MetaMetrics, Lexile, the Lexile symbol, Lexile Framework, Lexile Analyzer, Lingos, PowerV, Power Vocabulary, Quantile, Quantile Framework and the

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2 Lexile Information for Oregon Educators In Oregon, what assessment is used to get a Lexile measure? The Lexile Framework for Reading, commonly referred to as the Lexile Framework, has been linked to the Oregon Reading/Literature Knowledge and Skills Test. The study to link the Lexile Framework to Oregon's state assessment was funded through the federal No Child Left Behind Act's "Reading First" initiative. The Oregon test is administered statewide each spring to students in grades 3 through high school. For educators, the benefit of linking the state test to the Lexile scale is that the Lexile measure can be used to bridge assessment and instruction. Why did the Oregon Department of Education put Lexiles on the OR Reading/Literature Knowledge and Skills Test? Lexile measures are the most widely adopted reading measures in use today. Tens of thousands of books and tens of millions of newspaper and magazine articles have Lexile measures more than 450 publishers Lexile their titles. In addition, all major standardized reading tests and many popular instructional reading programs can report student reading scores in Lexiles. By offering students Lexile measures in addition to their state reading-assessment scores, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) is providing an important tool for helping to build reading skills. Now, teachers can contact their district testing coordinator for a roster of their students' Lexile measures, enabling them to personalize reading instruction, and to better communicate student reading needs to parents. As a result, Lexile measures tie day-to-day work in the classroom to critical high-stakes tests. This provides interim assessment and feedback while using the same consistent measurement to easily track progress, all without additional testing. In addition to the OR Reading/Literature Knowledge and Skills Test, are there other tests that report in Lexiles? For more precision and high-stakes decisions, many assessments have been linked to the Lexile Framework. State criterion-referenced tests like those in North Carolina, Idaho, Utah, California, Texas and Wyoming and national norm-referenced tests like those published by CTB/McGraw-Hill, Harcourt Assessment, The Riverside Publishing Company and the Northwest Evaluation Association have all been linked to the Lexile Framework and can report student reading measures in Lexiles. What is The Lexile Framework for Reading? The Lexile Framework is a scientific approach to reading and text measurement. It includes the Lexile measure and the Lexile scale. The Lexile measure is a reading ability or text difficulty score followed by an L (e.g., 850L ). The Lexile scale is a developmental scale for reading ranging from 200L for beginning readers 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. Because so many companies have built products around the Lexile Framework, teachers can now connect all the different components of the curriculum. Since you have your student's Lexile measure from the OR Reading/Literature Knowledge and Skills Test, you can now connect him or her to tens of thousands of books and tens of millions of articles from periodicals, newspapers, reference books and transcripts to find material targeted to the student's reading level. For more information on Lexiles, download the free Administrator Lexile Resource Kit or the Educator Lexile Resource Kit at

3 What is the Lexile scale? The Lexile scale is a developmental scale for reading ranging from 200L for beginning readers 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 text's Lexile measure determined? Lexile 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 Lexile a book or article, 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 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 (which measure between 880L and 950L), "Little Women" (1300L) and "Don Quixote" (1410L) contain longer sentences and more complex words. What is the Lexile Book Database, and what can I do with it? Once you have a student's Lexile measure (e.g., the Lexile measure on the Individual Student Report), use this information to search the Lexile Book Database to find books that are similar to the student's reading level. This 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 online at How will this benefit teachers and students? The Lexile Framework help teachers set measurable goals, monitor and evaluate reading programs and easily track progress without additional testing. In addition, it provides teachers with an excellent means of encouraging parental involvement by giving parents a clear idea of their child's progress, and a selection of books that the child should be reading. Time spent reading outside of school is a powerful predictor of future academic and workplace success. Over 450 publishers Lexile their titles, enabling teachers to link all the different components of the curriculum. With Lexiles, teachers can connect students to tens of thousands of books and tens of millions of newspaper and magazine articles (through popular periodical databases) that also have Lexile measures. Search the Lexile Book Database online at

4 For example, a fourth-grade teacher teaching a unit on dinosaurs can supplement the textbook with related articles and books that span the Lexile range of the class. For tips on how to use Lexiles more effectively in the classroom, read the "Lexiles in the Classroom" fact sheet at How can the Lexile Framework help teachers 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 How does the Lexile Framework relate to a teacher's 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 can help teachers assess and monitor students more accurately. Teachers can supplement core texts with Lexilecalibrated 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: Lexiles are instrument independent. A wide variety of test, instructional software, book and article publishers have adopted Lexile measures. States and districts are not limited to a single supplier. Lexiles use the same method and scale to measure readers and text. The same measurement approach and a common scale means greater accuracy in matching readers with text. Lexiles apply to everyday reading. A student s Lexile measure is more than a test score. It applies to books and articles that a student encounters daily at school, home and in the library creating a strong school-home connection. What does a Lexile measure indicate 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,

5 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 can a teacher use the Lexile Framework to help 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 ( ). Should 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, young readers can build confidence and comfort in their degree of reading comprehension before moving on to books at a higher measure. Will the Lexile Framework help teachers find books for less advanced readers? The Lexile Framework is geared toward the needs of readers at all levels. By giving teachers 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" from the benefits and pleasures of regular reading. What types of materials have Lexile measures? Will more materials be added? Tens of thousands of books and tens of millions of articles have Lexile measures. More than 450 publishers Lexile their titles, and the nation s largest periodical database services use Lexile measures for newspaper and magazine articles. This wide range of Lexiled material enables you to incorporate Lexiles into your school library, and provide educators with another method for differentiating classroom instruction. For tips on using Lexiles in the library or media center, read the "Lexiles in the Library" fact sheet at What are some ways that teachers can use the Lexile Framework in content areas, particularly in middle and high school? The Lexile Framework allows teachers to look at the materials being used in instruction, similar to a thematic reading unit, and see how they relate in terms of difficulty. For example, if students

6 are struggling to read a textbook, finding other materials that are easier to read allows the student to build background and vocabulary. This enables the student to better handle the textbook, a concept referred to as "layering meaning." Also, using a lot of primary resource material is a great way to evaluate instructional materials and match them more closely with students. For example, perhaps a 10th-grade teacher is doing a biology unit on photosynthesis. A typical 10thgrade biology textbook measures 1200L, while the range of students in the class can vary from 800L to 1400L. This means that 1200L text won't fit all the students. One way that the Lexile Framework can help is by providing teachers with resources like EBSCO and ProQuest to supplement textbook reading material with related articles and books that span the Lexile range of the students in the class. For ideas on using Lexiles in the classroom, read the "Lexiles in the Classroom" fact sheet at How do grade levels and Lexile levels relate? Lexile measures do not translate specifically to grade levels. Within any classroom, there will be a range of readers and a range of materials to be read. For example, in a fifth-grade classroom, there will be some readers that are far ahead of the rest, and some readers far below the rest. To say that some books are just right for fifth graders assumes that all fifth graders are reading at the same level. Lexiles track a student s reading progress over time, no matter what grade they are in. Is there a Spanish version available? El Sistema Lexile is a Spanish version of the Lexile Framework that describes the reading skills of readers when their native language is Spanish. Scholastic has marketed a Spanish version of the Scholastic Reading Inventory, and it also reports in Lexiles (based on Spanish). Just as with students whose native language is English, educators can use the Lexile measures of ESL students to select appropriate reading material. One way is to search the Spanish Lexile Book Database to find books to better understand the Lexile scale. The Spanish Lexile Book Database contains nearly 2,000 fiction and nonfiction titles that have been analyzed. On the search screen, enter the titles of several books you are familiar with and note their Lexile measures. Are the Lexile measures consistent with the perceived difficulty level of the text of the books? (Remember, the readability of a text is determined by examining the whole text to measure such characteristics as sentence length and word frequency.) By clicking on one of the titles, you can also find information about the developmental level of the book as determined by the publisher, get a short summary of the book and see if the book has won any awards. For more information: MetaMetrics, Inc. Developer of The Lexile Framework for Reading 2327 Englert Drive, Suite 300 Durham, N.C