As we all know by now, one of the key requirements of the
Common Core State Standards for Reading is that all students must be able to
comprehend texts of steadily increasing
complexity as they progress through school. The Standards define
a three-part model for determining
how easy or difficult a particular
text is to read, based on qualitative,
quantitative, and reader and task considerations, as well
as grade-by-grade specifications for text complexity.
- Mirrors & Windows text
complexity measures appear in the At
a Glance box for each selection on the Before Reading page in the Teachers’
Edition. A reading level of Easy, Moderate, or Challenging, based on a careful evaluation of each
text by qualified reading specialists, takes all of the Common Core text
complexity measures into account.
- Quantitative measures included in the reading levels are based on the standard readability formulas of Dale Chall, Fry, and Lexiles. (All reading scores available by request.)
- Qualitative measures are used to indicate difficulty considerations and ease factors, factors that might make a selection difficult or easy to read, such as the author’s style; length of the selection or length of sentences, words, and paragraphs; difficulty of the vocabulary; and students’ familiarity with the topic or subject matter. These factors help teachers evaluate reader and task considerations to determine whether a text is appropriate for a given student.
- In addition, the quantitative measure of the total word count for each selection is included along with the reading level in the Unit Scope and Sequence Guide in the Teachers’ Edition.
