[LIT] Difference between Fry Readibility and Lexile

[CAG]

Lexiles also don't take into account appropriateness of subject matter. A 
student's lexile range might include books whose subject matter is beyond 
their maturity level.

quote from lexile.com:

"The Lexile measure of a book refers to its text difficulty only. A Lexile 
measure does not take the subject matter or content of the book into 
consideration. Lexile measures are based on two well-established predictors 
of how difficult a text is to comprehend: word frequency and sentence 
length. Many factors other than these affect the relationship between a 
reader and a book, including its content, the age and interests of the 
reader, and the design of the actual book. The Lexile measure is a good 
starting point in your book-selection process, with these other factors then 
being considered. "

It sounds as though books are lexiled through a Fry or Fry-like process.

You can certainly find the student's independent reading level and then work 
backward to find other possible titles - a good idea! Don't forget that 
grain of salt, though!

Cathy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Petra Moran" <ppienkosky at yahoo.com>
To: "A list for improving literacy with focus on middle grades." 
<lit at literacyworkshop.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 8:53 AM
Subject: Re: [LIT] Difference between Fry Readibility and Lexile


> WOW!  What a fabulous explanation!  Teachers asked me:  What is the 
> difference?  (Implying; Lexile is nothing new, we've had Fry for a while). 
> I thought lexile was more nuanced than Fry (of course, nothing is as 
> precise as Fountas/ Pinnell or Reading Recovery levels.)
>
> So it seems lexile gives you a range and Fry a grade, both of which are 
> arbitrary.  So, does the group feel that they are really six of one half 
> dozen of another?
>
> Can you only determine lexile range with a test (such as NWEA)?  Or would 
> you just find a book at a kid's independent reading level and search the 
> lexile database at lexile.com to get a "feel" for their lexile?
>
> I am going to do a staff development for many knowledgeable teachers on 
> Friday and want to thoughtfully answer their questions.
>
> THANK YOU!  This listserv is a gold mine!
>
> Ashli and Paul Andersen <andersen7279 at gmail.com> wrote: I'm very impressed 
> with myself that I actually know this one.  We have
> discussed both in my master's.  (Did you hear that, Ms. Maddox?  I'm 
> almost
> finished with my MASTER'S is reading!)
>
> Lexile- is a score that a person has based on a computer program.  That
> program offers all kinds of suggestions for independent reading that is on
> the studen'ts individual lexile.  the lexile levels range from BR 
> (beginning
> reader) to 1700, which is college level.  The student's lexile score may 
> be
> 768, but the books in her range may be 600-800.  That may be on a 5th 
> grade
> up to 7th grade level.  (don't quote those exact numbers, I can't remember
> the chart- but if you go to lexile.com, it will be on there)  Pros are 
> that
> the read 180 program uses the lexiles to formulate the program for each
> student.  The cons, is that the lexile itself is just a guide and should 
> be
> used with discression.  some books on a students interest level may be out
> of the lexile range, but that student may perfectely understand the text
> because the interest is there.
>
> Fry- the guy who created the readibility chart in the 70's.  For that 
> chart
> the teacher would select a sample of the text that is 100 syllables. 
> count
> the bumber of words in those syllables and the bumber of sentences.  where
> they intersect is the grade level at which the book is.  kathyshrock's 
> gude
> for educators has a good chart with directions.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
>
>
>
> On 2/12/07, Petra Moran
> wrote:
>>
>> Can anyone answer this question for me:
>>
>> What are the main differences between Fry (which I believe is used on
>> Microsoft word) and Lexile leveling?  My guess is Lexile is more nuanced
>> than Fry, but someone asked me and I wasn't 100% sure how to respond..
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>> Petra
>>
>>