I Don't Get the Lexile Measurement

[Crimson Wife]

Included with the ITBS results I got today was a Lexile estimate for my DD. It said her range was 750-850. So then I went to the Lexile website and searched for fantasy books within that Lexile range. I glanced through the first few pages and got really confused. The books seemed to be all over the map in terms of difficulty. There was a 44 page DK Step 4 Reader The Story of the X-Men (http://www.lexile.com/book/details/9780789466976/), which we happen to own & I'd estimate to be at about a 2nd grade level. Then there was Frank Herbert's 535 page adult novel Dune (http://www.lexile.com/book/details/9780441172719/). My DD would be able to read it but it's way too mature for her. Both are rated at a Lexile of 800. :confused:

What exactly is a Lexile range of 750-850 supposed to mean?

[MaMa2005]

Oh, I know your pain. I actually have a Master's Degree the teaching of reading (awarded in the dark ages) so Lexile measures were completely new to me when I started over again with DS.

I have found this website very useful. http://www.lexile.com/findabook/ It takes a little bit of time to navigate but there is a sub-page that shows the grade level equivalent as it compares to the Lexile measures.

Let me see if I can find it. OK, I can't find it, but it is on that website.

HTH

[TracyP]

I find it very confusing as well. I read somewhere (here) that it is based more on the simplicity of sentence structure. I believe someone gave an example of using Magic Tree House books. As written the lexile was 350. When they put two sentences together in a more complex way - the lexile jumped. I hope I am explaining this correctly.

The lexile site does have an age range gauge (say that 3 x's fast:lol:). That should help.

[MaMa2005]

Oh, I found one of the charts that might help.

Here is the link: http://www.oema.net/lexiles/ReadingLevelComps.pdf

[zaichiki]

OP: that's the issue with Lexile measurements. Most reading level measurements have limitations. I remember learning about the Fry Readability Formula back when I was in teacher's college. Fry also has its limitations.

There's no substitution for knowing the book and knowing your reader. :) IMO that's the best way to determine a good fit and it's all subjective. Moms are the best measurement. :tongue_smilie:

[EKS]

My interpretation of a Lexile range of 750-850 is that your daughter reads very well on a 4th/5th grade level. My impression (after paying attention to Lexile levels for several years) is that it advances about 100L from there each year until 8th grade and then it falls apart a bit. However, *most* modern adult fiction books that I could find Lexile measures for were in the 800s and tests that measure Lexile levels claim that 1000L is at a 10th grade level. My dyslexic son tested at 1000L in 5th grade and I find it very hard to believe that he was really reading on a solid high school level, though he was reading some pretty heavy duty classic literature in 6th grade, so who knows?

Here's the other thing. Magic Tree House books are considered 2nd/3rd grade level pretty much across the board. Their Lexile level is around 300. However, a long time ago I typed up a Magic Tree House chapter as written and submitted it to the Lexile analyzer and got something like 300L. I then changed it so that the words were the same but I punctuated it so that all the sentences were complete and where it was natural to do so, I combined sentences. The level went up to something like 600L. The fragments and short sentences artificially lower the level.

The reason I did this is because my son seemed to have much more trouble with MTH books than books like Henry and Mudge and it didn't make sense to me because the Henry and Mudge books were supposed to be at a higher reading level.

This probably doesn't help much.

[EKS]

I read somewhere (here) that it is based more on the simplicity of sentence structure. I believe someone gave an example of using Magic Tree House books. As written the lexile was 350. When they put two sentences together in a more complex way - the lexile jumped. I hope I am explaining this correctly.



Hey that was me!

[Gratia271]

There's no substitution for knowing the book and knowing your reader. :) IMO that's the best way to determine a good fit and it's all subjective. Moms are the best measurement. :tongue_smilie:

:iagree:

particularly where your child reads way beyond "grade level" because selections may have content that they are not prepared for or that they have no interest in. I have struggled with that with my daughters where the comprehension level is Jane Austen, but the interest level is Secret Garden....In my experience, Mom can field these issues much better. Now I have not struggled at all with my son because he devours history and the classics with no issues in terms of interest level. Of course, this is the same child who loved watching documentaries from age 4/5.