The Lexile Framework Power Point

Download Report

Transcript The Lexile Framework Power Point

The Lexile Framework
An Introduction for Educators
Thomas Schnick and Mark Knickelbine
Forward by A.J. Stenner
An overview created by the
Clair E. Gale JHS
Professional Learning Team
Members:
Kass Cornish, Terry Felts, Heath Jackson,
Margie Kennedy, Dusty Johnson.
Table of Contents
Click book icon to link to each chapter.
• Chapter 1:The Dynamics of Reading Engagement
• Chapter 2: Matching Readers and Texts
• Chapter 3: The Lexile Framework – A Common Metric
• Chapter 4: Why Lexiles Work
• Chapter 5: Reader, Text, Context: Using Lexiles in
Common Reading Situations
• Chapter 6: Lexiles and Content Reading
Contents Continued
Table of Contents
Click book icon to link to each chapter.
• Chapter 7: Lexiles in the Media Center
• Chapter 8: Using Lexiles with Reading Management
Systems.
• Chapter 9: Using Lexiles to Communicate with the
Community
• Chapter 10: Standard Setting with Lexiles
• Lesson Plans and Additional Resources
Back
Chapter 1:
The Dynamics of Reading Engagement
• Twenty-two percent of high school seniors fail to reach the
level of basic reading competency.
The educational careers of 25 to 40 percent of American children are
imperiled because they do not read well enough, quickly enough or
easily enough to ensure comprehension in their content courses in
middle and secondary school. Although some men and women with
reading disability can and do attain significant levels of academic and
occupational achievement, more typically poor readers, unless
strategic interventions in reading are afforded them, fare more poorly
on the educational and, subsequently, the occupational ladder.
Although difficult to translate into actual dollar amounts, the costs to
society are probably quite high in terms of lower productivity,
underemployment, mental health services, and other measures.
• When students find it difficult to read, they read less, and it’s
clear that students’ distaste for reading grows as they get older.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 1:
The Dynamics of Reading Engagement
Reading Engagement
• People read for a reason
• The key to reading engagement, is to
help each student discover literacy as
a means of fulfilling one’s desires, of
achieving one’s purposes, and of
satisfying one’s curiosity.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 1:
The Dynamics of Reading Engagement
“Fifth-Grade Shoes”
There is no such thing as a pair of fifth grade shoes.
When purchasing a pair of shoes, one might ask the
following questions.
•
•
•
What will the shoes be used for (athletics, dress,
hiking, etc)
What size of foot does the person have
What color or style does the person like
Just as it is impossible to assume that all 5th graders
wear the same size shoe, it is also impossible to assume
that they all read at the same level.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 1:
The Dynamics of Reading Engagement
Conclusion
Guiding students to engaging and
rewarding reading experiences can be a
very complicated task. Yet, the more we
learn about the individual guidance of
teachers to literacy experience is a vital
part of every child’s reading development.
The following chapters provide ideas for
implementing individual reading activities.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 2:
Matching Readers and Texts
Introduction:
“As with the many reading-related metrics already available – test scores,
percentiles, readability formulas, and the like- there is always the
danger that we can begin to think of measuring student reading ability
to be like measuring rainwater in a tube. Because the numbers we
work with have the appearance of hard, objective facts, we begin to
think of reading comprehension as something tangible that exists in a
reader’s head.”
LEXILES – along with other assessment tools – should
be considered an approximation of the student’s
ability. They cannot replace the experienced teacher
as a judge of appropriateness of material.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 2:
Matching Readers and Texts
The Teacher as a Guide:
“While especially true for emerging readers, students at all levels need
the teacher to serve as a literate, experienced guide who can help
them negotiate the many decisions that must be made when choosing
a text, whether for learning or sheer enjoyment.”
“ . . . The process of selecting books and supplementary materials is best
done as a shared process, the teacher serving as a guide to help
students find the texts that reflect their interests and meet their
developmental needs.”
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 2:
Matching Readers and Texts
The Reader:
•Background of
Experience
•Knowledge of Subject
•Vocabulary
•Developmental Level
•Purpose and
Motivation
Factors to Consider:
The Text
•Consistency with student’s
background and reading
purpose.
The Context
•Format of the Book
•Reading Setting
•Concept Difficulty
•Task Given – free reading
•The Work’s Organization
vs. research
•Author’s Purpose
•Objectives and
Outcomes – stated and
unstated expectations for
reader
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 2:
Matching Readers and Texts
The Challenge of Matching:
“By listening to students read aloud, an experienced teacher can spot the
more advanced readers as well as the less proficient among the class.
Indeed, the intuition born of personal experience will always be the
teacher’s first and most important tool for guiding students.”
“However . . . . as objective as one may try to be, the possibility for biased
or mistaken judgments exists. . . . . Research shows that teacher
judgments of the relative difficulty of textual materials can vary by as
much as six grade levels (Jorgenson, 1977).”
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 2:
Matching Readers and Texts
FOR EXAMPLE: While the books below may be commonly placed
in the same grade level grouping, their Lexile levels vary more
than one might expect.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Every Living Thing
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
Pudd’nhead Wilson
The Prince and the Pauper
Table of Contents
Next
900L
1000L
1050L
1130L
1600L
Chapter 2:
Matching Readers and Texts
The Apples and Oranges Problem:
“Grade level test scores are based on norms of student achievement;
readability formulas are based on mathematical equations that model
language difficulty. In short, there is no really relationship between a grade
equivalency determined from a test score and one determined from a
readability formula. Even though both appear to be giving the same kind of
information, both are based on entirely different measurement.”
“As such [grade equivalent] scores are best interpreted solely as an indication
that a student’s performance was above or below average, and not as a
reliable measure of student progress.”
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 2:
Matching Readers and Texts
The Benefits of Lexiles:
• Introduces a single, common scale that can be used to refer to both
student ability and text readability.
• Easy to understand and universally applicable to any test or reading
assessment.
• Permits us to consider multiple indicators as we judge a student’s
reading ability and development.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 3:
The Lexile Framework – A Common Metric
What are Lexiles?
• Lex- refers to words (lexicon.)
• -iles refers to percentile or a comparative unit of measurement.
• We use a standard unit with fixed units so that it doesn’t
change with every reading (no stretchy rulers.)
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 3:
The Lexile Framework – A Common Metric
What Does It Measure?
• Semantic Difficulty:
– Word Difficulty
• Frequently encountered words are the easiest.
• If we know how frequently a student has been exposed to
a word we can derive a difficulty for each word.
• Originally derived from a body of over 5,000,000 words
sampled.
• Testing has shown the validity of this predictor.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 3:
The Lexile Framework – A Common Metric
What Does It Measure?
• Syntactic Difficulty
– “Reading researchers have found that the best predictor of
the difficulty of a sentence is its length.”
– Longer sentences tend to be more complex or compound.
– Longer sentences push the reader’s short term memory to
hold more information.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 3:
The Lexile Framework – A Common Metric
Together:
By looking at both traits, a set measure of difficulty for a text can be
derived. A text high on one scale but low on another may score lower
overall because of its area on the graph.
Syntactic Difficulty
•
Symantec Difficulty
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 3:
The Lexile Framework – A Common Metric
Using the same scale:
• We can measure a student’s syntactic skills and semantic
skills.
• By using the same scale to measure a text’s difficulty and a
student’s ability, Lexiles form a clean comparison.
=
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 3:
The Lexile Framework – A Common Metric
The Open Range
•
•
•
Lexiles describe a range of
reading ability for each reader:
100 points below their score
and 50 points above.
This range shows the area at
which a text becomes too easy
and thus boring, or too hard
and thus “stupid.”
At the student’s score, the
student should be able to grasp
75% of the text’s meaning.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 3:
The Lexile Framework – A Common Metric
Adjusting:
• By knowing the student’s range, we can adjust
– By guiding students to texts that push them to
improve,
– By selecting texts which allow students to access
information,
– And by adjusting to suit other problems which might
detract from student understanding.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 4:
Why Lexiles Work
I.
Introduction:
An absolute scale for reading ability is needed to successfully
match students’ reading skills to difficulty of text and to track the
growth of students’ comprehension abilities.
A. The Lexile Framework does this better than any other testing
format because Lexiles are divided into regular intervals similar to
thermometers.
B. “Each Lexile unit is a standard measurement of text difficulty
and/or student reading competence.” (p. 33)
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 4:
Why Lexiles Work
II.
True Score Theorem
A. Combination of student’s true ability and actual score
B.
1.
2.
3.
Measurement errors
difference in testing procedures
testing bias
physical well being of student
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 4:
Why Lexiles Work
II.
True Score Theorem
C. Difference between student’s ability and his score is the
estimate of error which can identify the range in which the
student’s true score is found.
“When a student takes an assessment that is targeted to his reading level
…, then the standard error of measurement is minimized.” (p. 35)
D. Multiple observations and then a comparison of the results
can minimize the error of measurement.
LEXILES CAN DO THESE!!
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 4:
Why Lexiles Work
III.
How Lexiles Measure Text:
A. Word Frequency
1. Word frequency in Lexile Analyzer, not in specific text.
2. Over 200 million words in corpus of Lexile Analyzer.
B.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sentence Length/Complexity
More clauses
More information
Relationships between the bits of information.
Load on short term memory.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 4:
Why Lexiles Work
III.
How Lexiles Measure Text:
C. Lexile Framework inserts these two measurements into
an algebraic equation to determine the difficulty of the
selected text.
D. Anchor Points
1. Thermometer: freezing and boiling points
2. Lexiles: seven first grade primers and Grolier
Electronic Encyclopedia.
3. Lexile = 1/1000 of the difference between these two anchor
points.
4. Lexile Scale starts at 200 to prevent frequent occurrences
of negative values.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 4:
Why Lexiles Work
IV.
Conclusion:
A. The Lexile Framework will work on most texts, the only
exceptions being poetry, lists, and noncontinuous texts.
B. The Lexile Framework is still only an estimate of student’s
comprehension ability and reading skills, but it is the most
accurate testing format available.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 5:
Why Lexiles Work
Basic Rule of Thumb:
•
•
•
•
•
A student’s Lexile measure represents the level at
which the student can read with 75% comprehension.
This measure defines 100 Lexiles below and 50
Lexiles above the student’s measure.
Use text lower in the student’s Lexile range when
reading situation is more challenging.
For unsupported independent reading, avoid texts
that are above the top end of the student’s Lexile
range whenever possible.
In all reading situations, use the Lexile scale as an
accurate and easy way to communicate abilities, text
difficulties, and goals for reading comprehension
growth and achievement.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 5:
Why Lexiles Work
Stages of Reading Development:
It takes most people 20 years to reach the highest stage
of reading development.
•
Pre-reading stage – birth to age 6
– Associate words and sounds
– Identify rhymes and alliteration
– Acquire basic phonemic awareness
– Begin to understand that words come in
parts and those parts are used to form words
•
Stage One: 6 & 7 year-olds
–
–
–
–
INITIAL READING AND DECODING
Association of letters to the corresponding parts of spoken words
Notice subtle differences between similar-sounding words
Able to use knowledge to decode words not seen before
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 5:
Why Lexiles Work
•
Stage Two: 7 & 8 year-olds
– Fluency
– Reading familiar books
• Rereading encourages fluency
– Learn to use decoding skills
– Competence and confidence comes from rereading familiar words
Note: Proper development through this stage requires rereading many easy and
familiar texts as well as functional and recreational reading during other
parts of the school day.
•
Stage Three: 9 – 11 year-olds
–
–
–
–
Read for learning and exploration
Read new information for assigned and self-selected purposes
Read to acquire and synthesize information from multiple sources
Begin to acquire individual tastes and preferences
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 5:
Why Lexiles Work
•
Stage Four: Junior High / High School
– Reading to learn, to enjoy, to accomplish academic work. Reading to do.
– Critically analyze texts.
– Further develop reading interests
•
Stage Five: College Level and Beyond
–
–
–
–
–
Mature reading
Moves from concrete reading to understanding the abstract
Assesses and evaluates information
Motivated by own purposes and tastes
Increases efficiency for career purposes and the breadth and depth of their
reading experiences and tastes
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 5:
Why Lexiles Work
Using Lexiles to Adjust for Stages 1 & 2:
•
•
Adjustments for recognizable words:
– Students should focus on materials at about 50L below personal Lexile
measures
– Shared reading or reading aloud is VERY important
Adjustment for familiar texts
– Read aloud to an interested and supportive adult
– Needing rereading experiences with familiar texts
Adjustments for Stages 3 and Beyond:
•
Automaticity
– Occurs when a reader’s cognitive load shifts from sounding out and
recognizing words to reading for meaning
Attention High School and Middle School Teachers: Readers who have not yet
reached automaticity REGARDLESS OF THEIR AGE need to be targeted
somewhat differently than more mature readers.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 5:
Why Lexiles Work
Teaching Older Readers for Independent Reading:
•
•
•
After grade 3, students are expected to be “unglued from print” . . . In other
words, the reader’s attention should be focused on understanding the text . . .
Not sounding out words.
By 4th grade, students are “reading for learning the new” . . . the main purposes
of reading are to acquire new information, explore new viewpoints, and develop
an understanding of the world
When we target readers with a range of Lexiled books, we distinguish between
targeting Stage 1 and Stage 2 readers and targeting readers who have passed
the threshold to Stage 3 and beyond
Note: As children move to higher stages of reading development, the content
complexity grows. As the complexity grows, the child needs to have a broader
and deeper expanse of knowledge and background to understand the technical
and content – specific vocabulary.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 5:
Why Lexiles Work
Adjusting for Text Characteristics:
•
•
Know the Lexile measures for the texts you want to use
Also use www.lexile.com where one finds the Lexile Library
Adjusting for Format and Genre:
•
Clues that influence a student’s expectations about a text is difficult:
–
–
–
–
Lack of illustrations
Length of book/article
Density / type size
Topic / genre / author
Supporting Tough Texts:
•
•
•
Know the Lexile measure of the text
Supply greater amounts of vocabulary and concepts as the text gets higher
from the students’ Lexiles
Give instructional support BEFORE the reading activity takes place
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 5:
Why Lexiles Work
Strategies That Cause Students to Make
Transformations:
•
Readers are liable to be more alert and engaged
in the text when they can transform the text from
the author’s words into those of the reader
– Translate or retell what one has read with the text
available
– Recall / retell without looking back at the text
– Rewrite / summarize with the text available
– Summarize without consulting the text
– Outline with and without available text
– Represent the text in a student – constructed
graphic organizer / illustration with the text
available
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 5:
Why Lexiles Work
Instruction on Authentic Texts and Tasks:
•
Ways to achieve some level of relevance in school
– Teaching methods / materials that are closer to the
ways that REAL interests are built and language is learned
– Construct an environment that excites interest and has
life-like or problem-based orientation
– Create instructional conversations: authentic interaction
between people
Strategies, Not Skills
•
•
•
Teach students to use strategies such as self-monitoring or self-fixing
Encourage students to take responsibility for their own reading and learning
needs
Use question types that match instructional objectives
(See Bloom’s Taxonomy or Marzano’s Dimensions of Thinking and Dimensions of Learning)
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 5:
Why Lexiles Work
Adjustments for the Reading Content:
•
•
•
•
Reading / Language Arts Program
Group Reading and Guided Reading
Special Education Reading Programs
Home Reading / Summer Reading Programs
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 6:
Lexiles in Content Reading
Introduction:
• With a recent shift in emphasis from fiction to expository text
come additional challenges for the reader to overcome.
• “Many of these texts, while developmentally appropriate based
on their content, often contain material at a readability level
beyond the reader’s Lexile range. For example, these contentbased texts often contain specialized vocabularies and explain
complex concepts.”
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 6:
Lexiles in Content Reading
Using the Lexile Framework Throughout the Curriculum:
• “In general, assign texts at or below the student’s Lexile
measure when factors make the reading situation more
challenging, threatening, or unfamiliar. Use texts at or above
the student’s Lexile measure to stimulate challenge and
growth, or when you will be adding support such as teaching
background concepts, pre-teaching vocabulary, or facilitating
post-reading activities, such as reading discussion groups.”
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 6:
Lexiles in Content Reading
Determining the Match Between Students and Textbooks:
1.
Obtain the Lexile measures for the texts you wish to assign.
2.
Rank the materials you wish to assign by Lexile measure.
3.
Write down the current Lexile measures for your students,
again ranking them by Lexile measure.
4.
Compare the ranges of the Lexile measures to the student
measures. How well do they correspond?
ONE SIZE DOESN’T FIT ALL!
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 6:
Lexiles in Content Reading
Teacher Read Aloud with Commentary:
•
•
•
•
Because it is easier to listen than read,
learners understand new material
better when they use their listening
vocabularies.
While reading, the only time the
teacher pauses is to make comments
about the material, selecting hard
words to explain or new concepts to
relate.
This method works best if kept short –
about ten minutes or so.
Post-reading activities help to
consolidate learning.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 6:
Lexiles in Content Reading
Handling Content Density and Concept Overload:
A team of researchers, Lloyd and Mitchell (1989) came up with three
research questions which are the same questions content teachers
need to consider when planning instruction:
1. How important is the concept to the curriculum?
2. How completely is the concept developed in the text?
3. What level of prior knowledge do students need in order to be
able to understand the concept?
If the concept is not covered clearly and thoroughly in the text, then you will need
to support the textbook with additional instruction.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 6:
Lexiles in Content Reading
Reading Beyond the Textbook:
The content teacher can circumvent these potential problems by
relying more on supplemental materials for instruction. In
addition to the more common supplements (newspapers and
magazines to update students with current information),
researchers strongly recommend using literature – novels,
biographies, autobiographies, storybooks, and other works of
fiction and nonfiction – throughout the curriculum (Anderson,
1996)
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 7:
Lexiles in the Media Center
Media Center is the Center of Literacy Education:
•
•
•
•
•
Rich reading environment
Guide students to appropriate reading experience
Readability of texts
Better accessibility
Empower students to play a more self-directed role in
reading development
Targeting Students in the Media Center:
•
•
Students should be
Use same targeting procedures as in the classroom
familiar with their
Media Specialist and Teacher need to be a team
Lexile Range
– Collaborate on Lexile Range of individual students
– Collaborate to develop special collections to support class reading
assignments
– Collaborate on intervention strategies for students who need extra
guidance
– Replace grade-equivalent leveling with Lexile Range
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 7:
Lexiles in the Media Center
Book Labeling:
•
Label Books with Lexile Measures
– Help students find books of interest at their appropriate reading level
– Provide information on individual books as well as magazines
– Apply metacognitive awareness to selection process along with other
motivating factors: author, genre, information needs
Note: Media Specialists and Teachers worry about “labeling books.” Sometimes
this can be a barrier to intellectual freedom. It may appear that certain books
are “off-limits” to some students.
•
If Lexile labeling is done sensitively and discreetly,
it overcomes many concerns generated by grade-leveling
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 7:
Lexiles in the Media Center
Collection Development:
•
Media Center’s Collection of Appropriate Reading Levels for the Student
Population:
– Media Specialist can analyze how well the current supply of reading
materials fits the comprehension needs of the student body.
– Using the Lexile Framework allows the specialist to develop a collection of
books to meet the needs of all the students.
– A media specialist can tell whether the collection of books is too
challenging for its current population, too easy . . . or just right.
– A well-rounded distribution of books will include easier books for leisure
reading to more challenging material for study and exploration.
The role of the media center has changed. It is no longer a place where
books are housed . . . .but an extension of the classroom. Just as
adults like choosing books themselves, so do students. With the
Lexile Framework System in a library, students will be better able to
chose the right book for their reading level.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 8:
Using Lexiles with Reading Management Systems
In general, reading management systems use quizzes to assess
comprehension and produce reports containing a variety of
information.
•
•
RMS’s started in the late 80’s
Characteristics:
– Multiple choice quizzes for comprehension & recall
– Provide immediate feedback
– Award points based on length and difficulty (points can be used for
extrinsic motivation)
– Both on-screen and printable reports
•
First became popular because of student interest with computers, as
well as incentive activities
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 8:
Using Lexiles with Reading Management Systems
Accelerated Reader
•First marketed under “Read Up”
•Most widely used through the 90’s
•Over 25,000 fiction and nonfiction titles
•Quizzes have 5 – 10 questions with multiple choice responses
•Point value based on book length and readability level
•Drawbacks:
•Exclusive grade equivalent leveling
•Readability formulas have changed over the years, creating inconsistencies
•Although responses are random, each quiz for a book has the same questions (limits
retake options and makes cheating more possible)
•Fact-based questions fail to stimulate higher-level thinking
•No provision for teachers to customize quiz length, passing score, point level, etc.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 8:
Using Lexiles with Reading Management Systems
The Electronic Bookshelf
•The first program widely available
•Very similar to Accelerated Reader
•Differences:
•Quizzes provide three responses instead of four
•Responses are drawn randomly for each quiz
Provides some protection against cheating
Permits student retakes
Highly customizable
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 8:
Using Lexiles with Reading Management Systems
Reading Counts
•In 1998, Scholastic acquired the Electronic Bookshelf and upgraded it to
create Reading Counts
•Characteristics:
•Multiple choice quizzes with 4 responses
•Randomized item bank
•Questions include inference and maid idea questions as well as
basic recall
•Includes book leveling in Lexiles, along with traditional grade
leveling
•Program can print stickers for Lexile labeling of books
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 8:
Using Lexiles with Reading Management Systems
Online Reader
•Most recently created management
program
•Uses Lexiles as readability scale
•Has many features of other
computerized programs
•Focuses on periodical articles instead
of trade books
•Has library of over 350 selections
•Quiz items include fill-in-the-blank as
well as multiple choice
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 8:
Using Lexiles with Reading Management Systems
Basic Lexile Procedure for
Reading Management Systems:
•Student competency range – if
student can answer at least 75-80%
of the questions with accuracy
•Below 75% - The teacher should
intervene to determine book
difficulty
•Over 100% - Time for teacher
intervention to encourage more
challenging reading
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 9:
Using Lexiles to Communicate with Parents and the Community
INTRODUCTION
•
Lexiles provide a common language with which to communicate with parents
and the community.
Communicating with Parents
•
Lexiles provide a way to compare a student’s reading
performance to textual difficulty instead of to their peers.
•
Educators can give examples of specific texts to parents
to illustrate the student’s reading proficiency.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 9:
Using Lexiles to Communicate with Parents and the Community
Techniques for Parent Communications
•
Reading Folders/Portfolios
– List of books within the student’s Lexile range.
– Documentation of reading assessments.
– Reading form to record reading done at home.
– Written record of titles that students have read.
– Student writing.
– Simple explanation of the Lexile Framework.
•
Open House
– Poster board displays.
– Samples of lexiled texts.
– Take-home sheets that explain the Lexile Framework.
•
Report Cards
– Include student’s lexile measure on report card with an accompanying
information sheet.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 9:
Using Lexiles to Communicate with Parents and the Community
•
“Reading is one of the core skills that is expected to be taught at
school. … [and] is one of the chief factors people examine when they
assess the quality of schools.” (p.87)
•
Community Relationships
– Involve public libraries and bookstores by displaying lexile scales and
stocking books that the schools are using.
•
Media Relations
– Use newspapers to explain what Lexiles are and how they work.
•
Service Group Presentations
– Prepare 15 minute presentations to gain the support of influential
organizations.
•
Business Partnerships
– Approach business leaders to gain their support and involvement
in promoting literacy.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 9:
Using Lexiles to Communicate with Parents and the Community
CONCLUSION
“No school stands alone. It is
vitally connected with the parents of
its students and with everyone in the
wider community who depend on the
school’s success.” (p. 90)
Communication about the benefits of
the Lexile Framework will allow the
community to participate in the
school’s reading success.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 10:
Standard Setting With Lexiles
What is a Standard?
• A useful definition is that a standard is a statement
about what is valued that can be used for making a
judgment of quality.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 10:
Standard Setting With Lexiles
Using Lexiles to Set Standards
• Lexiles are not linked to a specific test, but
can be derived from any standardized
test.
• Lexiles allow you to have multiple
indicators report a common metric.
Instead of having only one annual
measurement of student ability, you can
now compile a variety of measurements
and observations, all converted to the
Lexile Scale.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 10:
Standard Setting With Lexiles
• We teach students to read in the first place
because we want them to be able to use reading
successfully as a skill they can apply to their
lives. Our end-point standards, then, should
involve texts that people need to read with
enough comprehension to function in various
areas of life.
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 10:
Standard Setting With Lexiles
We could define five such areas of literacy:
• Workplace Literacy
• Citizenship Literacy
• Continuing Education Literacy
• Moral/Ethical/Religious Literacy
• Recreational Literacy
Table of Contents
Next
Chapter 10:
Standard Setting With Lexiles
Conclusion
By grounding the process of standard and
benchmark setting in the context of real
texts we want our students to
comprehend, and by providing us with an
absolute scale on which to place both
students and texts of any kind, the Lexile
Framework provides a strong foundation
for setting reading standards.
Table of Contents
Next
Lesson Plans & Resources
•Lexile List of Popular Adolescent Literature
•Article: “Matching Readers to Text”
•Lesson Plan: Using Lexiles in Research
•Lexiles of Selected Text Books
•“Reading is Thinking” –
Pre-reading and Cooperative Learning Activities
Table of Contents