Lexile Measures Help Readers Grow, and Help
Parents and Teachers Know
Your child should be reading books at levels between 850 and 1010.
Teachers and parents can best serve a student's literacy needs when they
treat him or her as a unique individual, rather than as a test score or a
grade-level norm or average. The reading abilities of young people in the same
grade at school can vary just as much as their shoe sizes. However,
grade-leveling methods commonly are used to match students with books.
When a Lexile text measure matches a Lexile reader measure, this is called a
"targeted" reading experience. The reader will likely encounter some level of
difficulty with the text, but not enough to get frustrated. This is the best way
to grow as a reader—with text that's not too hard but not too easy.
When you receive a Lexile measure, try not to focus on the exact number.
Instead, consider a reading range around the number. A person's Lexile range, or
reading comprehension "sweet spot," is from 100L below to 50L above his or her
reported Lexile measure. Use this Lexile range in our Find a Booksearch. And don't be afraid to look at books above and below someone's Lexile range. Just know that a reader might find these books particularly challenging or simple.
If a student tackles reading material above his or her Lexile range, consider
what additional instruction or lower-level reading resources might help. Ask him
or her to keep track of unknown words, and look them up together. Or take turns
reading aloud to each other to chop up the reading experience into smaller
portions. Likewise, you can reward students with books that fall below his or
her Lexile range for an easier reading experience.
LEXILE Range
Parents and Teachers Know
Your child should be reading books at levels between 850 and 1010.
Teachers and parents can best serve a student's literacy needs when they
treat him or her as a unique individual, rather than as a test score or a
grade-level norm or average. The reading abilities of young people in the same
grade at school can vary just as much as their shoe sizes. However,
grade-leveling methods commonly are used to match students with books.
When a Lexile text measure matches a Lexile reader measure, this is called a
"targeted" reading experience. The reader will likely encounter some level of
difficulty with the text, but not enough to get frustrated. This is the best way
to grow as a reader—with text that's not too hard but not too easy.
When you receive a Lexile measure, try not to focus on the exact number.
Instead, consider a reading range around the number. A person's Lexile range, or
reading comprehension "sweet spot," is from 100L below to 50L above his or her
reported Lexile measure. Use this Lexile range in our Find a Booksearch. And don't be afraid to look at books above and below someone's Lexile range. Just know that a reader might find these books particularly challenging or simple.
If a student tackles reading material above his or her Lexile range, consider
what additional instruction or lower-level reading resources might help. Ask him
or her to keep track of unknown words, and look them up together. Or take turns
reading aloud to each other to chop up the reading experience into smaller
portions. Likewise, you can reward students with books that fall below his or
her Lexile range for an easier reading experience.
LEXILE Range