Lexile Level

A Lexile level is a number given to a student based on their ability to read a passage fluently. For each grade level there is an average Lexile level that a student should be at. For example the average Lexile level for a 2nd grader is between 140L-500L. Teachers use student’s Lexile levels for many things in the classroom. They use it to make tests and quizzes that meet their student’s reading and comprehension ability. The state uses student’s Lexile levels to determine what form of standardized test they will receive. The lower end of the Lexile range represents the level at which a student is able to read independently. The upper end of the Lexile range represents a student’s instructional reading level, a level at which the student

There are two types of Lexile measures that use this scale: the Lexile reader and the Lexile text. When used together, Lexile measures help a reader find reading materials at a level they should be able to read independently with approximately 75% comprehension. The Lexile Framework is a tool that makes it possible to place readers and text on the same scale. The difference between a reader's Lexile measure and a text's Lexile measure is used to forecast the comprehension the reader will have with the text. The Lexile Framework was built on the common knowledge that text can be ordered as too difficult, and readers can be ordered as to their reading ability. The readability of a text is determined by examining the whole text to measure such characteristics as sentence length and word frequency, characteristics that are highly related to overall reading comprehension. The word-frequency and sentence-length results are then entered into the Lexile equation to compute the Lexile measure of the book. Word frequency is based on the frequency of the word in a body of text of over 300-million words taken from a variety of sources and genres. Knowing the frequency of words, as they are used in writing and oral communication, provides the best means of increasing the likelihood that a reader would encounter a word and that it would become a part of their daily vocabulary. Sentence length is determined by counting the number of words per sentence. Specific editing rules are used to ensure consistency of editing/analysis from text to text. Research has shown that sentence length is a good proxy for the demand that structural complexity places upon verbal short- term