Text Complexity COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS

Essential Questions What is text complexity? Why is text complexity an integral component of the Common Core Standards?

Background Information - Text complexity is the hallmark of the Common Core Standards.(Calkins, 2012). - The emphasis on text complexity is contained within Standard 10 which asks readers to “read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.” - Doug Reeves - “Just as the aorta carries blood from the heart, Common Core State Standard number 10 carries increasing levels of text complexity up from Grade 2 through Grade 12 and into College and Career Readiness” (Piercy 2011).

Background Information Common Core’s emphasis on text complexity stems from a 2006 report released by ACT called Reading Between the Lines. This report asserted that when students did not meet basic levels of proficiency on the ACT, their difficulties stemmed more from the levels of text complexity in the passages than from deficits in the specific skills called for the by the questions (Calkins, 2012).

Background Information - Standard 10 is closely linked with Standard 1. - Standard 1 is sometimes referred to as the literal comprehension standard, and this standard asks readers to “read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it.” - Some Common Core researchers have likened Standards 1 and 10 to the struts that form the two sides of a ladder with the other reading standards as the rungs of the ladder (Calkins, 2012). - Close reading (Standard 1) and Text Complexity (Standard 10) go hand and hand.

What is text complexity? The Common Core State Standards (National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers) define text complexity as three interrelated parts: ◦1) Quantitative Measures ◦2) Qualitative Measures ◦3) Reader and Task Considerations

Quantitative Measures - Some quantitative considerations include: ◦Average sentence length ◦Number of different hard words ◦Number of personal pronouns ◦Percentage of unique words (or rare vocabulary) ◦Number of prepositional phrases

Examples of Readability Formulas - Dale-Chall - Spache - Fry (Average Number of Syllables, Average Number of Sentences) - Flesch-Kincaid (Average Sentence Length x Average Number of Syllables per word) – Correlates with Fry - Lexile *** ( Average Word Length, Average Number of Familiar Words, Average Sentence Length)

Lexile Ranges Text Complexity Staircase

Quantitative Measures Why are quantitative measures alone, insufficient for determining text complexity? (Fisher, Fry, and Lapp, 2012) - When I saw the bug, I screamed for help. - When I saw the Bug, I remembered my first car. - When I saw the bug, I wondered who was spying on me.

Qualitative Measures - Considerate (friendly) texts (some texts are easier to read and understand) Levels of meaning and purpose ◦Density and complexity ◦Figurative language ◦Purpose

Qualitative Measures Structure ◦Genre ◦Organization ◦Narration ◦Graphic and Visual Information

Qualitative Measures Language Conventionality and Clarity ◦Standard English and Variations

Qualitative Measures Knowledge Demands ◦Background knowledge ◦Prior knowledge ◦Cultural knowledge ◦Vocabulary knowledge ◦Are there multiple-meaning words and phrases? ◦Do other elements of the text, especially text features, assist the reader? ◦Are there domain-specific labels that represent complex concepts? ◦Are there context clues that assist the reader in understanding these terms or phrases?

Reader and Task Considerations What makes a positive, measureable difference? ◦The most influential factor correlated to success in reading was easy access to high-interest texts (Guthrie & Humenick, 2004). The second most influential factor was providing students choices with what they would read. ◦Pressley and colleagues (2003) found high-motivation and high performing classrooms were filled with books at different levels of text difficulty.

Reader and Task Consideration Measures POSITIVE IMPACT ON MOTIVATION Relevance Choice Success Collaboration Thematic Units NEGATIVE IMPACT ON MOTIVATION Nonrelevance Excessive Control Difficult Lessons Frequent Individual Work Disconnected Units

Reader and Task Consideration Measures Reader Considerations ◦Knowledge ◦Experiences

Reader and Task Consideration Measures Task Considerations ◦Teacher-led tasks (teacher modeling, etc.) ◦Peer tasks (collaboration, accountable talk, etc.) ◦Individual tasks ◦Types of questions ◦Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001

Text Complexity Analysis In a group of four, read the four reading passages from The Secret Garden, The Black Stallion, The Gift of the Magi, and The Metamorphosis. As a group answer the following: ◦Determine where you think each passage would fall on the staircase of text complexity. Order the passages from least to most difficult in terms of lexile score. ◦What qualitative features of each piece of text might challenge readers?

Text Complexity Analysis Text PassageGrade BandLexileMean Sentence Length Mean Word Frequency (Vocabulary Difficulty) The Black Stallion Secret Garden Gift of the Magi Metamorphosis

Text Complexity Analysis - Are the texts at a grade level equally complex? What are the differences in demands of the texts for the readers? - What features of these texts might challenge readers? ( Text PassageGrade BandLexileMean Sentence Length Mean Word Frequency (Vocabulary Difficulty) The Black Stallion Secret Garden Gift of the Magi Metamorphosis

References Calkins, L. (2012). Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating achievement. Heinemann: Porstmouth, NH. Fisher,D., Frey, N., & Lapp,D. (2012). Text complexity: Raising rigor in reading. International Reading Association: Newark, DE. Guthrie, J.T., & Humenick, M. (2004). “Motivating Students to Read: Evidence for Classroom Practices that Increase Reading Motivation and Achievement.” In The Voice of Evidence in Reading Research, edited by Peggy McCardle and Vinita Chhabra, Baltimore: Brookes Publishing. Piercy, T. (2011). “The Text Complexity ‘Staircase’ in the Common Core Standards.” The Leadership and Learning Blog. Leadership and Learning Center. Available at /04/text-complexity-staircase-common-core-standards?utm_source=feedburner&utm_ medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+leadandlearn+%28The+Leadership+and+Learning+Blog %29. Pressley, M., Dolezal Kersey, S.E., Bogaert, L.R., Mohan, L., Roehrig, A.D., & Warzon, K. (2003). Motivating Primary-Grade Students. New York: Guilford Press.