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 0L for beginning readers and text to above 1600L for advanced readers and text.

Students will receive a Lexile measure from the South Dakota Department of Education Smarter Balanced assessment for ELA. View a score report sample containing Lexile measure information.

South Dakota students, parents and educators can access South Dakota State Library Online Resources. This database contains an abundance of online newspaper and magazine articles to match a student’s Lexile range.

Additional reading tests and instructional programs can report students’ performance in terms of Lexile measures. Access a list of assessments, by assessment type, which provides student Lexile measures.

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 college and career texts and a student’s ability to comprehend these texts.

The Lexile Framework for Reading Video
This six-minute animated video on the basic concepts and uses of the Lexile Framework for Reading is the perfect resource for educators and parents who are new to Lexile measures. Please click on the image below to view the video. For more educational videos, visit our YouTube channel.

The Lexile Infographic
Here is everything you need to know about the Lexile Framework for Reading in one easy to understand graphic.

A Parent’s Guide to the Lexile Framework for Reading
This is a two-page overview of the benefits and usefulness of the Lexile Framework for Reading. It is also available as an ADA accessible PDF.

Educator & Librarian Guides to the Lexile Framework for Reading
These two pagers provide an overview of the uses and benefits of Lexile measures in the classroom and library.

Lexile Map
The Lexile Map provides examples of popular books and sample texts on the Lexile scale ranging from 200L for beginning reader books to 1600L for more advanced texts. It's a quick reference guide that helps to show what a Lexile measure represents. The 11x17 Lexile Map is also available as an ADA accessible PDF.

Lexile® Find a Book
Once students have their Lexile measures, they can search for titles matching their Lexile levels and interests using the free Find a Book search tool at https://fab.lexile.com/fab/sd/. From there, students can build custom reading lists and check the availability of books at a local library or bookseller.

The Lexile® PowerV® Vocabulary Tool
The Lexile PowerV Vocabulary Tool identifies up to 10 challenging words in each book that are important for students to know. Parents and students can use the tool to identify words students might want to familiarize themselves with prior to reading a particular book.

Lexile® Titles Database
The database contains Lexile measures for over 300,000 books from hundreds of publishers and is offered free of charge to educators.

Lexile Analyzer®
The Lexile Analyzer measures the complexity of a text by breaking it down and studying its characteristics. The outcome is the text complexity, expressed as a Lexile measure, along with information on the word count, mean sentence length and mean log frequency.

Lexile® Growth Planner
Wondering if a student will be prepared for the reading requirements of college and the workplace upon graduation? The Lexile Growth Planner can provide some insight. With the Lexile Growth Planner, you can chart a student’s reading growth across different annual state assessments, forecast future reading growth, compare that forecasted reading growth with the text demands of college and careers, and, if needed, identify a custom growth path to ensure the student graduates college- and career-ready.

Lexile by Chapter Guides
Lexile by Chapter Guides explore the text complexity within a book by providing Lexile measures for every chapter in the text. Each guide includes a graph and table displaying the Lexile information to help educators, parents and students better understand where the peaks and valleys of complexity reside within a book.

Lexile Measures at Home
This webpage details ways you can use a student's Lexile measure—and the Lexile measures of books and other reading materials—to foster literacy and learning at home.