Ghaziabad school adopts global Lexile framework to assess students' reading skills

GHAZIABAD: Recognising that every child has a different ability to read, understand and learn, a city school has introduced a globally recognised assessment framework to evaluate the literacy skills of students and identify those needing additional support.

The initiative by Seth Anandram Jaipuria School, which currently covers students from Class I to Class V, uses the Lexile standard to assess individual reading abilities and help teachers tailor their teaching methods to the learning needs of children .

Harish Sanduja, Director Schools at Jaipuria School, said the assessment was introduced around two and a half years ago and nearly 2,000 students have been evaluated under the framework so far.

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Ghaziabad school conducts literacy assessments twice a year

The results have shown encouraging signs, with students who initially struggled with reading receiving additional attention from teachers and showing improvement, he said. The assessment reports are updated online and shared with teachers, enabling them to identify students who are lagging behind and provide them targeted support.

"Up to Class III, the focus is on learning to read. After that, the emphasis shifts to reading to learn," Sanduja said, highlighting the importance of developing strong reading skills during the early years of education. Under the framework, students undergo literacy assessments twice a year.

The process begins with an evaluation of their reading speed, followed by a comprehension test in which they answer 10 questions based on a given passage, Sanduja stated.

Their performance is then used to generate a Lexile Score, which indicates their reading proficiency and helps educators understand their learning requirements.

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Lexile Scores to help students improve reading, comprehension abilities

The school has also aligned its library resources with the assessment framework, arranging books according to Lexile Scores so that children can select reading material suited to their individual abilities, Sanduja said.

This means students in the same class may read different books depending on their reading proficiency, allowing them to engage with material they can understand comfortably and gradually improve their skills.

Sanduja said strong reading and comprehension abilities were essential not just for language subjects but also for learning across the curriculum.

"Whether it is Science, English, Social Studies or Mathematics, a child must be able to understand what they are reading. Strengthening literacy skills is essential for better learning across all subjects," he said.

The initiative seeks to move away from a uniform approach to learning and enable teachers to address individual differences among students, ensuring that children who need additional help receive timely attention.