LEVELED READING SYSTEMS

Are guides

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HOW MUCH DO LEVELS MATTER?

Students will read beyond their level when they’re motivated by a topic.

All students can be encouraged to read nonfiction books which are informative and accessible or an engaging mystery.

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EXCELLENT READERS

Does not mean they would comprehend a text found at a higher grade level

They may not have the background knowledge or vocabulary

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MANY READING SYSTEMS some use letters others use numbers

and it can be confusing.

Here is an explanation of the most widely used

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GRADE LEVEL

A 6th-grade student was tested in reading during May. His grade equivalent was 6.9.

This student is performing similarly to average students (50th percentile) in the national standardization sample in grade 6 month 9.

(Basal)

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DRA DEVELOPMENTAL READING ASSESSMENT

Using the DRA numerical scale you can measure reading accuracy, fluency and comprehension.

Students are said to be near, at or above grade level, below grade level and significantly below grade level.

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GUIDED READING LEVEL

A more detailed, alphabetic system has several levels within each grade level. For example, grade 2 is equivalent to guided reading levels J through M.

Allows you to tailor your reading program more accurately to a wide range of reading abilities.

(Fountas and Pinnell)

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SCHOLASTIC’S BOOK WIZARD allows you to search for books by level,

but not all books are leveled for each leveling system

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READING LEVEL CONVERSION CHARTS If you want to create a leveled book list

with books that are measured according to different systems, use a Reading Level Conversion Chart.

http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/homePage.do

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DRP DEGREES OF READING POWER

Word length Sentence length Word familiarity

Doesn’t look at a books content, illustrations or concepts

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PERCENT OF COMPREHENSION

DRP scores are reported in terms of P-values, or percent of comprehension.

• Grades 3 and 4 @ P=.70 • Grades 5 and 6 @ P=.75 • Grades 7 and 8 @ P=.80

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IMPORTANT NOTE FOR DRP DRP test scores can be used to identify

books that a student is able to read.

They cannot be used to identify the books that a student may want to read.

Student interest, motivation and purpose for reading also need to be considered when identifying books for students to read.

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DRP & LEXILE (LX) LEVELS More accurate because they are based

on objective criteria.

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LEXILE This system is based on an algorithm

that simultaneously measures vocabulary and sentence length.

the amount of growth in ability required to move between two points is the same. In other words, moving from 240L to 340L on the Lexile scale represents the same increase in ability as moving from 840L to 940L.

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LEXILE AND A GRADE EQUIVALENT

What is the difference between a Lexile measure and a grade equivalent?

Lexile measure represents a student's level on a developmental scale of reading ability—the Lexile scale.

grade equivalent represents a student's ability level in comparison to students who were in the specific test's norming group.

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LEXILE CODES Sometimes a Lexile measure by itself is

not enough information to choose a particular book for a particular reader.

This is why some books get Lexile codes—two-letter designations that appear before the Lexile measure (for example, AD580L).

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AD: Adult Directed Usually read to a child

NC: Non-Conforming books that are suitable for advanced readers who need age-appropriate materials. Its vocabulary and sentence length are complex compared to the subject matter.

HL: High-Low measures much lower than the average reading ability of the intended age

IG: Illustrated Guide IG books are often used as a reference resource rather than read

GN: Graphic Novel graphic novel or comic book

BR: Beginning Reading emergent reader, usually read to a child

NP: Non-Prose any book comprising more than 50% non-standard or non-conforming prose. examples of non-prose content are poems, plays, songs, recipes, and text with non-standard or absent punctuation.

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CODES GIVE MORE INFO

Developmental appropriateness

Reading difficulty

Common or intended usage

Word frequency and sentence length

(text characteristics)

Lexile codes provide some context

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These measures do not depend on who was in the norming sample, when the norming test administration occurred, or which testing instrument was used.

Free database at www.Lexile.com

NOT DEPENDENT ON NORMING GROUP

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AFTER CREATING A FREE ACCOUNT “Find a Book” (

www.lexile.com/fab):search for books among the tens of thousands of fiction and nonfiction titles with Lexile measures

build a custom reading list on the subjects that interest you the most

personalized reading lists for yourself and students.

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Lexile Analyzer® (www.lexile.com/analyzer): submit up to 1,000 words of text and receive its Lexile measure.

Save using MS Word as a PLAIN TEXT (.txt)Text Encoding = Other Encoding Select > File Convertion – US ASCIICheck Allow character substitution

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Lexile WebEx (www.lexile.com/pd/webinars): sign-up for a webinar on the widely adopted Lexile Framework® for Reading and learn how Lexile measures can be used to match individuals with targeted text to support reading growth.

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WHAT CAN I DO IF A BOOK IS NOT LEVELED?

Vocabulary, word choice Sentence length and complexity Length of book Subject matter Repetition, predictability Multisyllabic words Age appropriateness/Interest level

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HOW TO GET A LEXILE® MEASURE

MetaMetrics does not publish tests that report Lexile measures. There is no "Lexile test" on this website. Instead, we partner with state departments of education and test publishers to create assessments or link existing assessments that can report students' reading scores as Lexile measures.

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SCHOLASTIC: SCHOLASTIC READING INVENTORY (SRI) is a research-based, computer-adaptive

assessment for students in grades K-12. Students read a passage taken from an authentic text and then choose the option that best fills the blank in the last statement. To complete the statement, the student must respond on a literal level (recall a fact) or inferential level (determine the main idea of the passage, draw an inference from the material presented, or make a connection between sentences in the passage). SRI does not correct students' errors; however, it does provide them with immediate feedback in the form of a Lexile measure. SRI provides a suggested reading list that is prescriptively based on the Lexile Framework.