One of the main pushes of the Common Core standards is a push for increased text complexity. So, how complex is complex? The chart here (from Appendix A) compare the Lexile levels before the CCSS and now with the college and career ready standards in place.
| Text Complexity Grade Band in Standards | Old Lexile Ranges | CCR Aligned Lexile Ranges |
| K-1 | N/A | N/A |
| 2-3 | 450-725 | 450-790 |
| 4-5 | 645-845 | 770-980 |
| 6-8 | 860-1010 | 955-1155 |
| 9-10 | 960-1115 | 1080-1305 |
| 11-College & Career Ready | 1070-1220 | 1215-1355 |
Surprisingly, the increase in text complexity isn’t that much, just a grade level by sixth grade and it stays at about that level.
>One difference is that the old standard reading levels dipped backward each grade level to incorporate a bit easier material, creating overlapping bands, i.e. 450-725L for 2nd grade reading and 3rd grade reading and 645-845L for 4th/5th grade reading. That overlap of 645-725L, or 80 Lexile points is significantly reduced in the new Lexile expectations to only a 20 Lexile point overlap.
By 6th/8th grades the new Lexile epectations of 955-1155L, is almost identical to the old expectations of 9th-10th grade at 960-1115L.
How much more complex is complex? About a grade level more complex. The pinch at first should be felt strongly starting in 6th grade.
Text complexity, though, is evaluated by three measures and the Lexile score is just one method. Download our free one page, at-a-glance tool to help you determine text complexity.
Author, blogger and writing teacher Darcy Pattison writes about publishing, fiction and the Common Core. Published in eight languages, Pattison has written how-to-write books, picture books for children, teacher resource books and middle grade novels.
