Missouri Students Receive Lexile® Measures
Missouri Assessment Program Reports Include Measures for Improving Student Reading Ability at School and Home
JEFFERSON CITY, MO. & DURHAM, N.C. — August 19, 2008 — When Missouri’s more than 500,000 students in grades 3–8 and 11 receive their 2008 MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) results next month, their scores in communication arts also will be reported as a Lexile® measure. As the result of a research study that linked the MAP with The Lexile Framework® for Reading, educators, parents and students use Lexile measures to improve literacy skills by selecting reading materials that meet and challenge the student’s ability and interests. Missouri students first received Lexile measures in 2006.
Recognized as the most widely adopted reading measure, Lexile measures are used at the school-level in various capacities in all 50 states. Each year, more than 28 million Lexile measures are reported from state and national assessments, classroom assessments and reading programs, representing about half of U.S. students. Last spring, Missouri students in grades 3–8 and 11 took the MAP tests in communication arts. The MAP incorporates CTB/McGraw-Hill’s TerraNova, one of the many assessments that reports Lexile measures. Test results are used by the state to evaluate public schools for accreditation purposes and to satisfy the accountability requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law.
“Our primary focus is on setting high and achievable standards and expectations for all Missouri students,” said Stan Johnson, assistant commissioner, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. “Adding Lexile measures to students’ MAP reports provides our teachers and parents with an actionable tool for boosting student literacy development and helping our public schools in their efforts to meet the increasingly stringent proficiency standards as mandated by federal law.”
The Lexile Framework is an educational tool that connects readers with reading materials using a common measure called a Lexile. What makes the Lexile Framework unique, and what has led to its widespread adoption, is that it measures both reading ability and text difficulty on the same developmental scale. When used together, Lexile reader measures and Lexile text measures allow educators, parents and students to find books and other materials that meet and challenge a reader’s unique ability and interests.
More than MetaMetrics Inc. 1000 Park Forty Plaza Drive, Suite 120 Durham, N.C. 27713 www.Lexile.com www.Quantiles.com Missouri Students Receive Lexile Measures Page 2 115,000 books, 80 million articles and 60,000 Web sites have Lexile measures, and the number of resources with Lexile measures continues to grow. “MetaMetrics joins the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state’s many talented educators in their commitment to helping students achieve at the highest academic levels,” said Malbert Smith III, Ph.D., president, MetaMetrics®, Inc., developer of the Lexile Framework.
“By continuing to provide teachers, parents and students with Lexile measures, the state department of education is demonstrating its commitment to preparing all Missouri students to compete in today’s global economy.” For more information on the Lexile Framework, visit www.Lexile.com. Additional information is available from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education at http://dese.mo.gov.
About MetaMetrics, Inc.
MetaMetrics, Inc., a privately held educational measurement company, develops scientifically based measures of student achievement that link assessment with instruction, foster better educational practices, and improve learning by matching students with materials that meet and challenge their abilities. The company’s team of psychometricians developed the widely adopted Lexile Framework for Reading (www.Lexile.com); El Sistema Lexile para Leer, the Spanish-language version of the Lexile Framework; The Quantile Framework® for Mathematics (www.Quantiles.com); and The Lexile Framework for Writing. In addition to licensing Lexile and Quantile® measures to state departments of education, testing and instructional companies, and publishers, MetaMetrics delivers professional development, resource measurement and customized consulting services. For more information, visit www.MetaMetricsInc.com.