We examined how using five different simplified texts on the same subject would affect reading comprehension. 335 students in grades four through eight read one of five texts retrieved from Newsela.com and then completed a comprehension test. Results from a 3-way ANOVA showed no significant interaction among grade, reading level and text…

In recent years, readability formulas have gained new prominence as a basis for selecting texts for learning and assessment. Variables that quantitative tools count (e.g., word frequency, sentence length) provide valid measures of text complexity insofar as they accurately predict representative and high-quality criteria. The longstanding…

The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy (CCSS-ELA) were adopted by approximately forty states (though in some cases, with significant revisions). However, researchers are still trying to understand how teachers are implementing the CCSS-ELA at the ground level--that is, in actual ELA classrooms. The CCSS-ELA call for…

Appendix A of the Common Core State Standards (hereafter CCSS) contains a review of the research stressing the importance of being able to read complex text for success in college and career. The research shows that while the complexity of reading demands for college, career, and citizenship have held steady or risen over the past half century,…

What is meant by text complexity is a measurement of how challenging a particular text is to read. There are a myriad of different ways of explaining what makes text challenging to read, from the sophistication of the vocabulary employed to the length of its sentences to even measurements of how the text as a whole coheres. Research shows that no…

Traces the career of Jack Stenner. Stenner made the empirical discovery that observable readability could be entirely predicted from word familiarity and sentence length, and applied this "Lexile Framework"(R) to books and readers. Discusses the use of the Lexile Framework as a way to target specific readers. (SLD)

Describes the development of a Spanish version of the Lexile Framework(R) and a Spanish readability equation. Discusses some differences between Spanish and English and how these differences affect the development of the Lexile measures. (SLD)

Describes the Lexile Framework(R), which enables teachers to develop personalized instruction based on Lexile measures of reading ability and Lexiled reading lists. The Lexile Framework is based on the entire book, with individual reading ability measured by tests that measure on the same scale on which the books are measured. As an open standard,…

Describes uses of the Lexile Framework(R) in actual practice in Florida, Georgia, California, and North Carolina. As it connects reading comprehension tests, books, magazines, and newspapers to a common scale of measurement, the Lexile Framework can be used to form a community working for better reading. (SLD)

Describes the Lexile Framework(R), a tool for looking at reader ability relative to the difficulty of a text. It allows a parent, student, teacher, or media coordinator to understand the performance of a reader. Presents examples of current best practices in using lexiles. (SLD)

Discusses the use of the Lexile Framework(R) in several areas. Lexiles have been established for various job groups, and they may serve as an indication of reading ability for a given job. The uses of lexiles in school and in reading education are discussed, as is the achievement of Lexile reading abilities as indicators of probable income. (SLD)