Text Complexity is part of the third shift taking place as CCSS are implemented. It helps ensure that students are prepared to independently and proficiently read and comprehend the variety of text found in college and careers and real life!

1. Moving Toward the Common Core

2. These are the times that try men’s souls.

3.  Text Complexity is part of the third shift
taking place as CCSS are implemented.
Shift 3 Staircase of Complexity
Students read the central, grade appropriate
text around which instruction is centered.
Teachers are patient, create more time and
space and support in the curriculum for close
reading.

4. Because accessing complex texts allows the
students to practice using academic language.
It allows students to be challenged.
It helps ensure that students are prepared to
independently and proficiently read and
comprehend the variety of text found in
college and careers and real life!

5.  The rigor of high school textbooks has
declined in all subject areas over the past
several decades.
 The average length of sentences in K-8
textbooks has declined from 20 to 14 words.
 Vocabulary demands have declined, e.g. 8th
grade textbooks = former 5th grade texts;
12th grades texts = former 7th grade texts
…even though the complexity of college and
career texts has remained steady or increased!
-- Council of Chief State School Officers

6. 600
800
1000
1400
1600
1200
TextLexileMeasure(L)
High
School
Literature
College
Literature
High
School
Textbooks
College
Textbooks
Military Personal
Use
Entry-Level
Occupations
SAT 1,
ACT,
AP*
* Source of National Test Data: MetaMetrics
Interquartile Ranges Shown (25% - 75%)

7.  Qualitative evaluation of the text
 Levels of meaning, structure, language
conventionality and clarity, and knowledge
demands
 Quantitative evaluation of the text
 Readability measures and other scores of text
complexity
 Matching reader to text and task
 Reader variables (such as motivation, knowledge,
and experiences) and task variables (such as
purpose and the complexity generated by the
task assigned and the questions posed)

8. An attentive
human assesses
the text for
quality.
A computer
assesses the
text for
readability.
The reader and
the purpose for
reading must be
considered too!

9.  Subtle and/or frequent transitions
 Multiple and/or subtle themes and purposes
 Density of information
 Less common settings, topics or events
 Lack of repetition, overlap or similarity in words and
sentences
 Complex sentences
 Uncommon vocabulary
 Lack of words, sentences, or paragraphs that review or
pull things together for the student
 Longer paragraphs
 Any text structure which is less narrative and/or mixes
structures
 Use of passive voice

10. A COMPLEX TEXT is not an impossible text as
the teacher may scaffold to boost students’
background knowledge and build context.
The wrench in the works: Don’t scaffold so
much that the kids get all the info they need
from your pre-reading talk. Give them only
enough info to enable them to do the work of
reading themselves.

11. • Previewing the text. Read the beginning section and
discuss it with teacher-prepared questions.
• Unpacking a Sentence in order to pay attention to
language.
• Chunking the Text into manageable pieces and
discussing one piece at a time.
• Asking text-dependent questions.
• Front-loading vocabulary.
• Sharing other media (photos/video/etc.)

12.  Everyone!
 EL Students and Struggling Learners need
complex texts to help them access the
language of college and careers. The
simplified texts they are often given in class
do not help them access this language and
because they often have little content, the
simplified texts don’t provide any incentive
to read more or any push toward ideas!

13.  Allow students to practice with complex
texts with scaffolding and support
 Practice with many short texts
 Slow down, read and re-read
 Pay careful attention to text structure
 Offer sequences of text-dependent
questions
 Place a premium on GRIT!

14. Academic Reading is not supposed to be easy.
Students must be allowed to grapple with the
text and meet the challenge!
Teachers must guide and encourage them to be
engaged, observant, responsive, questioning,
and analytical!

15.  Be aware of the reader/s.
 Be aware of the task.
 Use a readability scale if necessary.
ReadabilityFormulas.com offers a free
readability analysis and gives results using
the four most commonly used readability
scores.
 Use text level finder from Google or on
library databases.
 Don’t underestimate the use of your
textbooks!