Want To Build A Useful EdTech Company? Replace Lexiles.
4 min read
MetaMetrics, the company behind Lexile rankings, is now comfortably positioned as the gatekeeper for texts to be aligned with the expectations defined in the Common Core State Standards (or CCSS). MetaMetrics makes a point to emphasize this on their web site:
The Standards for English Language Arts name Lexile measures as key indicators of text complexity and provide Lexile bands for reading comprehension development by grade level to ensure students are preparing for the text demands of college and careers as they progress through school. These bands can help guide you in developing instructional resources at the appropriate ability and grade levels. They can ensure that your materials are aligned with the Standards and make them more appealing to states looking to secure new classroom resources that support college- and career-ready expectations.
As I noted in an earlier post on Lexiles, the current implementation of the CCSS creates a practical monopoly for the single company that determines the "official" ranking of student reading level and textual complexity.
However, this creates an enormous opportunity. MetaMetrics has defined both a base featureset, and a cost. Additionally, MetaMetrics offers a range of services that appear to include allowing publishers to buy Lexile ratings for their texts.
I'd imagine that the publishers would gladly forgo the fee paid to MetaMetrics for a Lexile rating if a cheaper, comparably reliable alternative existed.
If an EdTech company is looking for a product idea, here is one option:
- Develop a readability formula for commonly read texts. There are several freely available options that could jumpstart this, including Flesch-Kincaid, Dale-Chall, or the Fry readability formula.
- Pair the readability formula with a comparable rating formula for student reading comprehension levels. There is ample research on this as well, but getting this right will be more difficult than the readability formula. With that said, this is not new ground.
- Incorporate a tool that tracks assessment of a student's writing skills.
- Incorporate a tool that tracks assessment of a student's speaking fluency.
- Incorporate a tool that tracks student self-assessment of their reading, writing, and speaking skills.
Points 1 and 2 eliminate the need to rely on Lexile rankings to determine comparable levels for student reading levels, and levels of textual complexity. The fact that the current format of the CCSS gives MetaMetrics a monopoly is something that will have a hard time staying in place over time, and this provides an opportunity for companies looking to move into the space. A smart play here would be to release any formulas created for anyone to use, because this creates a no-cost alternative to MetaMetrics that achieves the same general goals. The initial goal of this company would not be to replace all uses of Lexiles, but to provide a viable and free alternative. The value of ranking texts has less to do with ranking texts, and more to do with supporting learners.
Points 3 and 4 provide additional resources and supports for teachers and learners. Point 5 ensures that the student voice does not get lost in the process. Taken collectively, these five elements provide points of reference that will be useful in tracking learning, and any issues with learning. For example, if a student's written work lags behind their spoken work or reading level, that could be used to provide targeted support for the learner.
The product possibilities here include:
- An app that tracks books read by students, and related assessments. Add-ons to the base app would include tools that track writing, speaking, and student self-assessment. The app would provide access via web and mobile devices.
- Partnerships with assessment writers.
- Trainings and professional development for schools and districts.
- Content partnerships with publishers and authors.
- Integration with Student Information Systems.
Over time, the suite of apps could be expanded into other subjects to provide a cross-disciplinary snapshot of student learning.
This is not an a company or product I have any interest in building, but please, someone take this idea and run with it. Lexiles cost too much, and deliver too little, and they are centrally positioned as a gatekeeper smack in the middle of the acquisition process. It's rare to see a company so ripe to be taken out by a competitor. If the competitor included the student self-assessment, they would also be building the unicorn of the EdTech world: a company that could be profitable without selling out student needs.
