What Lexile Is Needed to Pass TAKS?
The Texas Education Agency developed the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) to provide educators, administrators and parents with a guidepost for student success in reading and mathematics from third to 10th grade and additional subjects in higher grades. TAKS provides a measurement of a child's Lexile score as part of TAKS Confidential Student Report, but standards for TAKS do not state a required Lexile score required to pass the examination.
Other People Are Reading
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Lexile Measures
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MetaMetrics developed the Lexile measures to provide a standardized method of rating students and books to pair a student's current reading level more accurately with appropriate and stimulating reading material. After taking a standardized test, the student is given a score of 200L to 1700L, indicating a position between beginning and advanced readers. The Lexile system encourages students to read 50L above or below their current Lexile score to maintain interest and encourage reading growth. Currently, Lexile scores do not translate to grade level standards in general or TAKS specifically.
TAKS' Purpose
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TAKS measures a child's skill level in reading, math, writing, science, social studies and English language arts against a system of grade-specific standards called the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). TEKS provides an outline of skills each student should master by the end of a particular grade level. The Texas Education Agency has grade-level and subject-specific information booklets outlining these standards; the agency's information is linked in the Resources section. After taking the TAKS, a student is given one of three overall scores: Met Standard, Did Not Meet Standard or Commended Performance. Poor performance on TAKS does not automatically disqualify a child from matriculation. A low TAKS score, however, most likely stems from poor classroom performance, which may affect the child's ability to move to the next grade level.
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Pass or Fail
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According to the Student Success Initiative (SSI), as established by the Texas Legislature, a student must meet or exceed the standards of TAKS at the end of fifth and eighth grade in order to matriculate to the next grade level. The SSI allows the student to take TAKS up to three times at the current grade level with additional instruction between each test in order to acquire the necessary TEKS skills. If the student proves incapable of passing TAKS, he must remain in his current grade level.
Better Measure of Success
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If you are concerned about your child's performance on an upcoming TAKS, speak with the child's teacher. Discuss the student's performance in reading, language arts and math, and ask whether or not the child meets grade level standards for the curriculum. The teacher will have access to previous year's scores for the school, as well as experience interpreting Lexile performance for the particular grade level. Take a copy of the child's Lexile score from the previous grade level, and ask the teacher if the child reads at an average level for the rest of the grade level.
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References
- Lexile: Lexile Overview Video
- MetaMetrics: The Lexile Framework for Reading
- Texas Education Agency: Lexile and Quantile Measures; Jan. 1, 2006
- Texas Education Agency: Information on Lexiles for Parents
- Texas Education Agency: Student Success Initiative (SSI)
- Texas Education Agency: Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills
Resources
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