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What is Lexile®

20+ years of scientific, research-based approach to literacy

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"Lexile is the best way to find the right book at your child’s reading level. This framework has been validated by over 1,000 studies worldwide and is used in schools and educational settings across the US. The Lexile framework personalizes its leveling system by looking at the ability level of the child and the difficulty level of the text.

This matching system allows your child to find books that reinforce reading skills and strategies that your child has learned. These same books also provide your child with just the right amount of new information so that they can grow as readers. This area where skills are reinforced and just the right amount of new ideas are introduced is known in the education world as the” zone of proximal development” or ZPD. The Lexile framework matches children to over 100 million pieces of text in their ZPD. Here, from 100 Lexile points below to 50 Lexile points above their Lexile score, is where your child can comprehend the text while still being exposed to new words and ideas to challenge them as a reader. LightSail calls the texts in a child’s zone of proximal development “Power Texts.”

To encourage reading at this level, LightSail has a tool called Flip-Flop mode. This can be enabled or disabled by a parent at any time. This mode requires a child to read a “Power Text” at their just-right level before being able to choose anything they like in “Free Mode.” After reading a text of their choosing they are then switched back to “Power Text” mode, and this cycle continues. This Flip-Flop mode provides motivation for a child to read something in their zone of proximal development in order to read something they enjoy afterwards.

Due to the proven capability of the Lexile framework, you can see why it is at the heart of LightSail Reader. Your child’s Lexile score is automatically tracked and updated every 15 days, so you never have to worry about if they are reading the right book for their level. All texts in LightSail have Lexile levels clearly marked to make finding a book for your child quick and simple. Parents can keep up with all of their child’s activities in LightSail, and see the progress their child is making with real time analytics right from their home screen. LightSail follows your child’s reading and reading progress, so you don't have to. "

Matching Readers


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Typical Lexile Reader Measures

by Grade for English Text

Grade Reader Measures, Mid-Year 25th percentile to 75th percentile (IQR)*
1 BR120L to 295L
2 170L to 545L
3 415L to 760L
4 635L to 950L
5 770L to 1080L
6 855L to 1165L
7 925L to 1235L
8 985L to 1295L
9 1040L to 1350L
10 1085L to 1400L
11 & 12 1130L to 1440L
*IQR - Interquartile Range Source: lexialearning.com

The Lexile® Framework places both the reader and text on the same developmental scale, making it easy to connect the student with books targeted to their reading ability.

lexile

West Virginia Takes Steps to Ensure All Students Are Prepared for Success in the Workforce

The West Virginia Department of Education leverages Lexile and Quantile measures to provide teachers parents and students with important information for personalizing learning and charting growth toward college and career readiness. Lexile and Quantile student measures are reported from summative assessments in grades 3-8 and from SAT scores for grade 11. State leaders collaborated with MetaMetrics to develop a Lexile and Quantile Parent Report that effectively communicates information about students’ Lexile and Quantile measures.

The report features the Lexile and Quantile Growth Planners that help forecast student reading and math growth starting at third grade and compare that forecasted performance to text and math demands of college and careers. With the Growth Planners’ career exploration feature, students and parents can select from hundreds of careers to evaluate a career’s educational requirements, salary range, job demand and much more.

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North Carolina Students Use Lexile Measures to Build Reading Skills

K-5 educators face unique challenges. In addition to teaching and preparing students for high-stakes tests, successful teachers of young children also create lifelong readers. This responsibility weighs heavily on the shoulders of Susan Sidden, K-5 supervisor of reading and writing for the Wilkes County School District in North Carolina. Wilkes County is a quiet, largely rural county located in the northwest part of the state, at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains.

With a spread-out population of about 66,000 and a 45-minute drive to the nearest major metropolitan area (Winston-Salem), Wilkes County—and, by extension, its school district—is self-sufficient, self-reliant and determined to excel. It was that determination that led the district to turn to Lexiles to help its students build literacy skills.

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South Florida Middle School Uses Lexile Measures to Map Path for Meeting State Learning Standards

As every educator knows, reading must be taught on an ongoing basis and throughout the curriculum—not just in Reading and Language Arts classes, but in all classes, particularly in elementary and middle school.

As students progress up the educational ladder, they must use their reading skills to interpret and analyze materials in every subject area. At Boca Raton Community Middle School in Florida, a new program is putting The Lexile Framework for Reading to work throughout the school's curriculum, helping teachers to ensure that students meet state learning goals.

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Lexile Measures Help Alaska Elementary School Foster Strong Reading Habits, Increase Student Reading Proficiency

Schools everywhere are grappling with balancing the ever-increasing emphasis on standardized test scores while ensuring that each student's individual learning needs are met. A small Alaska elementary school has achieved that delicate balance. East Elementary School in Kodiak implemented a school-wide reading initiative that is instilling a lifelong love of reading in its students and making their scores on the Alaska state reading assessment skyrocket.

Part of the Kodiak Island Borough District, East Elementary is located on an island off the southern coast of Alaska, where it serves 320 students from the town of Kodiak and the nearby Coast Guard station. School principal Ron Fried and reading specialist Margaret Reed embody the independent, self-sufficient attitude for which the forty-ninth state is known, and in 2002 created an in-school reading program using The Lexile Framework for Reading.

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Using Lexile Measures to Build a Community of Readers in Houston

Houston Independent School District (HISD) is no different from most major urban school systems. As the largest public school system in Texas and the seventh-largest in the United States, HISD faces the challenges of serving a socio-economically and ethnically diverse student population with a wide variety of learning abilities and educational needs. Under the leadership of Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra, Ph.D., the district is dedicated to giving every student the best possible education.

Jim Hundemer, HISD's library services manager, attended the first Lexile National Reading Conference in Dallas. There, along with hundreds of his colleagues from Texas and around the country, Hundemer learned more about The Lexile Framework for Reading and the power that it could have for helping improve student reading abilities at HISD.

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Find answers to frequently asked questions or contact us for more support.

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How many parent accounts are included with a child's license?

Every family account includes two Parent Accounts.

I am part of a homeschool group and we share teaching responsibilities. How can I access those accounts?

LightSail has created a Teacher/Coach role that can connect with multiple accounts. This is available as an add-on purchase. This account acts as additional parent with full teacher control to all connected accounts.

Is your platform only Faith-Based?

LightSail is available for both Faith-Based and Secular families. A parent can choose to allow or hide faith-based content including Unit Studies. LightSail has created hundreds of faith-based Unit Studies, Bookmarks, Quotations, and Memory Modules.

If I want to purchase a book with your Premium Books Shop, do I have to buy a copy for each license I purchased?

No, when you purchase a book using our Premium Books Shop, you only need to purchase one copy for your entire family. Your purchase includes unlimited checkouts.

How does LightSail’s ChildSafe protection work?

At LightSail, a parent’s ability to oversee their child’s online experience and align it with their faith and values is of the utmost importance. To this end, LightSail contains an entire suite of parental control features and never-before-seen ChildSafe Content Controls giving parents ultimate peace of mind.

These content controls contain dozens of nuanced subcategories for potentially objectionable material based on both maturity and religious factors. Then, it shows parents if a book contains a reference to any of those subcategories and allows them to block or allow single titles or entire subcategories for each child individually. Our ChildSafe Content Controls offer unprecedented insight into and control over the content your children consume without the need to read every book in advance.

  • Block or allow individual pieces of content.
  • Block or allow entire subcategories of content.
  • Require a child to request parental approval before opening entire subcategories of content.
  • Block, allow, or require requesting parental approval for all Classics library content.
  • Block or require requesting parental approval for all unrated content.

Click here to learn more about all of our parental controls.

Parental Controls

Complete oversight and control over all of your children’s content and activity.

About Us

We are LightSail for Homeschoolers—a complete language arts platform built on the shoulders of LightSail Education, advancing the literacy skills of K-12 students in public, private, and charter schools since 2012.

Gamification

Fun built into every aspect of LightSail’s platform encourages kids on every step of their learning journey. Badges, Social Sharing, and Gift Rewards are all within the Parental Controls!

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