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What is The Lexile Framework for Reading?
The Lexile Framework for Reading, developed by educational measurement company MetaMetrics®, Inc., is a scientific approach to measuring reading ability and the difficulty of reading materials. The Lexile Framework includes a Lexile measure and the Lexile scale. A Lexile measure represents both the difficulty of a text, such as a book or an article, and an individual’s reading ability. Lexile measures are expressed as a number followed by an “L” (e.g., 850L), and are placed on the Lexile scale. The Lexile scale is a developmental scale for measuring reading ability and text difficulty, ranging from below 200L for beginning readers and beginning-reader materials to above 1700L for advanced readers and materials. Knowing the Lexile measures of a reader and text helps to predict how the text matches the reader’s ability—whether the text may be too easy, too difficult or just right. All Lexile products and services rely on the Lexile measure and Lexile scale to match reader with text.
Because many testing and instructional companies have built products around the Lexile Framework—and a growing number of states have linked their high-stakes assessments to the framework—educators are able to connect all of the different components of the curriculum. Once you have a student’s Lexile measure, you use that measure to connect the student with books and articles from periodicals, newspapers, reference books and transcripts that are targeted to the student’s reading level.
What products, tools and services support the Lexile Framework?
The Lexile Framework is supported by many MetaMetrics® products, tools and services:
- “Find a Book” Web site enables users to build reading lists based on Lexile range and personal interests and to check the availability of books at their local library.
- Lexile Analyzer® enables registered users to analyze text and generate a Lexile measure.
A free, limited version is available at www.Lexile.com.
- Lexile Book Database enables users to search for titles among the more than 115,000 English and Spanish fiction and nonfiction books with Lexile measures.
- Lexile Calculator is a free, online tool that enables users to calculate text comprehension at various Lexile measures.
- Lexile LingosSM measures the English vocabulary development of students for whom English is a second language.
- Lexile Multiple Measures Calculator enables users to estimate reading ability when two different Lexile measures are received from assessments taken within a month of each other.
- Lexile Map provides a graphic representation of texts matched to appropriate levels of reading ability. While there is not one set level of expected comprehension, the Lexile Framework targets readers to text where the reader is expected to have 75-percent comprehension. At the same time, students, teachers, parents and others can moderate this level by adjusting the relationship between the reader and text.
- Lexile Power Vocabulary™ offers users systematic and individualized vocabulary development activities for improving reading comprehension.
- Lexile Professional Development provides on-site and regional workshops, online training and customized consulting to help educators and librarians implement Lexile measures in the classroom and library/media center.
- Lexile Reading Pathfinders are book lists that help readers select texts that relate to particular topics within their Lexile range.
- Lexile Vocabulary Analyzer generates a Lexile measure for individual words, enabling educators to match vocabulary to a student’s Lexile level.
Why do assessment companies and state education departments put Lexile measures on their standardized test reports?
A Lexile is the most widely adopted reading measure. All major standardized reading tests and many popular instructional reading programs can report student reading scores as Lexile measures. Each year, more than 28 million Lexile measures are reported from state and national assessments, classroom assessments and reading programs—about half of U.S. students receive a Lexile measure annually. In addition, tens of thousands of books and tens of millions of newspaper and magazine articles have Lexile measures; more than 150 publishers have Lexile measures for their titles.
By offering students’ Lexile measures in addition to standard assessment scores, testing companies and state departments of education provide educators and parents with an important tool for developing students’ reading skills. Educators should contact their district testing coordinator for a roster of students’ Lexile measures, which will enable them to personalize instruction and better communicate student reading needs and goals to parents. Lexile measures tie day-to-day work in the classroom with critical high-stakes tests. This provides interim assessment and feedback while using the same consistent measure to easily track progress—all without additional testing.
What is the Lexile scale?
The Lexile scale is a developmental scale for reading ranging from below 200L for beginning-reader material to above 1700L for advanced text. All Lexile Framework products, tools and services rely on the Lexile measure and scale to match reader and text.
What is the Lexile Map?
The Lexile Map provides a graphic representation of texts and titles matched to appropriate levels of reading ability. While there is not one set level of expected comprehension, the Lexile Framework targets readers to text where the reader is expected to have 75-percent comprehension. At the same time, students, teachers, parents and others can moderate this level by adjusting the relationship between the reader and text.
How is a Lexile text measure determined?
Lexile text measures are based on two well-established predictors of how difficult a text is to comprehend: semantic difficulty (word frequency) and syntactic complexity (sentence length). In order to determine the Lexile measure of a book or article, the text is split into 125-word slices. Each slice is compared to the nearly 600-million word Lexile corpus—taken from a variety of sources and genres—and the words in each sentence are counted. These calculations are put into the Lexile equation. Then, each slice’s resulting Lexile measure is applied to the Rasch psychometric model to determine the Lexile measure for the entire text.
For example, books like “Arthur and the Recess Rookie” (370L), “Arthur Goes to Camp” (380L) and “Arthur, Clean Your Room!” (370L) fall within the Lexile range of a typical second grader. These books have shorter sentences and words appear frequently. Conversely, books in the “Harry Potter” series (880L to 950L), “Little Women” (1300L) and “Don Quixote” (1410L) contain longer sentences and more complex words.
What is the Lexile Book Database and how do I use it?
Once you have a student’s Lexile measure, you can search the Lexile Book Database (or “Find a Book” Web site) to find books that are similar to the student’s reading level. The database contains tens of thousands of fiction and nonfiction titles with Lexile measures. You can search by title or author, Lexile range or keywords, or ISBN. The advanced search feature allows you to search by the same basic parameters, plus Lexile codes, publisher, copyright year, doctype (fiction or nonfiction), reading series, book awards and developmental rating. Search the Lexile Book Database at www.lexile.com/booksearch. Similarly, the “Find a Book” Web site (at www.lexile.com/findabook) enables users to build reading lists based on Lexile range and personal interests and to check the availability of books at their local library.
How do Lexile measures benefit educators and students?
The Lexile Framework helps educators set measurable goals, monitor and evaluate reading programs, and easily track progress without additional testing. In addition, it provides teachers with an efficient means of encouraging parental involvement by giving parents a clear idea of their child’s reading progress and a selection of books that promote literacy development. Time spent reading outside of school is a powerful predictor of future academic and workplace success.
Over 150 publishers have Lexile measures for their titles, enabling educators to link all of the different components of the curriculum. With Lexile measures, teachers connect students with tens of thousands of books (at www.lexile.com/booksearch) and tens of millions of newspaper and magazine articles (through popular periodical databases) that have Lexile measures. For example, a fourth-grade teacher teaching a unit on dinosaurs is able to supplement the textbook with related articles and books that span the Lexile range of the class. For tips on how to use Lexile measures more effectively in the classroom, read the “Lexile Measures in the Classroom” fact sheet at www.lexile.com/kits.
How does the Lexile Framework help me communicate with parents?
The Lexile Framework provides a clear, nonjudgmental way of communicating a student’s reading abilities to parents. It helps you generate reading lists that help parents guide their children to appropriately challenging reading materials. Lexiles can also be used to promote summer reading, and to select books that will provide more easily understood background information for homework assignments. When standards and scores are reported in Lexiles, families can be provided with examples of student goals or achievements by converting the Lexile measure into a range of familiar texts for outside reading. For tips on how parents can use Lexile measures outside of the classroom, read the "Lexiles at Home" fact sheet at www.Lexile.com/kits.
How does the Lexile Framework relate to my core instructional program?
There is a close relationship between the core instructional program and the Lexile Framework. By giving a precise measurement of students’ reading performance, the Lexile Framework helps educators assess and monitor students more accurately. Teachers supplement core texts with Lexile-calibrated material, such as trade books, newspapers and magazines, with full confidence that these additions are suitable for students’ current skill levels.
How does the Lexile Framework differ from other leveled reading programs?
Lexiles are uniquely independent, accurate and actionable:
What does a Lexile measure tell me about what a student can read?
Lexile measures allow you to manage student reading comprehension. When reader and text measures match, the reader is "targeted." This is the basis for selecting text that is targeted to a student's reading ability, and the result is an expected 75-percent comprehension rate – not too difficult to be frustrating, but difficult enough to encourage reading progress. The student's interests, parental views on what constitutes age-appropriate material and teacher's instructional aims are also vital issues in managing a reader's growth.
Targeted readers report competence, confidence and control over the text. When a text measure is greater than a reader's measure, comprehension drops dramatically, and the subjective experience is one of frustration, inadequacy and lack of control. Conversely, when a reader's measure exceeds a text measure, comprehension goes up dramatically, and the reader experiences total control and automaticity. It is important to remember that a student's Lexile measure isn't a measure of his or her intelligence. The Lexile Framework is designed to match a students' reading ability (wherever it falls on the scale) with a text's readability (likewise, wherever it falls on the scale) for optimal reading success and enjoyment.
Why is the "75-percent comprehension" number so significant?
Lexile measures allow you to manage comprehension. Matching a reader’s Lexile measure to a text with the same Lexile measure leads to an expected 75-percent comprehension rate — not too difficult to be frustrating, but difficult enough to be challenging and to encourage reading progress. You can further adjust anticipated comprehension simply by choosing more or less difficult texts within a student’s Lexile range, which spans 50L above and 100L below their Lexile measure.
How do I use the Lexile Framework to help me forecast a student’s comprehension rate for a book?
The Lexile calculator is a free online tool for calculating text comprehension at various Lexile measures. It is available on the Lexile Web site at http://educators.lexile.com/tools/lexilecalculator.aspx.
Should my students always choose material with increasingly higher Lexile measures?
While students should be encouraged to move on to more demanding material as their skills develop, it is not necessary for them to advance to a higher Lexile measure with each new book. By reading several titles at one Lexile measure, readers can build confidence and comfort in their degree of reading comprehension before moving on to books at a higher Lexile measure.
How does the Lexile Framework help me find books for my less advanced readers?
The Lexile Framework is geared toward the needs of readers at all levels. By giving educators a precise measurement of student performance that is based on an absolute, invariant standard, the Lexile Framework permits more effective evaluation and monitoring of student progress. The Lexile Framework is equally important for readers who are advancing more slowly as it is for readers who are advancing rapidly. It enables teachers to select books that are targeted to students’ current skill levels, reducing the risk of frustrating readers and “turning them off” to the benefits and pleasures of regular reading.
What types of materials have a Lexile measure? Will more be added?
Tens of thousands of books and tens of millions of articles have Lexile measures. More than 150 publishers have Lexile measures for their titles, and the nation’s largest periodical database services use Lexile measures for newspaper and magazine articles. This wide range of materials with Lexile measures enables you to incorporate Lexile measures into your school library, and provide another method for differentiating classroom instruction. For tips on using Lexile measures in the library or media center, read the “Lexile Measures in the Library” fact sheet at www.lexile.com/kits.
While the Lexile Book Database is large, it is not exhaustive. Publishers send books to MetaMetrics to be analyzed and measured, and new materials are continually being added for educators, librarians, parents and developing readers to use. If you notice some books that are not in the Lexile Book Database, contact the book’s publisher and encourage them to send their books to MetaMetrics for measurement. The publisher will need the title, author and ISBN for each book.
Is it possible to tie grade-level equivalents to Lexile measures?
There is no direct correspondence between a specific Lexile® measure and a specific grade level. Within any classroom or grade, there will be a range of readers and a range of reading materials. For example, in a fifth-grade classroom there will be some readers who are ahead of the typical reader (about 250L above) and some readers who are behind the typical reader (about 250L below). To say that some books are “just right” for fifth graders assumes that all fifth graders are reading at the same level. The Lexile Framework® for Reading is intended to match readers with texts at whatever level the reader is reading.
MetaMetrics has studied the ranges of Lexile reader measures and Lexile text measures at specific grades in an effort to describe the typical Lexile measure of students and the typical Lexile measure of texts of a given grade level. This information is for descriptive purposes only and should not be interpreted as a prescribed guide about what an appropriate reader measure or text measure should be for a given grade. Data for the reader measures came from a national sample of students. Data for the text measures came from collections of texts found in various grade-level classrooms. Figure 1 shows the middle 50 percent of reader measures and text measures for each grade. The middle 50 percent is called the interquartile range. The lower number in each range marks the 25th percentile of readers or texts and the higher number in each range marks the 75th percentile of readers or texts. It is important to note that 25 percent of students and texts in the study had measures below the lower number and 25 percent had measures above the higher number.
| 1 |
Up to 300L |
200L to 400L |
| 2 |
140L to 500L |
300L to 500L |
| 3 |
330L to 700L |
500L to 700L |
| 4 |
445L to 810L |
650L to 850L |
| 5 |
565L to 910L |
750L to 950L |
| 6 |
665L to 1000L |
850L to 1050L |
| 7 |
735L to 1065L |
950L to 1075L |
| 8 |
805L to 1100L |
1000L to 1100L |
| 9 |
855L to 1165L |
1050L to 1150L |
| 10 |
905L to 1195L |
1100L to 1200L |
| 11 and 12 |
940L to 1210L |
1100L to 1300L |
Figure 1. Typical Reader and Text Measures by Grade
Notice that there is considerable overlap between the grades. This is typical of student reading levels and texts published for each grade. In addition, the level of support provided during reading and reader motivation have an impact on the reading experience. Students who are interested in reading about a specific topic (and are therefore motivated) often are able to read text at a higher level than would be forecasted by the reader’s Lexile measure.
Although a student may be an excellent reader, it is incorrect to assume that he or she will comprehend text typically found at (and intended for) a higher grade level. A high Lexile measure for a student in one grade indicates that the student can read grade-level-appropriate materials at a very high comprehension rate. The student may not have the background knowledge or maturity to understand material written for an older audience. It is always necessary to preview materials prior to selecting them for a student.
It is important to note that the Lexile measure of a book refers to its text difficulty only. A Lexile measure does not address the content or quality of the book. Lexile measures are based on two well-established 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 measure is a good starting point in your book-selection process, but you should always consider these other factors when making a decision about which book to choose.
The real power of The Lexile Framework is in matching readers to text—no matter where the reader is in the development of his or her reading skills—and in examining reader growth. When teachers know Lexile reader measures and Lexile text measures, they can match their students with the texts that will maximize learning and growth.
Is the Lexile Framework available for Spanish?
El Sistema Lexile para Leer, the Spanish-language version of The Lexile Framework for Reading, is a scientific approach to measuring the reading ability of Spanish-speaking students and text difficulty when the presentation language is Spanish. El Sistema Lexile includes a Spanish Lexile measure and the Spanish Lexile scale. A Spanish Lexile measure represents both the difficulty of a text, such as a book or article, and an individual’s reading ability. Spanish Lexile measures are expressed as numbers followed by an “L” (e.g., 850L), and are placed on the Spanish Lexile scale. The Spanish Lexile scale is a developmental scale for measuring reader ability and text difficulty, ranging from below 200L for beginning readers and beginning-reader materials to above 1400L for advanced readers and materials. Knowing the Spanish Lexile measures of a reader and text helps to predict how the text matches the reader’s ability—whether the text may be too easy, too difficult or just right. All Spanish Lexile products and services rely on the Spanish Lexile measure and Spanish Lexile scale to match reader with text.
MetaMetrics, Lexile, the Lexile symbol, Lexile Framework, Lexile Analyzer, Lingos, PowerV, and Power Vocabulary are service marks, trademarks or U.S. registered trademarks of MetaMetrics, Inc. The names of other companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. © 2008 MetaMetrics, Inc. |