Match Students with Books
Under the auspices of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Lexile.com, an educational measurement and technology firm, has developed the Lexile Framework to enable teachers, parents and students to select reading material that is appropriately targeted to each reader. The Lexile Framework designates a reader with a measure (a Lexile), and identifies each text with a measure (also a Lexile), allowing educators to predict the level of comprehension a reader will experience with certain texts.
The Lexile Framework is being implemented in public schools across the country, on district-wide and statewide levels. For example, as a part of California Senate Bill 366, families will be able to take a student's reading level information directly from his or her STAR parent report and enter it into the Lexile.com Web site. This will generate a list of suggested and approved reading titles, available from educational publishers such as Scholastic, Follett, and Harcourt Educational Measurement. Lexile.com, Research Triangle Park, NC, (888) LEXILES, www.lexile.com.
This article originally appeared in the 06/01/2000 issue of THE Journal.