Technical Note Summary

This document was written to explain what Lexiles are and what Lexile features are available in the Alexandria Lexile module.

What are Lexiles?

A Lexile is a measurement for a title based on word frequency (semantic difficulty) and sentence length (syntactic complexity); Lexile measures usually range between 0 and 2000. Limited exposure to certain words makes them more difficult for developing readers and more exposure to them makes them easier to understand. Longer sentences tend to have more clauses and greater complexity; they require the user to remember more in order to understand the concepts or the events they are describing. When the words used in a text occur infrequently and the sentences are long, a title will have a larger Lexile measurement.

The same Lexile measurement scale can be used to indicate a reader's comprehension. A reader's Lexile level indicates that they are expected to have a 75% reading comprehension score for a title with the same Lexile measurement.

By matching readers to titles with similar Lexile measurements, librarians can help them have a more enjoyable reading experience as the readers will be less frustrated by unfamiliar vocabulary or complex sentence structure.

Who assigns Lexiles?

Lexiles were developed by Metametrics, Inc., which has developed and licensed the Lexile Analyzer. This program is available to partners and is used by companies such as Follett Library Services and Scholastic. As part of the Lexile Analyzer license agreement, anyone who uses the Lexile Analyzer must submit all title, publication, and Lexile information back to Metametrics for inclusion in their Lexile Book Database.

What materials have been Lexiled?

To date, approximately 38,000 titles have been analyzed for Lexile measures, excluding textbooks. In addition, many newspaper and magazine articles have been Lexiled and those measures are included in some online databases.

Of the 38,000 titles that have been analyzed for Lexiles, approximately 3000 of those titles could not be assigned a Lexile measure due to the format or the content. These materials have been assigned a Lexile code, as opposed to a Lexile measure. Beginning reader materials often have only one word per page and no sentences; they usually score a 0 to negative number and instead are assigned a Lexile code of BR. Poetry and plays often use punctuation in different manners and don't have recognizable paragraphs; it can be difficult for the Lexile Analyzer to determine where a sentence begins and ends. They are assigned a code of NP for non-prose.

What study programs use Lexiles?

At this time, Reading Counts is the major study program that uses Lexiles although other study programs may also use Lexiles. Accelerated Reader, however, uses ATOS levels, another measurement system. Reading Counts uses Lexiles for interest levels and has another reading level measurement.

Where can I get Lexile measures for my titles?

Depending on the vendor that you use, if you purchase MARC records along with your books, those records might come with Lexile information automatically or might be available by changing your profile with the vendor and/or paying an additional charge. Such Lexile information is usually stored in the 521 tag with _a as the Lexile measure and _b with the indicator of "Lexile".

If you use Reading Counts, and your vendor is including that information in your MARC records, the Lexile information particular to Reading Counts is in the 526 tag under subfield _b. Reading Level is in subfield _c and the study program name "Reading Counts" is in subfield _a. This information can also be found at http://src.scholastic.com/ecatalog/default.asp where you can look up titles individually. It is not recommended that you enter Reading Counts information unless your school or institution also owns the accompanying test; patrons who see such information can mistakenly think that they can read that title for Reading Counts credit.

You can also manually search the Lexile Book Database at http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=ed&tabindex=5&tabid=67. For items that are not in that database, if you have the full text of a title, you can use the Lexile Analyzer online but it cannot be used in marketing materials. The Lexile Book Database is constantly being updated with new and old titles so check back frequently.

To make this process easier, COMPanion has added a Lexile module for Alexandria that includes a utility which can compare your titles with those in the Lexile Book Database and add the Lexile measure to your data. Contact your sales representative at 1-800-347-6439 for information and pricing for the Lexile module.

What Lexile support is included with every Alexandria license?

• Import tab-delimited patron records with Lexile measures.
• Display of patron Lexile measures in Patron Management.
• Import MARC or MicroLIF item records with Lexile measures from the 521_a if the _b is "Lexile".
• Import MARC or MicroLIF item records with Lexile measures from the 526_b if the _a is "Reading Counts".
• Import tab-delimited item records with Lexile measures.
• Display of item Lexile measures in Item Management, standard view and MARC view.
• Study Program search for Lexile measures (currently only in the Other field).
• Display of Lexile measure under the study program name in the Search Item Details. (For all patrons to be able to view this information, the title cannot be set to "Don't Show in Researcher".)

What features come with the Alexandria Lexile Module?

• Import Lexiles Utility. No need to export and send in data to Follett Library Services or other vendors in order to get Lexiles added to your titles. Always available; updated frequently.
• Item Lexile displays in current item pane in circulation.
• Option to display patron Lexile in the current patron pane in circulation.
• Lexiles for items display in the search item details regardless of whether they are part of a study program or not.
• Boolean selection for Lexiles in the Researcher. Allows range searching by using the THROUGH operator.
• "Help Me Find a Book" feature.
• Boolean selection for Lexiles in reports and utilities (patrons or items). Allows selecting by range.
• Sorting by Lexiles for reports and the export utilities (patrons or items).
• Display of patron Lexile on the Patron List Detailed report and Patron Details.
• Display of item Lexile on the Item List Detailed report and Item Details.
• Patron history tracks the last 25 Lexile changes for the displayed patron; patron history does not have to be turned on for these changes to be tracked.
• Patron history tracks the patron's Lexile and the item's Lexile for every item checked out (providing the patron and item have Lexiles at the time of check out); patron history must be turned on for check out information to be kept.
• More reports and statistics coming along with other enhancements.

What is the "Help Me Find a Book" feature?

The "Help Me Find a Book" feature is only available to those who have purchased and registered the Alexandria Lexile Module. On the Researcher window, when the "Help Me Find a Book" box is checked, Alexandria will attempt to provide the patron with a random selection of books on the indicated topic that have Lexiles within a given range. The Lexiles will be between 50 above and 150 below the Lexile specified in the text box or in the logged-in patron's record; if there are sufficient numbers of Lexiled books within the range on the selected topic, seven titles will be returned where three will match the Lexile measure, two will be up to 50 above, and three will be up to 150 below. If there are not sufficient numbers to fulfill the three matching, two above, and three below ideal, others within the range will be substituted.

Researcher Window - Boolean Search

Since only seven possible titles will be returned, the results screen has a Show Me Others button that will attempt to select another seven random titles. As not all topics or Lexile ranges will have at least seven titles, less than seven may be returned and clicking on Show Me Others may return the same results again and again.

To find all titles on a specific topic with a given Lexile range, use the Boolean search selection of Lexile. Enter the lowest number in the range in the first Lexile box. Click on the Boolean operator pulldown and set the operator to THROUGH. If necessary, click on the More Options button to get another box, and set the box after THROUGH to the last Lexile measure in the range. If more records exist than can be displayed due to the Maximum Results Returned preference, hold down the option or alt key when clicking on Search to see all results.

Are there any limitations of the Lexile module I should know about?

The Lexile module features are only available at the Data Station, Librarian Workstation clients, and Researcher Workstation clients. They are not available on the web. This means that Lexiles in the 521 tag for items and Lexiles for patrons are not displayed in the details on the web. The "Help Me Find a Book" feature is not available through the web. Lexiles do not show in Advanced Web during checkout or checkin. No Advanced Web reports display Lexiles. The Boolean Search interface does not have a search selection for Lexile at this time. These features will be available in future versions of Alexandria.

Frequently Asked Questions

How frequently is the Lexile Book Database updated? How frequently is the COMPanion Lexile database updated?

The Lexile Book Database is updated frequently; however, at this time there are no statistics available on when it is usually updated or how many titles are added each month. The COMPanion Lexile database is updated approximately once a month.

Why is Lexile a separate field in Alexandria when it is used for Reading Counts?

Any item can be Lexiled, even one that is not used in a study program like Reading Counts; for that reason there is a separate field. There are many libraries that utilize Lexiles that are not using the Reading Counts study program. The Lexile field on the Publication Info tab displays the Lexile if the record has a 521_a that also has a _b of "Lexile".

I use Reading Counts and have Lexiles for it in my data. How do I get that information to show in the Lexile field on Publication Info

Alexandria can set the Lexile field from the 521 tag or from the 526 tag for Reading Counts. Run the Item Verify Utility for Alexandria to copy the 526 Reading Counts Lexile to the 521 tag that displays on the Publication Info tab.

Some of my titles have been Lexiled; I can find them when I search the Lexile Book Database but they don't get a Lexile when I use the Import Lexiles Utility. Why not?

Some titles, such as Drummer Hoff or Romeo and Juliet do not have a Lexile number; they only have a Lexile code (NP, in both cases). Alexandria does not support Lexile codes at this time but they are under review for future enhancements. Approximately 3000 titles of the 38000 titles in the Metametrics Lexile Book Database have such an indicator that they were not able to receive a Lexile measure because of the type of work or format.

Also, since many of the Lexiled titles have been published by various publishers throughout time and often adaptations are made (illustrated classics, simplified, abridged, etc.) but are still cataloged as the same title by the same author (and certain materials have different prologues and introductions), Lexiles are assigned based on a certain publication and that information is included in the Lexile database. The Import Lexiles Utility only looks at the ISBN field when it matches, compares, and updates the Lexiles unless you specifically check 'Allow Title Matches'. When 'Allow Title Matches' is checked, the title and primary author must match. You can use the 'Allow Title Matches' to easily get Lexile information for other publications of the same title; however, if your collection has such adaptations as mentioned earlier, it is also possible that a title will get a lower or higher Lexile than it truthfully merits.

How can I get a list of all titles that do not have a Lexile currently assigned in Alexandria?

There is no report that naturally displays all titles without Lexiles; however, such a list can be obtained when a proper selection is used. The directions below should work for all collections.

1. Click on Reports on the menu bar.
2. Choose Item Reports.
3. Choose Item List under the Report Name.
4. Choose One Line or another preferred format.
5. Choose the desired sort to be used for the report.
6. Change the All Items selection to Title.
7. Enter 0 in the 'starting with' field.
8. Enter Z in the 'ending with' field.
9. Change the No Selection drop-down menu to AND NOT.
10. In the next selection drop-down menu that appears, choose Lexiles.
11. Enter 1 in the 'starting with' field for Lexiles.
12. Enter 2000 in the 'ending with' field for Lexiles.
13. You can change the new No Selection drop-down menu to AND if you would like to further limit the selected titles that appear on the report, such as selecting by title call number and focusing on just a portion of your collection.
14. Click on Print.