Lexiles A Way to Determine Text Complexity. How do we know if the reading selections we are offering are challenging our students?

LexilesA Way to

Determine Text

Complexity

How do we know if the reading selections

we are offering are challenging our

students?

LexilesA rating score called a Lexile has been

created by a company named MetaMetrics. MetaMetrics has partnered with the Common Core movement as a

way to ensure that our students are being challenged by the reading materials we give to them in the

classroom.

In order for us to meet the criteria of the CCSS, we must give students regular access to challenging texts. Just like

anything else in life, reading growth only comes through being challenged.

Three Research Findings from MetaMetrics

• The text complexity of K-12 textbooks has become increasingly "easier" over the

last 50 years. The Common Core Standards quote research showing steep declines in

average sentence length and vocabulary level in reading textbooks.

• The text demands of college and careers have remained consistent or increased

over the same time period. College students are expected to read complex text with greater independence than high school

students.

• There is a significant gap between students' reading abilities and the text

demands of their postsecondary pursuits.

Lexile scores will determine:

• The reading level of where our students

are/should be functioning

• The reading complexity of the texts we are using

Moving away from grade level scores to Lexile scores…

Text Complexity Grade Band

in the Standards

Old Lexile Ranges

Lexile Ranges

Aligned to Common

Core expectation

sK-1 N/A N/A2-3 450 - 725 450 - 7904-5 645 – 845 770 - 9806-8 860 – 1010 955 - 1155

9-10 960 – 1115 1080 - 130511-CCR

(College and Career Readiness)

1070 – 1220 1215 - 1355

Lexile Challenge Level

Less Challeng

ing Lexile

“Average”

Lexile

More Challeng

ing Lexile

Grade 6 >700 700-975 975-1220

Grade 7 >780 780-10401040-1270

Grade 8 >830 830-10901090-1330

Grade Level Lexile RangesAccording to the “Find a Book” section on

lexile.com…

Quoted from MetaMetrics“Today’s students take many

different types of assessments and receive many different

scores. These scores provide important measures of student

proficiency in content areas, but they are often static. The data

can’t be used to inform instruction or to help educators and parents select appropriate

reading materials based on each child’s ability.

The Lexile Framework for Reading changes that. When an assessment is linked with the Lexile Framework, students’ test scores immediately

become actionable. A Lexile measure is the most widely adopted

reading metric, measuring both reader ability and text difficulty on the same scale. Lexile measures

are powerful tools for linking assessment with instruction across the curriculum, at home, and in the library, by taking the guesswork out of selecting materials that can help to improve student reading ability.”

Rationale for us as teachers across the curriculum

• The annual exams our students will be taking will offer reading

passages that are within the challenging range for our students.

• Since we do not yet know how we as teachers will all be assessed by APPR, using Lexile measures across

all subject areas when choosing reading materials will increase our students’ reading skills and better prepare them for success on those

exams…and our success as professionals.

A disclaimer…There are some limitations to Lexiles to be

noted. “A Lexile text measure is based on two strong predictors of how difficult a text is to

comprehend: word frequency and sentence length. Many other factors affect the relationship between a reader and a book, including its content, the age and interests of the reader, and the design of the actual book.

The Lexile text measure is a good starting point in the book-selection process, with these

other factors then being considered.” A Lexile measure does not take into account such items as vocabulary, thematic ideas,

difficulties of concepts found in the passage, etc.

A note about the CCSS movement:

In terms of non-fiction informational reading, textbooks are not considered

to be “challenging” due to the fact that textbooks do not contain real-

world writing. Reading from genuine texts is where the Common Core

wants us to spend our time…not in the interpretation of facts from a textbook.

The Common Core movement contends that career and college-ready reading comes from primary

sources.

A word from Mrs. Borgeest…

Library and LexilesWhat your Library Media Specialist can do for you:

Databases and LexilesLexiles provided Primary Sources:

American History Online Evaluating Sources Works Cited – Noodletools

Using lexile.com to determine Lexile measures…

www.lexile.com/fab

Three Tasks to Complete:Under the Lexile Tools tab…

1. Try out the Find a Book feature for the grade level you teach to get a sense of what books

they suggest for that Lexile range.

2. Click on Lexile Analyzer and register an account. Then, examine the Lexile of your

textbook. Type in some text from the textbook, save it as a PLAIN TEXT file, and

upload it to get a Lexile score.

3. Choose a non-fiction informational article (from databases, yahoo news, etc.) you can use in your current unit between now and

Christmas vacation as an ancillary resource within your unit. Do a Lexile analysis of it to

determine the reading level.