Lexile

I have always thought fall and spring to be interesting times of the school year.  Beginnings and endings, changing of seasons, new routines...  And academic testing.

I don't have a lot of memories of spring and fall testing, only the lengthy and tedius Iowa Basics, which were perhaps a version of this testing.  Here in Minnesota, however, Aden sits for a number of tests.  The one that interests me the most is lexile testing, something I've begun to find very fascinating over the years.

My lay-understanding of lexile is that it is a measure of each student's reading ability, which then helps teachers and families understand which books might be most appropriate for that child's ability and need for challenging material.  There are numerous resources that list the lexile category for books.  Then, they also list the grade-level appropriateness for the actual content and topics.

Aden has always had a very high lexile score.  It increases even over summer months when he is not in school.  This means that he reads at a much higher level than his classmates, and this always means that he placed in advanced reading groups.  This year he scored the highest in his class for lexile, which is not entirely surprising, but his lexile score is the score expected of a high school freshman.

That said, for a point of reference, the books in that lexile range are books like Anna Karenina, My Antonia, Gone with the Wind and Pride and Prejudice.  Clearly, not all books in that range are interesting to fifth grade boys, and not all content from that lexile category is appropriate for his age.  The challenge is finding books that are interesting and challenging in Aden's lexile category that he wants to read. 

I am so delighted that Aden has developed a love of reading and an ability that allows him a wide range of book options.  One of my favorite family activities is for us all to curl up and read our books together.  Aden loves to take breaks to repeat favorite passages or summarize exciting twists in plot.