LEXILE

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LEXILE

• A Framework for Reading
• What does it mean for me?

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Agenda

• What is Lexile?
• Lexile background
• How is it used?
• What is available to us?
• Ways for Parents to use Lexile
• Ways to use in schools
• Renaissance Learning vs. Lexile
• Role Play - Discussion
• Question and Answer

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What is the Lexile Framework?

• Developed by MetaMetrics
• Scientific approach to measuring text difficulty
  and reading ability, putting both texts and
  readers on the same scale to accurately match
  readers to texts.
• It is not an instructional program

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What is the Lexile Framework?

• Allows educators to forecast the level of
  comprehension a reader is expected to experience
  with a particular text
• Most commonly used reading measure
• Over 19 million students receive Lexile scores
  through commercial and state assessments
• Over 100,000 books and tens of millions of
  article have Lexile measures

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LEXILE FRAMEWORK
LEXILE PATHFINDER
LEXILE ANALYZER
LEXILE MEASURE
LEXILE BOOK DATABASE
POWER VOCABULARY
LEXILE CALCULATOR
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Parts of the Lexile Framework

• Lexile Measure a standardized score that
  reflects a students reading skill or the
  difficulty of a book
• Lexile Book Database contains thousands of
  books, newspapers, magazines and other reading
  material that have a Lexile measure
• Lexile Analyzer a tool for analyzing reading
  materials and producing a Lexile measure
• 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 words lists for
  books that might challenge the reader.

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The Lexile Map
Lexile Measure
Literature Titles
Benchmarks (Sample Text)
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Lexile Measure

• How difficult a text is to comprehend, those
  being semantic difficulty (word frequency) and
  syntactic complexity (sentence length)
• Matches a students reading ability with
  difficulty of text material

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The Lexile Scale

• Ranges from 200 for beginning readers to 1700 for
  advanced readers
• 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
• Can be used to track reading growth over time

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How are Lexiles calculated?

• Semantic Difficulty
• Word Frequency
• Syntactic Complexity
• Sentence Length

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Accessing the Lexile Toolswww.lexile.com
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Lexile Book Database

• A tool for connecting students to reading
  material
• Contains tens of thousands of books and articles
• Look up books and articles
• By author
• By title
• By keyword for childs interest
• By Lexile range
• Create a booklist

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Book DatabaseSelect by Title, Author, Lexile,
Keyword
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Book DatabaseResults of a Search by Author
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Book DatabaseSearching by Lexile Range
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Book AnalyzerSample List of Books for a Lexile
Range
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Lexile Analyzer

• Analyzes a text file to determine reading
  difficulty
• Check the book database first to see if material
  is already Lexiled
• Helps teachers target material to students
• Helps authors target books to their audiences
• For limited use to registered users

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Lexile AnalyzerSubmit a Text File to Determine
Reading Difficulty
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Lexile Calculator

• The Lexile Calculator can
• Calculate the rate at which a student is expected
  to comprehend a text
• Calculate the reading ability a reader is
  expected to need in order to comprehend a text at
  a given level

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Lexile Calculator
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Lexile Power Vocabulary

• A tool to help teachers build student vocabulary
• Provides teachers with
• student word lists
• activities and assessment
• teacher answer keys

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Lexile Power Vocabulary
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Lexile Power Vocabulary Sample Word List
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Lexile Power Vocabulary Sample Activity
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Lexile Pathfinder

• Another tool to support teachers, media
  specialists and parents in selecting books for
  students
• Lists of books
• Organized "by series" for example, Encyclopedia
  Brown
• Organized "by topic" for example, Festivals of
  the World
• Parents and students find the by series lists
  useful for determining which book is at the level
  of the child and should be read first.
• Teachers find the "by topic" lists useful for
  differentiating instruction for the wide range of
  ability levels found within a classroom.
  Students in a class can read supplementary
  material, geared for their own reading level,
  about the unit they are studying in class.

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Guidance on Making Sense of LexilesandUsing
the Lexile Tools

• Lexiles is another tool for teachers and
  parents and can be used in conjunction with
  existing reading programs. It is not a
  replacement for a schools reading program.

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How to Use Lexiles

• It is recommended that readers choose texts
  within their Lexile range.
• A Lexile range is 50L above and 100L below a
  students reported Lexile measure.
• Practice with a variety of texts.
• Use Lexiles to set goals.

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Using Lexiles in the Classroom

• Teachers can use lexiles to help them
• Develop individualized or classroom reading lists
  tailored to provide appropriately challenging
  reading.
• Enhance thematic teaching by building a bank of
  titles at varying levels that support the theme,
  but also allows all students to participate
  successfully in the theme with material at their
  own reading level.
• Sequence materials, for example by increasing the
  difficulty of read-aloud books throughout the
  year.

source http//www.lexile.com/PDF/Lexiles-in-the-
Classroom-0504.pdf
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Using Lexiles in the Classroom

• Teachers can use Lexiles to help them
• Develop a reading folder that goes home with
  students and comes back for weekly review.
  Folder might contain
• a reading list of books within the students
  Lexile range
• reports of recent assessments
• a form for parents to record reading that occurs
  at home.
• Vary reading difficulty of material to the
  situation
• Choose texts lower in the students Lexile range
  when factors make the reading situation more
  challenging, threatening or unfamiliar.
• Select texts at or above the students 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.

source http//www.lexile.com/PDF/Lexiles-in-the-
Classroom-0504.pdf
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More Instructional Uses of Lexiles

• Teachers can use Lexiles to
• Set measurable goals for instruction and special
  intervention programs
• Monitor progress of various reading programs
• Make parents partners to the classroom by
  giving them a tool for selecting appropriate
  reading material for their children (e.g., Summer
  Reading Lists, visiting library, etc.)
• Help students set goals for themselves and use
  annual CRCT results to see if they have
  progressed towards their goals.

source http//www.lexile.com/PDF/Lexiles-in-the-
Classroom-0504.pdf
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More Instructional Uses of Lexiles

• Teachers can use Lexiles to target fiction and
  non-fiction material to students abilities and
  thus promote learning of all subjects.

• Avoids student frustration when reading text is
  too difficult.
• Avoids undermining student self-confidence.
• Avoids the fostering of bad work habits and
  unrealistic self-expectations when a student is
  always presented with too easy material.
• Learning occurs best when the text material can
  be comprehended at a 75 rate.

source http//www.lexile.com/PDF/Lexiles-in-the-
Classroom-0504.pdf
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More Instructional Uses of Lexiles

• Challenge the BEST readers.
• Improve students reading fluency and increase
  enjoyment of reading.
• Students who spend a minimum of 3 hrs/week
  reading at their own level for their own purposes
  develop reading fluency which leads to improved
  mastery.
• Success breeds enjoyment.

source http//www.lexile.com/PDF/Lexiles-in-the-
Classroom-0504.pdf
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Parents Can Use Lexiles

• Promotes family-school connections.
• Know your childs Lexile measure.
• Know your childs Lexile range.
• 50L above and 100L below their reported Lexile
  measure. This range represents the boundaries
  between the easiest kind of reading material for
  your child and the hardest level at which he/she
  can read successfully.
• Use the Lexile Book Database to find books in
  the childs Lexile range.

source http//www.lexile.com/PDF/Lexiles-at-Home
-0504.pdf
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Lexile and Renaissance Learning
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Lexile and Renaissance Learning

• August, 1999 Report Evaluation of the Lexile
  Framework
• Their evaluation states that the Lexile
  readability formula and test are likely to
  provide less accurate and less reliable measures
  of text readability and student reading levels
  than other more recognized and established
  methods.
• The 75 comprehension target is inadequate to
  properly match students to books.

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Lexile and Renaissance Learning

• Renaissance Learning further state that each
  student is unique and responds to literature in
  his or her own unique way.
• They do not believe the Lexile Framework will
  help teachers match students to books to maximize
  reading growth better than existing approaches.
• You make your own decision!

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Lexile and Renaissance Learning

• Matching students to books is inherently a
  two-step process. Educators can use reading tests
  and readability formulas as a guide to make an
  initial estimate of what books students should
  read. The second step of continuous adjustment
  is, by far, the most important step. In this
  step, the professional educator who observes
  student reading behavior makes continuous
  adjustments based on quality information.

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When the question was asked of ISBE as to why
Lexile was going to be on the IL Student Reports,
this is the answer I received.

• The primary audiences for individual student
  reports are the students and parents. Lexile
  scores provide guidance and help to planning the
  students out of school reading activities and
  assist parents in working with libraries and
  other resources in identifying optimal reading
  resources.
• John C. Craig Ph.D.
• Principal Accountability Consultant
• Student Assessment Division
• Illinois State Board of Education

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NCLB expects us to do what all parents hope we
will do Make a difference in their children's
lives and ensure that they learn, grow, and
achieve at the highest levels possible. Ken
Noah, Oregon School Superintendent
Taken from a presentation by Rick Dills, Ed.D.
Consultant, Educational Design and Development