our divisions’ in-person tutoring efforts.”
According to their respective websites, the three web-based platforms share a similar approach in providing high-impact tutoring services. Students initially learn the concepts from their classroom teachers and use the tools for additional instruction or assignments. Teachers access a dashboard to monitor progress and individualize learning plans.
A Nov. 28 bulletin on the VDOE website explains the different uses for Ignite and Lexia: Ignite will be applied for students with the most critical literacy needs who are reading well below grade level. Lexia will support those who are below grade proficiency “with unfinished literacy learning.”
