Multiple Measures for Text Complexity Calibrated for College and Career Readiness
As part of the follow-up research called for by the ELA Common Core State Standards, seven quantitative text measurement groups, listed below, volunteered to take part in a head-to-head research study. That research will be released in early December, 2011.
The table displays the results of five of these groups’ measures (plus the public domain Flesch-Kincaid). These represent the groups that used a single number measure and had results that aligned reliably to each other and to the CCSS grade band levels. Each of these measures provides a smooth trajectory from the 2-3 grade band to college and career readiness. Each has been validated by the text complexity research project.
The band levels themselves have been extended slightly over the original CCSS scale at both the top and bottom of each band to provide for a more modulated climb toward college and career readiness and slightly more overlap between bands. The overlap allows more flexibility in the younger grades where students enter school with widely varied preparation levels. This change was provided in response to feedback received since publication of the original scale (published in terms of Lexiles®) in Appendix A. The result is this new chart containing all the single number measures examined in the text complexity research project.