GL Assessment personalises literacy with Metametrics' Lexile Framework for Reading30 March 2009 – GL Assessment, in partnership with MetaMetrics®, Inc., is bringing The Lexile Framework® for Reading to the UK with an enhancement to its Progress in English (PIE) assessment for seven to 11 year olds. Highly successful in the US for boosting children’s achievement in literacy, the Lexile Framework allows for more detailed grading of text than a reading age or key stage level indicators that are widely used by schools and publishers today. The 400,000 UK children who currently take PIE tests each year will be able to benefit from the Lexile Framework straight away.
The Lexile Framework offers a scientific approach to measuring reader ability and text difficulty on the same scale. Once a child has a Lexile® measure, he or she can be matched to books within his / her Lexile range, helping to ensure that he or she is tackling books that are not too difficult to be frustrating, yet difficult enough to be challenging and to encourage reading progress.
Schools using either the paper or the digital version of GL Assessment’s PIE test to assess their pupils’ reading skills will be able to view each child’s overall standardised test score as a Lexile measure. Teachers can then enter these measures into the online UK Lexile Book Database at www.improvemyreading.co.uk to create personalised reading lists that match each pupil’s individual reading ability and interests, rather than by age alone. It is hoped that this will change the way schools support the development of literacy skills across the curriculum and encourage children to read more for pleasure.
The inclusion of Lexile measures in the PIE assessments will also make it easier for schools to engage parents in developing their child’s reading skills at home. Teachers can provide parents with a tailored list of books that will help to capture their child’s imagination and ensure he or she is not put off by reading material that is beyond his or her ability.
“The debate on the age-banding of children’s books has received a lot of coverage in the national and wider media,” says Andrew Thraves, group head of publishing at GL Assessment.
“Adversaries of the scheme are concerned that printing age guidance on children’s literature will restrict them from enjoying the broad range of reading material available to them. However, whether a book has been age-banded or not, teachers and parents can use Lexile measures to choose reading material that meets the needs of each child, rather than having to make judgements on a book’s suitability by its age-banding alone. This will be a powerful way of raising standards of childhood literacy within and beyond the classroom.”
The new UK Lexile website, www.improvemyreading.co.uk, offers a wealth of free information and tools for using the Lexile Framework. Case studies about US schools that have implemented Lexile measures successfully to raise attainment in literacy are available to read online. In addition, teachers and parents can search the UK Lexile Book Database for 13,500 titles that have Lexile measures, including many penned by well-known children’s authors such as Jacqueline Wilson, Anthony Horowitz and J.K. Rowling. Teachers also can use the Lexile Analyzer® to quickly find out the estimated Lexile measure of an article, worksheet or specific piece of text. “MetaMetrics is pleased to partner with GL Assessment to introduce The Lexile Framework for Reading in the UK,” said MetaMetrics President Malbert Smith III, Ph.D. “With Lexile measures, teachers can select materials that best meet learners’ unique reading abilities, helping them to improve their achievement and understanding across the curriculum while developing important literacy skills. In addition, parents can use Lexile measures to help children select leisure reading that matches their interests and builds the reading skills necessary for success in school and in life.” - Ends -
Notes to the editor:
About GL Assessment GL Assessment is the UK’s leading independent provider of tests and assessment services for education. It publishes across the 4-19 age range, with the majority of its assessments designed for 5-14 year-olds.
About MetaMetrics, Inc. MetaMetrics, Inc., a privately held, US-based educational measurement company, develops scientifically based measures of student achievement that link assessment with instruction, foster better educational practices and improve learning by matching students with materials that meet and challenge their abilities. The company’s team of psychometricians developed the widely adopted Lexile Framework for Reading (www.Lexile.com); El Sistema Lexile para Leer, the Spanish-language version of the Lexile Framework; The Quantile Framework® for Mathematics (www.Quantiles.com); and The Lexile Framework for Writing. In addition to licensing Lexile and Quantile® measures to state departments of education, testing and instructional companies, and publishers, MetaMetrics delivers professional development, resource measurement and customised consulting services.
For further information, please contact Danielle Morgan PR and Events Manager Granada Learning Tel: 020 8996 3632 Email: danielle.morgan@gl-assessment.co.uk
MetaMetrics®, the MetaMetrics logo and tagline, Lexile®, Lexile Framework®, Lexile Analyzer®, the Lexile logo, Quantile®, Quantile Framework® and the Quantile logo are trademarks of MetaMetrics, Inc., and are registered in the United States and abroad.
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