Improve Student Reading Ability with Lexile® Measures

You can help your English-language learners build their reading skills by encouraging them to match their TOEFL iBT Reading section score with a Lexile measure. A Lexile measures student reading ability and the text difficulty of reading materials on the same scale. By using Lexile measures, you and your students can select books and other materials that reflect each student's reading ability and interests, and are challenging enough to help strengthen reading skills. MetaMetrics and ETS offer this free, easy-to-use service to help take the guesswork out of choosing the right materials for your students to read.

How can you use Lexile measures?

Lexile measures help you manage classroom learning by using one consistent measure to provide students with interim assessment and feedback. You can use Lexile measures to monitor reading progress, design targeted reading experiences and differentiate instruction:

Monitor Reading Progress

The Lexile scale is a developmental scale of reading ability and can be used to track students' reading development throughout their language studies. The Lexile scale helps you identify the needs of individual learners and more efficiently adjust instructional techniques and goals to ensure high student achievement.

• Discuss with your students their location on the Lexile scale and identify where they need to be in order to meet the reading demands of their future endeavors.
• Hold students accountable for their at-home reading by having them record their reading experiences (for example, title, Lexile measure and time spent reading) in a reading notebook or diary.
• Communicate with colleagues about students' Lexile levels so that students stay on track in their reading development as they transition into new courses.

Design Targeted Reading Experiences

Targeted reading experiences encourage reading progress and growth. Students are targeted when they are connected with texts that align with their interests and Lexile range. Targeted students report confidence, capability and control while reading. Most importantly, they find reading enjoyable and read more often.

• Guide students through "Find a Book" and help them create personalized reading lists based on their Lexile range and interests.
• Label texts in your classroom library with Lexile measures so that students can easily identify which titles are within their Lexile range.
• Provide time in class for students to read materials in their Lexile range and create incentives for students to practice reading at home.

Differentiate Instruction

Students come to the language classroom with different reading ability levels, backgrounds and learning goals. Knowing your students' Lexile measures helps you diagnose challenging reading materials for individuals, regardless of where they are in their reading development. Lexile measures also help indicate which students will likely need additional learning support while reading an assigned class text.

• Enhance thematic teaching by building a collection of titles at varying Lexile levels that not only support the theme but provide a way for all students to successfully participate in the theme.
• Provide instructional support when assigning texts that are higher than your students' Lexile measures.
• Use Lexile measures as an organizing tool when sequencing materials. In addition to considering the topic, you may consider increasing the difficulty of the books throughout the course.