Lexile® Framework for Reading Matching Readers to Text Janie Baxter Coastal Plains RESA

Why use Lexile measures Why use Lexile measures? What resources are available to assist me as I use Lexiles? EQ and pre assess. What do you know about Lexiles? Where can I locate content materials that have Lexile measures? How do I find students’ Lexile?

How do the content materials I am teaching (text Lexile measure) match my students’ Lexile measures?

What is a Lexile? Standard score developed by MetaMetrics Matches a student’s reading ability with difficulty of text material Developed by MetaMetrics; Based on research funded by National Institute for Child Health Development (NICHD); Combined the work of reading experts Chall, Flesch, Carroll, and Bormuth, with measurement expert, Rasch

Three Important Concepts Reading Ability The cognitive set students use to construct meaning from text as measured on tests Readability The difficulty of reading materials based on dimensions or characteristics of the text Reading Comprehension The construction of meaning from text Teacher and parent guidance needed; Allows educators to forecast the level of comprehension a reader is expected to experience with a particular text

What is a Lexile? Interpreted as the level of book that a student can read with 75% comprehension 75% comprehension is the level identified by experts as offering the reader a certain amount of comfort and yet still offering a challenge

Lexile Typically range from 200 for beginning readers to 1700 for advanced readers Text below 200L represents beginning-reading material; given as a number or BR (Beginning Reading) Applies to both reader ability and text difficulty When reader and text measures are the same, the student is expected to read with 75% comprehension. Lexile is calculated by analyzing Semantic Difficulty, Word Frequency; and, Syntactic Complexity, Sentence Length.

Lexile is calculated by analyzing Semantic Difficulty, Word Frequency; and, Syntactic Complexity, Sentence Length.

How is Georgia using Lexiles? Students receive a Lexile score along with their regular scale score for the CRCT Reading or GHSGT English Language Arts tests. A student’s Lexile is a tool for teachers to use to target reading material for students. A student’s Lexile is a tool for parents to use in selecting reading material for their children.

Where Is a Student’s Lexile on the CRCT? Lexiles: Making Sense of a New Score 2006 Curriculum Director's Conference September 20, 2006 CRCT Individual Student Score Report (SSR) displays Lexile score in Reading section. Georgia Department of Education: Testing Division 10

Where Is a Student’s Lexile on GHSGT? Lexiles: Making Sense of a New Score 2006 Curriculum Director's Conference September 20, 2006 GHSGT Student Content Summary Report displays the Lexile score in English Language Arts section. Front shows score and range. Explanation on reverse side of report Georgia Department of Education: Testing Division 11

http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/lexile.aspx Scroll down on testing page to Lexile Framework for Reading.

Lexile Measures for Text: Newspapers Reuters (1440L) NY Times (1380L) Washington Post (1350L) Wall Street Journal (1320L) Chicago Tribune (1310L) Associated Press (1310L) USA Today (1200L) Lexile measure of newspapers

John Grisham Lexile Measures for Text: Novels The Pelican Brief 660 The Firm 680 The Client 730 A Time to Kill 770 The Chamber 810 The Rainmaker 830 The Runaway Jury 930 Lexile measures of adult author, Grisham

Lexile Measures for Text: Novels Michael Crichton Jurassic Park 710 Andromeda Strain 840 Congo 940 Lexile measures of Crichton novels

Lexile Measures for Text SAT 1330L Federal Tax Form 1260L Windows User Manual 1150L GED 1060L

Lexile Measures for Text: Harry Potter

Determining a Student’s Lexile Range In the Classroom Determining a Student’s Lexile Range Independent Reading Range of difficulty should be . . . 50 Lexiles above to 100 Lexiles below Instructional Reading Range of difficulty should be . . . 50 to 150 Lexiles above Instructional…if teacher or parent provides support and reading guidance; Teacher and parent guidance needed because analysis does not include illustrations, text type, students interests; Measure not always an exact match

In the Classroom Vary reading difficulty of material to the situation: Choose texts lower in the student’s Lexile range when factors make the reading situation more challenging, threatening or unfamiliar. Select texts at or above the student’s range to stimulate growth when a topic is of extreme interest to a student, or when you will be giving additional support such as background teaching or discussion.

Relationship of Lexiles & Grade Levels Lexiles: Making Sense of a New Score 2006 Curriculum Director's Conference September 20, 2006 Relationship of Lexiles & Grade Levels Column 2 shows the range of Lexiles in which the middle 50% of readers fall at a grade level. 25% of students fall below this range and 25% above. Column 3 shows the typical range of reading material at a grade level. Note that the range of readers is wider than that of the typical text measures. Source: http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=ed&tabindex=6&tabid=18#18 Georgia Department of Education: Testing Division 20

Accelerated Reader* and Lexiles** Lexiles: Making Sense of a New Score 2006 Curriculum Director's Conference Accelerated Reader* and Lexiles** September 20, 2006 From GaDOE PPT *This relational table is from Renaissance Learning, Inc.(2002). **Lexile is a trademark of MetaMetrics, Inc. Source: http://www.nacs.k12.in.us/mcms/6thGrade/ARLEX.html Georgia Department of Education: Testing Division 21

Reading Level Comparison Chart

Share with someone near something you know about Lexiles.

What tools are available to assist me? www.lexile.com GALILEO

http://www.lexile.com/ Tools to assist educators, parents, and students.

Educators www.lexile.com

Tools

The Lexile Map Lexile Measure Literature Titles Can be printed from www.lexile.com Benchmarks (Sample Text)

Parts of the Lexile Framework Lexile Calculator – a tool to calculate expected comprehension at various Lexile measures Lexile Pathfinder – A set of prepared list of books by series and by topics. Power Vocabulary – Vocabulary lists for books that might challenge the reader.

Lexile Power Vocabulary Look at Harriet Tubman example.

Harriet Tubman Power Vocabulary

Lexile Book Search

Book Database Select by Title, Author, Lexile, Keyword

Advanced Book Search

Cells 565-910

Discuss with someone near you how you might use the resources at www Discuss with someone near you how you might use the resources at www.lexile.com in teaching and learning.

GALILEO Databases with Lexile Measures Book Collection: Nonfiction  Discoverer WebFind Kids Search Middle Search Plus MAS Ultra NoveList NoveList K-8 Searchasaurus SIRS Discoverer SIRS Researcher Student Research Center

http://kids.galileo.usg.edu/

Kids Search Detailed Search Use Detailed Search to search by keyword and Lexile range.

Heat Energy 300-500 3rd

SIRS Discoverer Advanced Search

Weather Sorted by Lexile

Advanced Search Options NoveList K-8 Advanced Search Options

Weather 500-700

Britannica Online Linked to GPS

Digital Library of Georgia Georgia history and culture, primary sources, images

Discuss with someone near you a GALILEO resource you might use to engage students in the content on their reading level.

Why should I use Lexiles, www.lexile.com, and GALILEO? EQ and pre assess. What do you know about Lexiles? Where can I locate content materials that have Lexile measures? How do I find students’ Lexile?

Connecting Students with Text http://cpresa.org/media/lexile.htm Resources at Coastal Plains RESA http://cpresa.org/media/lexile.htm