Lexile Converter
Enter a student or book Lexile measure (e.g. 850L or BR120L) to see which grades it is typical for, the reader's 100L-below to 50L-above reading range, and how well a reader should comprehend a given book.
There is no exact Lexile-to-grade conversion, but MetaMetrics publishes typical ranges.
Use the Lexile Converter
Lexile Score to Grade Level
Accepts 850, 850L, BR120L (= −120L) and code prefixes such as AD520L or HL600L.
Reader–Book Match
Forecast comprehension for one reader and one book.
Forecast comprehension
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Grade Level to Lexile Range
Lexile Grade Level Chart
Published MetaMetrics reader norms and 2012 Common Core text measures. Ranges overlap; they describe typical students and texts, not targets.
| Grade | Age | Readers, mid-year 25th–75th percentile |
Readers, end of year 50th–90th percentile |
Texts (CCSS 2012) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| K | 5–6 | — | BR160L – 150L | — |
| 1 | 6–7 | BR120L – 295L | 165L – 565L | 190L – 530L |
| 2 | 7–8 | 170L – 545L | 425L – 790L | 420L – 650L |
| 3 | 8–9 | 415L – 760L | 645L – 980L | 520L – 820L |
| 4 | 9–10 | 635L – 950L | 850L – 1155L | 740L – 940L |
| 5 | 10–11 | 770L – 1080L | 950L – 1255L | 830L – 1010L |
| 6 | 11–12 | 855L – 1165L | 1030L – 1335L | 925L – 1070L |
| 7 | 12–13 | 925L – 1235L | 1095L – 1405L | 970L – 1120L |
| 8 | 13–14 | 985L – 1295L | 1155L – 1465L | 1010L – 1185L |
| 9 | 14–15 | 1040L – 1350L | 1205L – 1515L | 1050L – 1260L |
| 10 | 15–16 | 1085L – 1400L | 1250L – 1605L | 1080L – 1335L |
| 11 & 12 | 16–18 | 1130L – 1440L | 1295L – 1605L | 1185L – 1385L |
Sources: MetaMetrics, Lexile Measures and Grade Levels (Table 1, mid-year interquartile ranges; CCSS text measures from Common Core Appendix A, 2012) and Students and Lexile Measures (2021; spring norms from 3.5 million students tested 2010–2016).
Common Core Text Complexity Bands
The "stretch" Lexile ranges for grade bands in CCSS Appendix A (updated 2012).
| Grade band | Lexile range |
|---|---|
| 2–3 | 420L – 820L |
| 4–5 | 740L – 1010L |
| 6–8 | 925L – 1185L |
| 9–10 | 1050L – 1335L |
| 11–CCR | 1185L – 1385L |
Lexile Codes
| Code | Meaning | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| BR | Beginning Reader | Reader or text below 0L. BR150L is 150 below zero; a smaller number after BR is more advanced. |
| AD | Adult Directed | Picture book better read aloud to a child than read independently. |
| NC | Non-Conforming | Text measure well above the typical range for its intended age group; suits strong readers who need age-appropriate content. |
| HL | High-Low | Text measure well below the typical range for its intended age; engages older readers who need easier text. |
| IG | Illustrated Guide | Nonfiction or reference text made of independent sections. |
| GN | Graphic Novel | Graphic novel or comic book. |
| NP | Non-Prose | More than half poems, plays, songs, recipes or unpunctuated text; no numeric measure is given. |
How to read the results
Reader measures come from a test linked to the Lexile scale (state tests, MAP Growth and others). A grade's middle 50% means a quarter of students score below the range and a quarter above it. MetaMetrics notes that a typical fifth-grade class spans about 250L either side of the typical reader.
Text measures describe a book's sentence length and word frequency, not its content or maturity. A high-scoring reader may still need age-appropriate books.
Worked example: a fourth grader tests at 850L in January. That sits inside the grade 4 (635L–950L) and grade 5 (770L–1080L) middle 50% ranges. The reading range is 750L–900L, and a 900L book forecasts about 71% comprehension.
The comprehension forecast is a logistic curve through MetaMetrics' published points (75% at a match, 90% when the text is 250L easier, 96% at 500L easier, about 50% at 250L harder). Calculations run in your browser.
Quick answer
There is no exact Lexile-to-grade conversion, but MetaMetrics publishes typical ranges. The middle 50% of mid-year readers is 415L–760L in grade 3, 770L–1080L in grade 5 and 985L–1295L in grade 8. A reader's best range is 100L below to 50L above their measure.
Examples
| Grade | Readers, mid-year (25th–75th %ile) | CCSS text measures |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 170L – 545L | 420L – 650L |
| 4 | 635L – 950L | 740L – 940L |
| 6 | 855L – 1165L | 925L – 1070L |
| 8 | 985L – 1295L | 1010L – 1185L |
| 10 | 1085L – 1400L | 1080L – 1335L |
Type a Lexile measure such as 850L or BR120L to see the grades it matches and the reading range.
Summary
This Lexile converter places a reader or text measure against the published MetaMetrics tables: the middle 50% of mid-year student measures for grades 1–12, the 50th–90th percentile end-of-year student norms, and the 2012 Common Core (CCSS) text measures by grade. It accepts BR (Beginning Reader) scores and Lexile code prefixes, gives a reader's 100L-below to 50L-above reading range, and forecasts comprehension for any reader–book pair.
How it works
- Enter a Lexile measure such as 850, 850L, BR120L or AD520L, and choose whether it is a student (reader) or a book (text) measure.
- For a student, the tool lists the grades whose middle 50% of mid-year readers includes the score, the nearest grade by mid-year midpoint, and the end-of-year percentile bands it reaches.
- For a book, it lists the grades whose 2012 Common Core text range includes the measure and the reader measures it suits.
- The reading range is 100L below to 50L above the reader measure, the band MetaMetrics recommends for independent reading.
- Enter a reader and a book measure in the match panel to forecast comprehension (75% when they are equal).
- Use the grade lookup or the chart below to see every range for one grade.
Use cases
- Help parents choose books that match their child's reading level.
- Guide teachers in selecting classroom texts within the appropriate Lexile range.
- Assist librarians in recommending books at the right difficulty level.
- Interpret Lexile scores from MAP Growth, state tests or other assessments that report Lexile measures.
- Compare a student's Lexile score to grade-level expectations.
- Find the Lexile range for a target grade when building reading lists.