Social Studies Middle School Guide

Text Complexity: Quantitative Measure

A popular method used to measure a student reader’s ability is Lexile level or a Lexile Measure. A Lexile measure is a valuable tool for teachers, parents, and students. It serves two unique functions: it is the measure of how difficult a text is OR a student’s reading ability level. Teachers can determine the Lexile of any text at lexile.com. First, a free account must be created, next paste text, and a Lexile score will be determined. The Reading Inventory (RI) is given to all CSD students as a screener 3 times per year (Fall, Winter, Spring). This exam calculates a student reader’s ability to read. The Lexile level for each CSD student can be found on the CSD Data Dashboard. Knowing the Lexile of students will help determine what types of scaffolds are needed. When planning a close read, grade level text should be used, even if students are below grade level. The purpose of close reading is to scaffold the text enough for all students to be able to access the text. The table below displays grade band Lexile levels. Students who fall in the Basic or Below Basic categories will require significant scaffolds to access grade level text.

Grade

Below Basic

Basic

Proficient 100 - 400 450 - 620 610 - 790 770 - 885 865 - 980 955 - 1020 996 - 1060 1039 - 1155 1080 - 1210 1187 - 1305 1215 - 1310 1285 - 1355

Advanced

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

BR

BR - 99

401 - 1700+ 621 - 1700+ 791 - 1700+ 886 - 1700+ 981 - 1700+ 1021 - 1700+ 1061 - 1700+ 1156 - 1700+ 1211 - 1700+ 1306 - 1700+ 1311 - 1700+ 1356 - 1700+

BR - 99 BR - 299 BR - 499 BR - 599 BR - 699 BR - 749 BR - 799 BR - 849 BR - 849 BR - 899 BR - 899

100 - 449 300 - 609 500 - 769 600-864 700 - 954 750 - 995 800 - 1038 850 - 1079 850 - 1186 900 - 1214 900 - 1284

10 11 12