Should I Care About Lexiles and the Levels of Reading Material in My Classroom?

Any teacher of literacy is going to come across this type of debate of reading levels and Lexile in their classroom and throughout their school buildings. To get right to the point: Should we, as teachers, be paying attention to the levels of reading that our students are at in terms of ability and demonstrated skill level? The answer is complicated. As a middle school teacher for over a decade, my students would enter the sixth grade at a variety of levels of reading ability and skill. This was due to a variety of factors, including tracking of students in elementary schools. The debate among educators is vast regarding reading levels and Lexile, whether or not your building has a particular strategic reading program or not. Here are some of the opinions about reading levels so you can get the gist of what everyone is talking about:

Students should be able to read any book they want. They shouldn’t be restricted to choosing books within their “range.”

Students should be limited to choosing books within their “range” because they can practice their demonstrated skillset. They can expand their selection with practice and skill acquisition. 

Students shouldn’t be told their reading levels or Lexile. 

Students should know their reading level. They are included in the process of helping them catch up. 

Teachers need to scaffold instruction with a variety of reading materials to reach students on their levels. 

Teachers need to expose their students to grade-level material to expose them to content at their grade level. 

Classroom libraries should not have publicly displayed Lexile or reading levels on books. Students should be able to choose their books. 

Classroom libraries need to be organized with a reading level in mind. Students should know what level of book they are holding in their hands to see if they can access the material. 

Programs like accelerated reader that give comprehension assessments are able to accurately show student knowledge. 

Canned programs are not able to demonstrate student understanding because it is simply measuring the student’s ability to take a test. 

There are even more viewpoints listed than the ones above. Everyone seems to have the right answer, while this post will contain my own personal opinions, it also serves as a starting point. This post is an invitation to conversation and reflection on the current practices in your classroom. As a curriculum consultant, I often will label materials with the Lexile or reading level information because it provides a means of information. Each teacher has their own opinion regarding Lexile or reading levels. In order to fully engage the conversation, educators need to understand what Lexile and reading levels are, how strategic reading classes are typically run, resources for reading level differentiation, and recommendations for selecting reading materials for your classroom.