Understanding Average Lexile Levels for 5th Graders

What is the Average Lexile Level in Grade 5?

Understanding the average LexileⓇ level for 5th graders will assist in preparing the ideal plan for students to ensure they achieve maximum reading skills growth over the course of the year.

Numerous studies have been done around reading ability and the texts that children typically consume at a certain age. However, it is important to understand that age, or Grade, is not directly linked to each student’s reading ability.

In Grade 5, students will, on average, grow by 104L with expected weekly growth of 2.0L. Your average reader in Grade 5 will fall between 565L and 910L, though there will be readers who fall below the average, and others who are reading at a more advanced level.

Curating a reading plan in these early years is essential to allow as many students as possible to get to a level where they would be ready to engage with college level texts at the end of High School.

To achieve this, a Grade 5 student should aim to read texts that are rated between 830L and 1010L. However, studies show that many students in Grade 5 are reading books that fall within 730L and 850L. This showcases the need for introducing the right reading plan for each student as early as possible, which will allow them to take advantage of the rapid Lexile growth that can be achieved by readers in earlier grades. As students move through High School, their Lexile growth slows dramatically and a number of reading habits will already have been developed.

Achieving maximum growth for each individual can be tricky, and requires constant monitoring, motivation and regular assessment. Introducing LightSail into the plan can provide constant feedback to educators and parents, while still offering flexibility to the students. Using Power Texts, students will be pushed to challenge themselves, while the ability to switch between curated content and books of their person choice ensures that the enjoyment of reading is not taken out of the learning process.

LightSail Education is a comprehensive Lexile, and standards-aligned, literacy platform and digital e-book library. Featuring books* from leading publishers, LightSail holistically assesses and nurtures each student on their K-12 reading and writing-to-learn journey.

5th grade lexile levels

*LightSail offers a 2,000 or a 6,000 title bundle with its student subscriptions. Other titles are available for individual purchase. Request a demo.

Insights for your ELA Classroom

We've gathered information on the topics educators ask us about most often. Each post is written to be insightful, practical and most of all, based on what we know works from our experiences with tens of thousands of classrooms across the country.

Trending Topics:

  • Going Digital & Your Literacy Strategy
  • Engaged Students in Data Driven Classrooms
  • How Formative Assessments Can Guide Instruction

Sign Up For Literacy In Action

We protect your privacy and will never share your email address with anyone.