Find Books for Beginning Readers

Lexile text measures provide valuable information about a text’s complexity and are recognized as the standard for individually matching readers with texts. Thanks to extensive research, Lexile measures are now more precise for content used in K–2 classrooms and provide readers with a superior match to texts.

Here’s what’s new:

• The Lexile® scale is extended for beginning readers. Previously, all books measuring below 0L were given a standalone “BR” (Beginning Reader) code. Now texts with a BR code will also receive a Lexile measure (e.g., BR100L). The addition of a Lexile measure for books below 0L allows for greater differentiation at the beginner level.
• K–2 content is now measured across more dimensions. Based on input from teachers and reading specialists and through studies on the reading behaviors of young students, researchers spent several years analyzing over 200 text characteristics that influence text complexity. Through these research studies, a nine-variable model was identified as most accurately and reliably measuring the text complexity of K–2 content. This nine-variable model is now incorporated into the algorithm that is used to determine the Lexile measure of a book or piece of text.

With these enhancements, reading growth can be better encouraged and measured for those learning to read.