What’s my child’s reading level?
Kids read most when given books to choose from that are at their reading level.
Texts are measured by grade level or lexile level. I find lexile level is more standardized and a bit more scientific in measurement and there are more universally standard tools to measure any text’s lexile level.
A text’s lexile level tells you how relatively difficult it is to read in terms of vocabulary and sentence structure. Kids and adults find it comfortable to read and comprehend text at a certain lexile level and anything above that level can feel challenging, though not impossible. Lexile scores range from 0 to 2000. Kids who are 8 normally are reading around 450L-600L while 15 year olds are typically mot comfortable reading books 1000L-1600L.
What is my child’s lexile level?
There are a few ways to determine this and keep in mind that kids are always growing and this range or number is an imperfect snapshot in time that really can vary. In my experience, students can achieve different lexile scores on assessments in the same day and we are mostly looking for an average range. If you give the same child a lexile assessment 10x in a day, it is likely that the average will be accurate but there may be a couple outlier results as the assessments are not perfect or exhaustive when given only once.
Quick tip: Ask your child’s teacher. Elementary teachers especially have quick tools to determine lexile levels for kids and also have solid benchmarks for the age group they specialize in. They may already have assessed your child’s level.
Find a couple books that you feel are at your child’s reading level - you feel confident that they can read these texts independently and fully comprehend the meaning. You can look to see if a lexile level is listed on the back cover of the book (usually a number followed by the letter “L”) or google search for the book’s lexile level. IF this information isn’t findable, use the Lexile Analyzer tool to enter sample text. The Analyzer will give you a best estimate of the lexile level for that text.
You can also look at lexile level ranges by grade, but please use these more as a rough ballpark than an exact science.
How can I use lexile levels?
Once you know your child’s lexile range, you can curate the most appropriate independent reading choices and practice areas for your child. Create a home library, identify “stretch texts” that are slightly above your child’s level to read together, and build sight word and vocabulary word lists that will support fluency growth into the next level.
Scholastic has a useful resource for understanding lexile level and recommends books by level which can use useful once you understand what range your child is reading in. Also check out The Best Children’s Books website to see teacher-recommended books by lexile level. This resources is a gem.