DURHAM, NC--(Marketwire - Aug 24, 2011) - The greatest concern for a mother in Korea is providing her child with a high-quality English education. With Interpark Books' Lexile® English Reading Wizard, Korean children can use Lexile measures to select English books that will support their language development without having to rely on expensive English language institutes.
Interpark Books, Korea's leading online bookseller, began providing Lexile measures earlier this month, in partnership with MetaMetrics, to help parents find English books matched to their child's reading ability. Interpark offers approximately 50,000 fiction and nonfiction titles with Lexile measures for a variety of ages and interests. Lexile measures are determined using propriety software to analyze the various dimensions of the complete text, including word frequency and sentence length.
"I wasn't able to understand the level of my child's English and therefore it was difficult to select English books. Selecting books above my child's level has resulted in a loss of interest in the English language," said Shin Ho-Young, a parent of an elementary student. "Being able to select books by my child's Lexile measure will be of great help for my child's education."
Lexile measures are the most widely used reading metrics in the U.S., and in other countries that use English as a second language. Currently, over half of U.S. students receive Lexile measures from state and commercial assessments. They are often used to help students select appropriately challenging books as they prepare for interim and year-end tests, and to monitor their progress toward the reading demands of U.S. colleges and careers.
"By offering the Lexile measure, we expect to improve the English reading ability of both children and parents in Korea," said Seo Young-Gyu, CEO of Interpark Books. "Through this differentiated service, people can now easily search for English books that suit their reading ability."
Lexile measures first became available for Korean students in October 2009 from ETS's TOEFL® test and again in December 2010 from the TOEFL® Junior™ test. Lexile measures are also available from the Scholastic Reading Inventory and Natmal's English-Lectio Quotient (E-LQ).
Children without a Lexile measure can use the Lexile English Reading Wizard to obtain a starting Lexile range based on their grade and comfort with sample passages at varying levels of difficulty. The Lexile ranges are based on the typical reading demands of English texts at U.S. grade levels, and allow users to compare their reading ability to native English speakers.
About MetaMetrics
MetaMetrics (www.MetaMetricsInc.com), an educational measurement and research organization, develops scientific measures of student achievement and complementary technologies that link assessment with targeted instruction to improve learning. Our renowned psychometric team created the widely adopted Lexile Framework for Reading (www.Lexile.com); El Sistema Lexile para Leer, the Spanish-language version of the reading framework; The Quantile® Framework for Mathematics (www.Quantiles.com); and The Lexile Framework for Writing. In addition to licensing Lexile and Quantile measures to state departments of education, testing and instructional companies, and publishers, we offer professional development, resource measurement and customized consulting services. Connect with us at http://blog.lexile.com.
Contact Information:
Eric Zurowski
919-547-3453