Grouped FAQs

Questions

  1. What is a Lexile measure?
  2. What is the difference between a Spanish and English Lexile measure?
  3. What can I do with my Lexile measure?
  4. Where can I receive a Lexile measure?
  5. What is the relationship between grade equivalents and Lexile measures?
  6. Can I measure a book or piece of text on my own?
  7. Can I get Lexile measures in my library?
  8. How can homeschool students receive a Lexile measure?
  9. What are the letters in front of the Lexile measure (AD, NC, HL, IG, GN, BR and NP)?
  10. Where did the Lexile Pathfinders go?

Answers

  1. What is a Lexile measure?

    There are two kinds of Lexile measures: the Lexile reader measure and the Lexile text measure. Students receive a Lexile reader measure as a score from a reading test - it describes his or her reading ability. Books and other texts receive a Lexile text measure from a software tool called the Lexile Analyzer - it describes the book's reading demand or difficulty. When used together, these measures can help match a reader with reading material that is at an appropriate difficulty, or help give an idea of how well a reader will comprehend a text. The Lexile reader measure can also be used to monitor a reader's growth in reading ability over time. Lexile helps readers grow, and helps parents and teachers know. When a Lexile text measure matches or is in the range of a Lexile reader measure, this is called a targeted reading experience. The reader will encounter some level of difficulty with the text, but not enough to get frustrated. This is the best way to grow as a reader - reading text that's not too hard but not too easy.

  2. What is the difference between a Spanish and English Lexile measure?

    El Sistema Lexile para Leer is a separate reading framework from the English-language Lexile Framework for Reading. The differences between the two frameworks represent the differences between the two languages. A separate research corpus of Spanish texts is necessary to determine word frequency values, and a unique Lexile equation is necessary to quantify the relationship between sentence length and syntactic complexity. Therefore, the Spanish Lexile measure for a text may be a different number from an English Lexile measure of that same text in English. Book measures bear this out. For instance, Curious George by H.A. Rey measures 400L in English, and the Spanish translation measures 270L. These two measures are not relative to each other; they each represent the separate reading demands of these two texts in their separate languages.

  3. What can I do with my Lexile measure?

    You can easily find well-targeted books either for school or for pleasure reading. You can also easily know when a reader might need a little help, or need a little more challenge. When you receive your Lexile measure from a test, try not to focus on the exact number. Instead, consider a reading range around the number. A young person's Lexile range, or reading "sweet spot," is from 100L below to 50L above his or her reported measure. Use this range in our Find a Book search. And don't be afraid to look at books above and below someone's Lexile range. Just know that a reader might find these books particularly challenging or simple. If a student tackles reading material above his or her Lexile range, consider what additional instruction or lower-level reading resources might help. Ask him or her to keep track of unknown words, and look them up together. Or take turns reading aloud to each other to chop up the reading experience into smaller portions. Likewise, you can reward students with easy reading just as adults like to grab a couple of pulp novels to read in the beach chair. Lexile Measures can be utilized at home, school and at the library.

  4. Where can I receive a Lexile measure?

    MetaMetrics does not publish tests that report Lexile measures. Neither is there an online test on our Web site. Instead, we partner with state departments of education and test publishers to create assessments or link existing assessments to report Lexile measures. Currently, students can receive Lexile measures from many different tests and reading programs. Click "How to get a Lexile measure" under "About Lexile Measures" on our front page for more information.

  5. What is the relationship between grade equivalents and Lexile measures?

    There is no direct correspondence of a specific Lexile measure to 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 about the same level. The Lexile Framework for Reading is intended to match readers with texts at whatever level each individual reader is reading. With that said, we have a chart available that shows Lexile ranges from actual test scores across the nation in each grade. Please keep in mind, the "Reader Measures" column of this chart is not to be taken as recommended ranges. This is simply where young readers are reading. And know that students scored above and below these ranges as well -- the ranges in the table are the middle 50% of students in each grade.

  6. Can I measure a book or piece of text on my own?

    You can use our free, online Lexile Analyzer tool to measure short classroom texts or get an estimated Lexile measure for a book. This is the same tool that MetaMetrics uses to get certified Lexile measures for the full text of books. Once you register for the Lexile Analyzer, please follow the guidelines in the user guide for preparing a text and for sampling from a book. If you do not follow these guidelines, your Lexile measure or estimate might not be very accurate. Also please know that any measure you get yourself should not be entered into any library catalog or database. Lexile measures can only be certified by MetaMetrics. We stand behind the accuracy of our text measures.

  7. Can I get Lexile measures in my library?

    You can integrate Lexile measures into your library's online catalog and book search. Although MetaMetrics does not offer this integration service, you can either license the Lexile Book Database from us so you can do it yourself, or work with one of several library automation partners who integrate Lexile measures. Click "Lexile in the Library" under "Using Lexile Measures" from the front page for more information about these options.

  8. How can homeschool students receive a Lexile measure?

    Several assessments sell individual licenses, generally to the homeschool market. These include: Riverside Publishing sells two tests that report a Lexile measure to the homeschool market: the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests and the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) Bob Jones University sells testing products to homeschoolers. Their page lists the Stanford and Iowa achievement tests, which both report Lexile measures: the Stanford Achievement Tests and the Iowa Achievement Tests Total Reader is an Online Reading Benchmarking and Improvement System that reports Lexile measures and is available to homeschoolers.

  9. What are the letters in front of the Lexile measure (AD, NC, HL, IG, GN, BR and NP)?

    This is a Lexile code. It gives you more information about a book that relates to its developmental appropriateness, reading difficulty, and common or intended usage. Sometimes a Lexile measure by itself is not enough information to choose a particular book for a particular reader. Click "Lexile Codes" under "About Lexile Measures" on our front page.

  10. Where did the Lexile Pathfinders go?

    Lexile Pathfinders were thematic, ready-made reading lists that you could download and print. We've taken them off the site because we've improved our Find a Book search in order to enable you to make your own Pathfinders quickly and easily. While browsing books in Find a Book, add them to your Reading List. You can name, save, email, and print your reading lists.