The Lexile® Framework for Reading

The Lexile Framework for Reading measures reading ability and text complexity on the same scale.

What Is a Lexile® Measure?

There are two Lexile measures: the Lexile reader measure and the Lexile text measure. A Lexile reader measure represents a student’s reading ability on the Lexile scale. A Lexile text measure represents a text’s difficulty level on the Lexile scale. Lexile measures are expressed as numeric measures followed by an “L” (for example, 850L) and represent a position on the Lexile scale. When used together, Lexile measures help a student choose a book or other reading material that is at an ideal difficulty to spur reading growth.

Today, Lexile measures are recognized as one of the most widely used reading metrics. Lexile measures connect learners of all ages with resources at the right level of challenge and monitor progress toward state and national learning standards. Lexile measures range from below 200L for beginning readers/texts to above 1600L for advanced readers/texts.

Lexile Measures in West Virginia

Students will receive a Lexile measure from the West Virginia Department of Education WVGSA assessment for ELA in Grades 3-8 and the SAT School Day exam in Grade 11. Additionally, other instructional programs have the ability to report students’ performance in terms of Lexile measures.

Using Lexile Measures to Assess College and Career Readiness

An important factor for readiness is students’ ability to read and understand texts of steadily increasing complexity as they progress through school. The Lexile Framework provides valuable insights into student readiness by measuring both the complexity of texts and a student’s ability to comprehend these texts.