LETRS Implementation in Kentucky: An Analysis of Teacher Training and Student Reading Outcomes

Lexia® LETRS​® (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) is a professional learning course for instructors of reading, spelling, and related language skills. It provides educators with in-depth knowledge and tools that they can use with any reading program. LETRS has been made available through the Kentucky Department of Education’s Kentucky Reading Academies as a comprehensive, no-cost, professional learning opportunity to all K-5 public school educators and administrators. To date, more than 7,000 Kentucky educators and administrators have participated in the LETRS professional learning opportunity. 

This analysis explores the potential effects of LETRS training for both teachers and school administrators on student reading achievement, as measured by the Kentucky Summative Assessment (KSA). The analysis integrates data from 574 A1-type (general education) elementary schools across 135 districts from 2021/2022 to 2024/2025 academic years. Across multiple analytical methods including regression models with baseline outcome measures, group comparisons, and Difference-in-Differences (DID) analyses, the findings consistently indicate that LETRS training helps drive students toward the “Proficient” reading level, while inconclusive results for other reading levels (e.g., “Novice”, “Apprentice”, and “Distinguished”) 

 Key Outcome: Significant Growth in “Proficient” Students  

• Robust Positive Associations: Regression models demonstrate that a higher percentage of LETRS-trained teachers in a school is positively associated with a higher percentage of “Proficient” level students. This relationship remained robust even when baseline outcome measures were adjusted and additional school-level covariates were introduced. 

• Administrator Interaction: No significant interaction effects were found between the percentage of LETRS-trained teachers and the presence of a LETRS-trained school administrator. Consequently, the data does not conclusively show that teacher LETRS training is more effective when supported by a LETRS-trained administrator. While trained administrators may offer broader support, the direct application of LETRS methodologies occurs primarily within the classroom, functioning independently of the administrator’s training completion.

• Group Comparison Growth: To facilitate group comparisons of similar sizes, schools were categorized into two groups: those below the average percentage of LETRS-trained teachers and those above. Schools with an above-average percentage of LETRS-trained teachers (>10.6%) experienced a notably higher increase in “Proficient” students (4.26%) compared to below-average schools (2.90%) between 2023 and 2025. 

• DID Analysis Confirmation: DID analysis confirms this positive trend, revealing a statistically significant positive effect on the percentage of “Proficient” students (p = .002 to .005) across both simple and full models, utilizing both 2022 and 2023 baselines. 

• District-Level Impact: At the district level, the DID coefficient was marginally statistically significant (p < .10) exclusively for the “Proficient” student category across both the 2022 and 2023 baselines. 

Read the full analysis here.