Lexile® and Quantile® Measures

The Lexile® Framework for Reading and Quantile® Framework for Mathematics have been linked to the CAASPP Smarter Balanced English language arts/literacy (ELA) and mathematics assessments. Students who complete these assessments will receive Lexile and Quantile measures on their Student Score Report.

Lexile® measures indicate students' reading abilities and Quantile® measures indicate students' readiness for instruction in mathematics. The Lexile & Quantile Hub contains tools and resources that tie Lexile and Quantile measures directly to learning and instructional resources.

Links Description
Lexile & Quantile Hub (TOMS SSO Access) Educators with a TOMS account can use their SSO credentials to access the Lexile & Quantile Hub with premium resources.
Lexile & Quantile Hub (School-Affiliated Email Access) Educators that do not have SSO credentials can register with an affiliated local educational agency (LEA) email address to access the premium resources.

Resources

Introducing Lexile and Quantile Measures provides an overview of Lexile and Quantile measures and an introduction to the Lexile & Quantile Hub. This document is intended for LEAs to use to maintain consistent messaging about Lexile and Quantile measures and available resources.

Understanding the Lexile Framework for Reading

There are two kinds of Lexile measures: Lexile text measures and Lexile reader measures. Lexile text measures are assigned to a book or text material to describe how challenging a text is to comprehend. Lexile reader measures are based on a student’s Smarter Balanced for ELA score and indicate the level of difficulty of materials that a particular student can read and understand. With the help of Lexile measures, parents/guardians and educators can find reading materials at the appropriate difficulty level for students and monitor their growth in reading over time.

Lexile measures are expressed as numbers followed by an “L” (for example, 850L) and range from below 0L for beginning readers and text to above 1600L for advanced readers and text. Comparing a student’s Lexile measure with the Lexile measure of what they are reading helps gauge the “fit” between a student’s ability and the difficulty of the content. Therefore, connecting students with books in their Lexile range—100L below to 50L above their reported Lexile measure—provides an ideal level of reading challenge.

Parents/Guardians can refer to the MetaMetrics Lexile Parent Guide and MetaMetrics For Families web page for additional information about Lexile measures.

Understanding the Quantile Framework for Mathematics

There are two types of Quantile measures: a measure for students and a measure for mathematical skills and concepts. The student measure is based on a student’s Smarter Balanced for Mathematics score and describes a student’s mathematical ability; specifically, it describes the mathematics skills the student likely already understands and what the student is ready to learn in the future. The skill measure describes the difficulty or demand in learning the skill. With the help of Quantile measures, parents/guardians and educators can identify the mathematical skills needed to support students’ learning and monitor their growth in mathematics over time.

Quantile measures are expressed as numbers followed by a “Q” (for example, 850Q) and range from emerging mathematician (below 0Q) to above 1600Q. The Quantile Framework spans the developmental continuum from the content typically taught in kindergarten to algebra II, geometry, trigonometry, and precalculus.

Parents/Guardians can refer to the MetaMetrics Quantile Parent Guide and For Families web page for additional information about Quantile measures.

Available Lexile & Quantile Tools

Looking for short videos on how to access and utilize the Lexile & Quantile Hub tools? Check out the Utilizing Lexile & Quantile Measures Video Library. Additional videos will be coming soon!

Tool Descriptions

Tool Description

Lexile® Find a Book

Search among over half a million books using the Find a Book tool so you can

  • preview challenging words and their definitions for each book;
  • identify the Lexile level and vocabulary by chapter for over 1,600 popular books;
  • create and manage personal book lists that can be shared; and
  • search by a student's Lexile measure or range, grade level, or interests.

Lexile® Find a Decodable Book

Search and sort decodable books so you can

  • find books with the specific long and short vowel sound(s) you are teaching;
  • view sound spelling percentages, spelling patterns, sight words, and more;
  • identify irregular words or contractions that may be difficult for a beginning reader; and
  • sort books by percentage of a vowel sound, Lexile measure, or word count.

Quantile® Math Skills Database

View mathematics skills and concepts associated with California's standards so you can

  • unpack state-specific standards to view prerequisite, focus, and impending mathematics skills associated with the standard;
  • compare the Quantile level of mathematics skills to the Quantile readiness of a class, group, or individual student;
  • search for free resources by keyword, Quantile measure, or content strand; and
  • save and share favorite resources.

Lexile Text Analyzer®

Paste or type in text of 500 words or less to discover

  • the Lexile range for the text;
  • early Reading Indicator information for texts 650L and below; and
  • lists of similar books.

Challenging words are highlighted in the text along with their definitions, parts of speech, and example sentences. Users can toggle to Spanish to paste or type text in Spanish and get a Lexile range.

Lexile® & Quantile® Career Database

Identify the Lexile level or Quantile level associated with the entry-level reading or mathematics demands of a particular career.

30 searches per month (premium registered users)

Lexile® Growth Planner and Quantile® Growth Planner

Chart a student's reading and mathematics growth across different annual state assessments and forecast future growth. With the Growth Planners, you can

  • forecast college and career readiness with Lexile and Quantile measures;
  • compare individual student results to national student performance;
  • explore career options along with expected reading or mathematics demands;
  • view national, state, and regional career information; and
  • access resources to support growth in reading and mathematics.

Resource Descriptions

Resource Description

Lexile® Find a Decodable Passage

Access more than 100 online printable passages that students can read to practice specific phonics skills.

  • Available immediately via the Lexile & Quantile Hub
  • Written by published authors of decodable books
  • Accommodate popular scopes or sequences
  • Include one illustration and two comprehension questions

Lexile® Grade Level Charts and Quantile® Grade Level Charts

Note how a large sample of students in grades one through twelve who were administered assessments that reported Lexile or Quantile measures performed based on 2010–16 research.

  • The charts provide norms at the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles for fall, winter, and spring testing.
  • The charts are provided for descriptive purposes only and are not intended to be interpreted as state performance standards.

Lexile® WordLists

Access downloadable lists of important words by grade and domain that students are likely to encounter in textbooks and other kindergarten through grade twelve educational materials.

  • Domains include mathematics, science, social studies, and general.
  • Customized lists can be created consisting of consequential words from a collection of 40 million words based on general and academic domain kindergarten through grade twelve vocabulary.
  • Lists can be downloaded and printed.

Quantile® Math Resources

Access thousands of mathematics resources, including lesson plans, activities, videos, games, and more.

  • Resources are aligned to state standards.
  • Resources have been evaluated and assigned a Quantile measure of mathematical complexity.
  • Resources can be filtered type, format, or grade range.

Lexile® Measures Manager and Quantile® Measures Manager

Determine a student's optimal reading or mathematics measure when two assessments, taken within 30 days of each other, have resulted in significantly differing Lexile or Quantile measures.

Additional Information

View a complete listing of the assessments and products that report Lexile and Quantile measures.

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