This guide gives students practical information about Lexiles—what they are, what they mean, and how students can use them to find reading materials that match their reading abilities and interests.
Perhaps you already recognize the term “Lexile” as the reading level number for an article in an EBSCOhost database search. Or maybe you know that a Lexile is a measure of your reading ability based on your score from a reading test. But do you know what the number really means?
How Can Lexiles Help Me Find Reading Materials?
Lexiles can help you find books and articles based on your individual reading ability and interests. For example, if you are a 980L reader, you should be able to read and understand most texts at this level. It is best to find materials within a range of 100L below and 50L above your Lexile measure. Texts below 980L will be easier to read; texts above 980L will be more challenging.
I don’t know my Lexile measure. Can I get a Lexile measure from EBSCOhost, based on the magazines I like to read?
If you or your teachers do not know your actual Lexile measure, you can use EBSCOhost to estimate your reading ability. Log into EBSCOhost on your library’s computer and choose a database with Lexiles, such as Primary Search, Middle Search Plus or MAS Ultra. On the Basic Search screen, check Full Text, then type in a magazine name in the Publication field. Click Search. EBSCOhost will bring up all of the articles from that magazine. Each article will have a different Lexile measure, which will give you a general idea of the magazine’s reading level.
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