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Lexiles Coming to Georgia: State Assessments Link to Measure for Improving Student Literacy

Posted on: Wednesday, 22 February 2006, 06:00 CST

Georgia State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox wants her state to lead the nation in improving student achievement. In support of her commitment, more than 1 million Georgia students will end this school year with a new tool that teachers and parents can use to improve literacy skills. As the result of an agreement announced today by the Georgia Department of Education and The Lexile Framework(R) for Reading, the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests for grades 1-8 and the Enhanced Georgia High School Graduation Tests for grade 11 will report Lexile(R) measures.

As the most widely adopted reading measure in use today, The Lexile Framework provides a common scale for matching reader ability and text difficulty, allowing easy monitoring of student progress and ensuring reading comprehension. Recognized as the most accurate way to match readers with text, there are currently Lexile measures for more than 100,000 books and 80 million articles.

"Using Lexile measures, Georgia teachers can select reading materials that best meet students' abilities, helping them to learn grade-level content while building literacy skills," said Cox. "In addition, during the school year and summer break, students and parents can use Lexiles to select leisure reading materials that are enjoyable because they are ability-appropriate and will also help to develop the reading skills necessary for success in school and in life."

The Georgia Department of Education also announced that it will co-host the Lexile National Reading Conference, June 19-21, 2006, in Atlanta. The theme for the event is "Developing Tomorrow's Readers...Today."

"We are excited to work with Superintendent Cox and her state's talented educators to provide Georgia's students with Lexiles," said Malbert Smith III, Ph.D., president, MetaMetrics Inc., developer of The Lexile Framework. "By collaborating to co-host next year's Lexile National Reading Conference, Georgia educators will learn more about how Lexiles link assessment to instruction from their colleagues from throughout the country."

Now in its third year, the conference will feature nationally recognized keynote speakers on reading and assessment as well as sessions on implementing The Lexile Framework in schools, districts and states. Educators can save $100 by registering before Feb. 28. Early bird registration is $299 per person, and standard registration is $399 per person. Georgia educators receive a registration discount of $150. The conference will be held at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, where special room rates are available for attendees.

To register or for more information, visit www.lexile.com/conference2006.

About The Lexile Framework for Reading

MetaMetrics Inc. developed The Lexile Framework for Reading and its companion scale, The Quantile Framework(R) for Mathematics. The Lexile Framework provides a common scale for matching reader ability and text difficulty, enabling teachers and parents to choose materials that can help to improve student reading skills and monitor literacy across the curriculum and at home. Recognized as the most widely adopted reading measure in use today, Lexiles are part of reading and testing programs at the district, state and federal levels. More than 100,000 books and 80 million articles have Lexile measures, and all major standardized tests can report student reading scores in Lexiles. Launched in 2004, Quantiles(R) measure student mathematical achievement and concept/application solvability similar to the way Lexiles measure reading proficiency. The Quantile Framework represents a student's ability to think mathematically in a taxonomy of math skills, concepts and applications. The Quantile strands--Geometry, Measurement, Numbers and Operations; Algebra/Patterns & Functions; and Data Analysis & Probability--integrate and align with the strands described by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).

MetaMetrics, Lexile, Lexile Framework, the Lexile symbol, Quantile, Quantile Framework and the Quantile symbol are trademarks or U.S. registered trademarks of MetaMetrics Inc. The names of other companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. (C) 2006 MetaMetrics Inc.

Source: Business Wire

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