Reading

MetaMetrics Updates Lexile Framework for Students in Grades K-2

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 09/20/17

MetaMetrics has updated its Lexile Framework for Reading with three new enhancements designed to help beginning readers find books matched to their skill level more easily.

All books that scored 0L or below used to be given a BR, or beginning reader, score. Now those books will receive a Lexile score in addition, such as BR100L, allowing for more precise matching.

The company is also measuring reading materials for K-2 classrooms across more dimensions. Using input from teachers, reading specialists and studies, the added a nine-variable model to the algorithm that determines Lexile scores.

The third enhancement is the addition of "early-reading indicators" for K-2 content to help identify features that could present more of a challenge for specific students or to help make sure students are getting well rounded practice. "For example," according to a news release, "a text with low decoding demands and a low decoding early-reading indicator (i.e., many easy-to-decode words) could be selected for a student who is ready to apply their knowledge of basic sound and letter relationships and patterns to practice reading books on their own."

"I was privileged to be part of the team that examined early-grade texts to determine their unique features and enhanced the Lexile Framework to account for them," said Elfrieda Hiebert, CEO and president of TextProject, in a prepared statement. "Educators can now get information about which aspects of texts are more or less demanding at early reading levels. Early-Reading Indicators help to illuminate the wide variety of texts for young readers such as highly decodable books and books with repetitive structures that help foster development of the many skills necessary for high levels of reading with comprehension."