NGCARPD Text Complexity

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2. Why all the fuss about text complexity?

3. Purpose: Determine what distinguished the reading performance of students likely to succeed in college and not. • Process: • Set benchmark score on the reading test shown to be predictive of success in college (“21” on ACT composite score). • Looked at results from a half million students. • Divided texts into three levels of complexity: uncomplicated, more challenging, and complex. Text Complexity - ACT Study

4. Performance on the ACT Reading Test by Comprehension Level (Averaged across Seven Forms)

5. Performance on the ACT Reading Test by Textual Element (Averaged across Seven Forms)

6. Performance on complex texts is the clearest differentiator in reading between students who are more likely to be ready for college and those who are less likely to be ready. • Texts used in the ACT Reading Test reflect three degrees of complexity: uncomplicated, more challenging, and complex. Text Complexity Matters

7. Performance on the ACT Reading Test by Degree of Text Complexity (Averaged across Seven Forms) In this figure, performance on questions associated with uncomplicated and more challenging texts both above and below the ACT College Readiness Benchmark for Reading follows a pattern similar to those in the previous analyses. Improvement on each of the two kinds of questions is gradual and fairly uniform. 7 7

8. Question type and level (main idea, word meanings, details) is NOT the chief differentiator between student scoring above and below the benchmark. The degree of text complexity in the passages acted as the “sorters” within ACT. The findings held true for both males and females, all racial groups and was steady regardless of family income level. What students could read, in terms of its complexity--rather than what they could do with what they read—is greatest predictor of success. FCAT has complex passages and highly cognitive demanding questions. Recap of ACT Findings

9. Text Requirements in Middle and High School Many students are engaged in shallow reading, skimming text for answers, focusing only on details and failing to make inferences in order to integrate different parts of the text. Years of reading in this superficial way will cause a student’s reading ability to deteriorate. For many students the decline of text demands in the courses that they take has both an immediate and long term impact on student achievement.

10. Our Challenge: Provide students with exposure to more complex texts in our classrooms.

11. Text Complexity • Text complexity is defined by: Qualitative measures – levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands often best measured by an attentive human reader. Quantitative measures – readability and other scores of text complexity often best measured by computer software. Quantitative Qualitative Reader and Task considerations – background knowledge of reader, motivation, interests, and complexity generated by tasks assigned often best made by educators employing their professional judgment. Reader and Task

12. Quantitative Measures • Measures such as: • Word length • Word frequency • Word difficulty • Sentence length • Text length • Text cohesion Step 1: Quantitative Measures

13. Click icon to see short video on Lexile. A Basic Introduction to Lexile

14. Read and discuss the article entitled, “Lexile-to-Grade Correspondence.” As you read, consider the following questions: • What is the purpose of Lexile Measures? • For what purposes should teachers NOT use Lexile Measures? • What is IQR? What function does it serve? • What is a stretch text? Quantitative Measures

15. Quantitative Measures

16. Access Lexile Framework for Reading and set up an account to use. • Use the Educational Testing Service’s Source Rater. • Convert text to Plain Text. Also review information on submitting text. Where do you go to identify the Lexile of a text?

17. Go to www.lexile.com. • Go to Lexile Tools. • Scroll down to Lexile Analyzer. • Set up an account. • Log in. • Convert your document to plain text. • Browse and submit. • Determine Lexile score. • Find placement. Use the chart in the Lexile article you read to determine where it would fall in the IQR and as a stretch text. Demonstration: “Evolution of the Grocery Bag”

18. Additional Resources • Lexile Measures and the Common Core State Standards • http://www.lexile.com/using-lexile/lexile-measures-and-the-ccssi/ • Accelerated reader and the Common Core State Standards • http://doc.renlearn.com/KMNet/R004572117GKC46B.pdf • Coh-Metrix • http://cohmetrix.memphis.edu/cohmetrixpr/index.html • Coh-Metrix calculates the coherence of texts on a wide range of measures. It replaces common readability formulas by applying the latest in computational linguistics and linking this to the latest research in psycholinguistics. Quantitative Measures

19. Remember, however, that the quantitative measures is only the first of three “legs” of the text complexity triangle. Our final recommendation may be validated, influenced, or even over-ruled by our examination of qualitative measures and the reader and task considerations. Quantitative Measures

20. Step 2: Qualitative Measures • Measures such as: • Structure • Language Demands and Conventions • Knowledge Demands • Levels of Meaning/Purpose

21. Common Core StandardsQualitative Features of Text Complexity Structure (could be story structure and/or form of piece) • Simple  Complex • Explicit  Implicit • Conventional Unconventional • Events related in chronological order  Events related out of chronological order (chiefly literary texts) • Traits of a common genre or subgenre  Traits specific to a particular discipline (chiefly informational texts) • Simple graphics  sophisticated graphics • Graphics unnecessary or merely supplemental to understanding the text  Graphics essential to understanding the text and may provide information not elsewhere provided

22. Qualitative Features of Text Complexity:Text Structure At your tables, complete the structure chart. Be prepared to share with the rest of the group.

23. Qualitative Features of Text Complexity:Language Demands Language Demands: Conventionality and Clarity • Literal  Figurative or ironic • Clear  Ambiguous or purposefully misleading • Contemporary, familiar  Archaic or otherwise unfamiliar • Conversational  General Academic and domain specific • Light vocabulary load: few unfamiliar or academic words Many words unfamiliar and high academic vocabulary present • Sentence structure straightforward Complex and varied sentence structures • Though vocabulary can be measured by quantifiable means, it is still a feature for careful consideration when selecting texts • Though sentence length is measured by quantifiable means, sentence complexity is still a feature for careful consideration when selecting texts

24. Qualitative Features of Text Complexity:Language Demands At your tables, complete the “language demands” chart. Be prepared to share with the rest of the group.

25. Qualitative Features of Text Complexity:Knowledge Demands Knowledge Demands: Life Experience (literary texts) Simple theme  Complex or sophisticated themes Single theme  Multiple themes Common everyday experiences or clearly fantastical situations  Experiences distinctly different from one’s own Single perspective  Multiple perspectives Perspective(s) like one’s own  Perspective(s) unlike or in opposition to one’s own

26. Common Core StandardsQualitative Features of Text Complexity Knowledge Demands: Cultural/Literary Knowledge (chiefly literary texts) • Everyday knowledge and familiarity with genre conventions required  Cultural and literary knowledge useful • Low intertextuality (few if any references/allusions to other texts)  High intertextuality (many references/allusions to other texts

27. Qualitative Features of Text Complexity:Knowledge Demands At your tables, complete the “knowledge demands” chart. Be prepared to share with the rest of the group.

28. Common Core StandardsQualitative Features of Text Complexity Levels of Meaning (chiefly literary texts) or purpose (chiefly informational texts) Single level of meaning Multiple levels of meaning Explicitly stated purpose  Implicit purpose, may be hidden or obscure

29. Qualitative Features of Text Complexity:Levels of Meaning/Purpose At your tables, complete the “levels of meaning/purpose” chart. As a group, discuss the three questions at the bottom of the levels of meaning/purpose handout. Be prepared to share.

30. Text Complexity: Qualitative Measures

31. The excerpt on “The Evolution of the Grocery Bag” has a Lexile score of 1350L. Where would this fall as a grade level instructional text? Where would it fall as a stretch text? Text Complexity: Qualitative Measures

32. Text Complexity: Qualitative Measures Together let’s use the text complexity rubric to determine an appropriate placement for “Evolution of the Grocery Bag.”

33. Step 3: Reader and Task • Considerations such as: • Motivation • Knowledge and experience • Purpose for reading • Complexity of task assigned regarding text • Complexity of questions asked regarding text

34. Step 3: Reader and Task Considerations • At this point, you have a Lexile score and a qualitative assessment. • Consider your students, their age, their experiences, their background, etc. • Consider your learning goals and standards. • How may these two factors impact your decision about placement?

35. Evaluate complexity of “Evolution of the Grocery Bag.” • Based on the quantitative features (Lexile), qualitative analysis, and reader/task considerations, at what grade level would you place this as a stretch text? • Discuss at your table and be prepared to share.

36. Determine the quantitative measures of the text. Quantitative Qualitative Analyze the qualitative measures of the text. Reader and Task Reflect upon the reader and task considerations. Recommend placement in the appropriate text complexity band. Determining Text Complexity A Four-step Process:

37. Get into your content area groups. • If you teach a subject other than language arts, science, or social studies, get with an appropriate group for you. • Read the passage. • Create an account at the Lexile Framework site at www.lexile.com. • Access your document on the Reading Sharepoint site. File path: Leon County Schools – Site Index – R – Reading – NGCARPD Summer 2012 – Text Complexity. • If the document is not in Plain Text, convert it. • Save to disk or desktop. • Browse and submit passage. • Determine Lexile. • Look at Lexile chart. Determine IQR Placement and Stretch Text Placement for your group’s document. • Complete Text Complexity Rubric. • Discuss Reader and Task Considerations. • Determine appropriate placement as a stretch text. • Be prepared to share thoughts on process with the entire group. Practice with Text Complexity

38. Choose an excerpt of text from Appendix B as a starting place: We could…. Use available resources to determine the text complexity of other materials on our own. or… Where do we find texts in the appropriate text complexity band?