The Blog

In classrooms everywhere, teachers face a tough decision: when students struggle with a text, should we lower the Lexile level to “meet them where they are”? On the surface, it feels compassionate. But lowering the text too far risks keeping students from the very experiences that build reading strength. ✅ The challenge is not whether students can access grade-level texts. The challenge is how we help them get there.

Lately, there has been a big push for early foundational reading skills. I love all the attention the early grades are getting. Nothing is more important than setting kids up for success in the early grades. However, that doesn’t leave much time and attention for the next level.