Frequently Asked Questions
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Lexile FAQ
- What is The Lexile Framework for Reading?
- How does the Lexile Framework differ from other leveled reading programmes?
- What does a Lexile measure tell me about what a child can read?
- What are some ways that I can use the Lexile Framework in content areas, particularly in middle and high school?
- How does the Lexile Framework relate to my core instructional programme?
- How can I use the Lexile Framework to help me forecast a child's comprehension rate?
- Should children always choose material with increasingly higher Lexile measures?
- Will the Lexile Framework help me find books for my less advanced readers?
- Why is the "75-percent comprehension" number so significant?
- Why do testing companies put Lexile measures on their standardised tests?
- What is the Lexile scale?
- What is the Lexile map?
- What types of materials have been given a Lexile measure? Will more materials be added?
- How is a text's Lexile measure determined?
- What is the Lexile Book Database and how can I use it?
- How can the Lexile Framework help me communicate with parents?
What is The Lexile Framework for Reading?
The Lexile Framework for Reading is a scientific approach to measuring reading ability and text difficulty. The Lexile Framework includes the Lexile measure and the Lexile scale. The Lexile measure is a reading ability or text difficulty score denoted by an "L" (e.g., 850L). The Lexile scale is a developmental scale for reading, ranging from below 200L for beginning readers and beginning-reading material to above 1700L for advanced readers and text. Once you know a child's Lexile measure, you can connect him or her with tens of thousands of books and tens of millions of articles that are targeted to the his or her reading level.
How does the Lexile Framework differ from other leveled reading programmes?
Lexile measures are uniquely independent, accurate and actionable. First, the measures are instrument independent. Numerous American test and text publishers have adopted Lexile measures. Second, Lexile measures use the same method and scale to measure readers and text. This same measurement approach and a common scale mean greater accuracy in matching readers with text. Third, Lexile measures apply to everyday reading. A child's Lexile measure is more than a test score. It applies to books and articles that the child encounters daily-at school, home and in the library-creating a strong school-home connection.
What does a Lexile measure tell me about what a child can read?
Lexile measures allow you to manage a child's reading comprehension. When reader and text measures match, the reader is "targeted." This is the basis for selecting text that is personalised for a child'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 child'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, 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. It is important to remember that a child's Lexile measure is not a measure of his or her intelligence. The Lexile Framework is designed to match a child's reading ability (wherever it falls on the Lexile scale) with a text's readability (also on the Lexile scale) for optimal reading success and enjoyment.
What are some ways that I 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 a child is struggling to read a textbook, finding other materials that are easier to read allows that child to build background and vocabulary. This enables the child 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 learners. For example, perhaps a 10th-grade teacher is doing a biology unit on photosynthesis. A typical 10th-grade biology textbook measures 1200L, while the range of children in the class can vary from 800L to 1400L. This means that 1200L text will not “fit” all of the children. 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 children in the class.
How does the Lexile Framework relate to my core instructional programme?
There is a close relationship between the core instructional programme and the Lexile Framework. By giving a precise measurement of children’s reading performance, the Lexile Framework can help teachers assess and monitor children more accurately. Teachers can supplement core texts with Lexile-calibrated material, such as trade books, newspapers and magazines, with full confidence that these additions are suitable for children’s current skill levels.
How can I use the Lexile Framework to help me forecast a child's comprehension rate for a book?
The Lexile Calculator is a free online tool for calculating text comprehension at various Lexile measures.
Should children always choose material with increasingly higher Lexile measures?
While children 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 me find books for my less advanced readers?
The Lexile Framework is geared toward the needs of readers at all levels. By giving teachers a precise measurement of performance that is based on an absolute, invariant standard, the Lexile Framework permits more effective evaluation and monitoring of a learner’s 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 children’s current skill levels, reducing the risk of frustrating readers and "turning them off" from the benefits and pleasures of regular reading.
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 child’s Lexile range, which spans 50L above and 100L below their Lexile measure.
Why do testing companies incorporate Lexile measures into their standardised tests?
Lexile measures are the most widely adopted measure of reading ability in the U.S. By reporting children’s Lexile measures in addition to their standard assessment scores, testing companies provide an important tool for helping to build literacy skills. Lexile measures tie day-to-day work in the classroom to critical tests. They provide interim assessment and feedback while using the same consistent measure to easily track progress and eliminate the need for additional testing. Now, teachers can personalise learning and better communicate a child’s reading needs to parents. Tens of thousands of books and tens of millions of newspaper and magazine articles have Lexile measures. All major standardised reading tests and many popular instructional reading programmes in the U.S. can report reading scores as a Lexile measure.
What is the Lexile scale?
The Lexile Framework is a developmental scale for reading, ranging from below 200L for beginning readers and beginning-reading material to above 1700L for advanced readers and 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 is 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, teachers and parents can moderate this level by adjusting the relationship between the reader and text.
What types of materials have been given a Lexile measure? Will more materials be added?
Tens of thousands of books and tens of millions of articles have Lexile measures. More than 450 publishers have Lexile measures for their titles, and the nation’s largest periodical database services use Lexile measures for newspaper and magazine articles. This wide range of material with Lexile measures enables you to incorporate the measures into your school library and provide teachers with another method for personalising classroom learning.
While the Lexile Book Database is large, it is not exhaustive. Publishers send books to MetaMetrics to be analysed and measured, and new materials are continually being added for teachers, librarians, parents and developing readers to use. If you notice some books that are not in the Lexile Book Database, contact the book's publisher and encourage them to submit their books for measurement. The publisher will need the title, author and ISBN for each book.
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 establish the Lexile measure of a book or article, the 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 the 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 American 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 how can I use it?
Once you have a child’s Lexile measure, you can search the Lexile Book Database to find books that are similar to his or her reading level. The 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.
How can the Lexile Framework help me communicate with parents?
The Lexile Framework provides a clear, nonjudgmental way of communicating a child’s reading ability to parents. It helps parents to generate lists of appropriately challenging reading materials for their child. Lexile measures 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 as Lexile measures, families can be provided with examples of a child’s goals or achievements by converting the Lexile measure into a range of familiar texts for outside reading.
Quantile FAQ
- What is The Quantile Framework for Mathematics?
- What is a Quantile measure?
- How do I get a Quantile measure?
- What does a child's Quantile measure mean?
- How do grade levels relate to Quantile levels?
- How can I use Quantile measures in the classroom?
- How can I use Quantile measures at home?
- What is the Quantile map?
- What is problem solvability?
- Why the emphasis on readiness and introductory problems (first night's homework)?
- What do the Quantile codes mean? (EM, NMQ, etc.)
- What is a QTaxon?
- What is a knowledge cluster?
- What is a supporting QTaxon?
- What is a precursory QTaxon?
- What is a foundational QTaxon?
- How to do I use QTaxon search and/or the textbook search engine?
- What are the five mathematics content strands?
- How can I align my product/service to the Quantile Framework?
What is the Quantile Framework for Mathematics?
The Quantile Framework for Mathematics is a scientific approach to measurement which locates a child’s ability to think “mathematically” in a taxonomy of mathematical skills, concepts and applications. The Quantile Framework measures a child’s mathematical achievement and concept/application solvability on the same scale, enabling teachers to use Quantile measures to monitor a child’s development in mathematics and forecast performance on end-of-year tests. Click here to see how teachers and parents can use Quantile measures. (Macromedia Flash required. Get Flash.)
What is a Quantile measure?
A Quantile is a unit of measure on the Quantile scale. A Quantile measures mathematical achievement and concept/application solvability similar to the way a Lexile measures reading ability and text difficulty. A Quantile measure is depicted by a number followed by a “Q” (e.g., 650Q). The Quantile Framework spans the developmental continuum from kindergarten mathematics through the content typically taught in Algebra II, Geometry, Trigonometry and Pre-calculus—from Emerging Mathematician (OQ and below) to above 1400Q. A child with a Quantile measure of 500Q is likely to be ready for instruction of mathematics problems at a demand level of 500Q.
How do I get a Quantile measure?
Children who take a mathematics achievement test that is linked with the Quantile Framework will receive a Quantile measure. Teachers use these Quantile measures to match children with level-appropriate instructional materials and forecast understanding.
What does a child's Quantile measure mean?
A Quantile measure indicates how well a child understands mathematical concepts and skills at his or her grade level. For example, a higher Quantile measure within a specific grade range indicates that the child probably has very few problems with grade-level material (textbooks and assignments) in school. A lower Quantile measure indicates that the child most likely struggles to understand and succeed with grade-level material.
The Quantile Framework identifies materials and resources that are targeted to the child’s learning frontier and, thus, will be challenging but not frustrating. The learning frontier is the range to which learning is focused—50Q above and 50Q below the child’s Quantile measure. In other words, once a child’s Quantile measure and grade are known, mathematical concepts, topics, materials and resources can be identified within that same Quantile range.
The real power of the Quantile Framework is in examining the growth of a child’s mathematical achievement, wherever he or she may be in the development of his or her mathematical thinking. Children can be matched with resources and engaged in learning that they are forecasted to understand with 50-percent likelihood. As a child grows, he or she can be matched with more demanding concepts and skills. Likewise, the concepts and skills become more demanding, and then the child grows.
How do grade levels relate to Quantile levels?
By connecting a child’s Quantile measure to Quantile-leveled resources, the Quantile Framework provides teachers with actionable information from mathematics assessments and diagnostic tools that they can use to personalise learning, forecast understanding and improve mathematics achievement.
How can I use Quantile measures in the classroom?
By connecting a student's Quantile measure to Quantile-leveled resources, the Quantile Framework provides teachers with actionable information from mathematics assessments and diagnostic tools that they can use to personalise instruction, forecast understanding and improve mathematics achievement.
How can I use Quantile measures at home?
Parents can use Quantile measures to identify which skills to strengthen in their child through everyday activities that integrate mathematics skills. These skills can be identified by searching for QTaxons using the QTaxon Search. A search with a broader range, such as 200Q below and 75Q above their child's Quantile measure, will yield a list of skills to enhance and further develop. In doing so, the child will be strengthening skills upon which new skills can be built. Learn more about the QTaxon Search on the Resources page.
What is the Quantile map?
The Quantile map is a graphic representation of the Quantile Framework, depicting sample QTaxons arranged by strand and Quantile measure. The map is the only tool available that illustrates mathematics development and the connections between QTaxons across the content strands. Teachers can use the Quantile map to personalise learning and forecast progress based on which mathematical skills the child should have mastered on a strand-by-strand basis and at each Quantile measure.
What is problem solvability?
Problem solvability is the Quantile difficulty of introductory mathematical concepts or problems, similar to what you might find on a first night's homework assignment. The Quantile measure of a skill/concept is the difficulty of the task.
Why the emphasis on readiness and introductory problems (first night's homework)?
The Quantile theory predicts the solvability of individual concepts-how well an individual will demonstrate mastery of a concept or skill. Introductory problems tend to be straightforward assessments of concept knowledge. More advanced problems that blend with other concepts cloud the picture in terms of predicting the difficulty of the primary concept.
What do the Quantile codes mean? (EM, NMQ, etc.)
Quantile codes are used in conjunction with the Quantile measure to indicate special characteristics of the material. To learn more about them, please see the Resources page.
What is a QTaxon?
A taxon is the root of the word taxonomy, meaning a category or group. In terms of the Quantile Framework, a QTaxon defines a specific mathematical topic, concept or skill and is used to annotate the framework. Each QTaxon has a Quantile measure which estimates its solvability in the taxonomy of the framework. QTaxons are linked to supporting and precursory QTaxons which illustrate the interconnectivity of the Quantile Framework and the natural progression of mathematical skills needed to solve increasingly complex problems. The framework comprises more than 600 QTaxons which teachers can use to monitor progress and personalise learning by comparing a child’s Quantile measure with the measure of a particular QTaxon. Each QTaxon aligns with one of five Quantile content strands—Numbers and Operations, Geometry, Measurement, Algebra/Patterns & Functions, and Data Analysis & Probability—and the process strands described by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).
What is a supporting QTaxon?
A supporting QTaxon represents skills that are not necessary but could be useful to enrich a lesson, make connections across topics and strands, and help a child integrate different mathematical concepts.
What is a precursory QTaxon?
A precursory QTaxon describes skills and concepts that should be mastered before beginning instruction on the main QTaxon. For example, before adding two-digit numbers, a child should be able to add single-digit numbers. Thus, the precursory QTaxons display the interconnectivity and progression of mathematical topics in the Quantile Framework.
What is a foundational QTaxon?
A foundational QTaxon describes a skill or concept that only requires readiness to learn. Readiness is based upon the learner's cognitive experiences rather than knowledge of specific mathematical concepts.
What is a knowledge cluster?
A knowledge cluster illustrates a main QTaxon and its supportive and precursory QTaxons. Knowledge clusters depict the interconnectivity of skills, concepts and applications within the Quantile Framework.
What are the five mathematics content strands?
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the world’s largest mathematics education organisation founded to ensure the highest quality of mathematics learning for all children, determined that mathematical skills, concepts and applications fall into five broad categories/strands: Numbers and Operations, Geometry, Measurement, Algebra, and Data Analysis & Probability.
How do I use QTaxon search and/or the textbook Search engine?
Please see the Resources page for directions on how to use the free suite of online tools.
How can I align my product/service to the Quantile Framework?
If you are interested in learning more about how Quantiles can add value to your product, please contact Trilby Berger, Director, Strategic Partnerships.
