What are Lexiles, or Lexile Levels?

What are Lexiles?

Lexile measures are numbers of either a student's reading ability or a text's difficulty level on a scale from BR (Beginning Reader) to 2000L. There are two types of Lexile measures:

1. Lexile reader measures: These represent a pupil’s reading ability, typically acquired through reading tests or assessments. For example, a student might have a Lexile reader measure of 400L.

2. Lexile text measures: These represent the difficulty level of a book or text. For example,, the first Harry Potter book has a Lexile text measure of 880L.

   
   

How are Lexiles Determined?

• Reader measures are assigned based on reading comprehension assessments.

• Text measures are calculated using a tool such as the Lexile Analyzer, which evaluates vocabulary and sentence length.

  
  

Using Lexiles to Select Books

Lexiles can be used to match students with appropriate reading material:

1. Target reading level: When a pupil's Lexile measure matches a text's Lexile measure, it creates a "targeted" reading experience. This provides an optimal challenge for growth - not too easy, not too difficult. 

2. Reading range: Consider a range from 100L below to 50L above the student's Lexile measure. This allows for both comfort and challenge in reading. 

3. Monitoring progress: Lexile measures can track a student's reading growth over time.

   
   

Benefits of Using Lexiles

• Provides a common scale for both readers and texts

• Helps predict comprehension levels for specific reader-text pairings

• Allows for targeted reading experiences that promote growth

• Assists in communicating reading progress with parents

  
  

Considerations when using Lexiles

It's important to note that Lexile measures don't account for:

• The appropriateness of the content

• The text quality

• The reader’s interest or motivation, choice is a really important factor in reading for pleasure.

  
  

Therefore, whilst Lexiles are a useful tool, they should be looked at alongside other factors (like recommended reading age and pupil interests) when selecting books for students.

If you are interested in finding out more about pupil reading habits over time, why not take a look at a digital reading record? Pageticker quickly and easily gives teachers can overview of reading habits, reading scheme levels and reading interests over time. Try Pageticker now!