Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Incorporates Lexile Reading Measures Into Select Children's Titles

DURHAM, NC and BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Apr 23, 2014) - MetaMetrics®, developer of the widely adopted Lexile® Framework for Reading, and global education leader Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) today announced the addition of Lexile® measures to more than 1400 of HMH's popular children's trade titles, including many from bestselling series such as Curious George, Martha Speaks and The Borrowers.

Recognized as the most widely adopted reading measure, the Lexile Framework provides data about both individual reading abilities and text complexity. Used together, these two pieces of information create a sophisticated tool for matching books and readers that relies on developmental assessment rather than generalized age groups or grade levels.

Lexile measures are used at the school level in various capacities in all 50 U.S. states. Each year, more than 28 million Lexile reader measures are reported from reading assessments and programs, representing about half of U.S. students. Lexile text measures are available for more than 100 million books, articles and websites.

"At HMH, we strive to make learning more dynamic, engaging and effective. By applying the Lexile Framework to our children's titles, we are providing educators, curriculum developers and families with valuable tools," said Gary Gentel, President of HMH Trade & Consumer Publishing. "Lexile measures allow literacy instructors to create personal, targeted reading paths for young readers, sharing selections that are manageable but still challenging and encouraging constant growth."

"We are thrilled that many of HMH's celebrated children's trade titles will now have Lexile measures," stated Malbert Smith, Ph.D., president and co-founder of MetaMetrics. "Children throughout the U.S. will be able to select topnotch books that are at their reading level. We are excited to be a partner with HMH."

MetaMetrics assigns Lexile measures to a title after analyzing the complete text using proprietary software that evaluates its semantic and syntactic dimensions. Lexile measures range from below 200L for early reader text to above 1600L for more advanced text. Books that have received Lexile measures are available in MetaMetrics' free "Find a Book" search tool, which allows readers to build custom book lists and locate their selections at the local public library. "Find a Book" includes more than 160,000 literary and informational books from hundreds of publishers.

About MetaMetrics
MetaMetrics is focused on improving education for learners of all ages and ability levels. The organization develops scientific measures of academic achievement and complementary technologies that link assessment results with real-world instruction. MetaMetrics' products and services for reading (The Lexile® Framework for Reading, El Sistema Lexile® para Leer), mathematics (The Quantile® Framework for Mathematics) and writing (The Lexile® Framework for Writing) provide unique insights about academic ability and the potential for growth, enabling individuals to achieve their goals at every stage of development. Connect with the organization at: http://blog.lexile.com.

About Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Consumer Publishing
For nearly two centuries, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Trade & Consumer Publishing division has published some of the world's most renowned novels, non-fiction, children's books and reference works in hardcover, trade paperback, and eBook formats. Its distinguished author list includes eight Nobel Prize winners, forty-seven Pulitzer Prize winners, thirteen National Book Award winners, and more than one hundred Caldecott, Newbery, Printz, and Sibert Medal and Honor recipients. HMH publishes such distinguished authors as Philip Roth, Temple Grandin, Tim O'Brien, and Umberto Eco, and a celebrated roster of children's authors and illustrators including Lois Lowry, Chris Van Allsburg and David Wiesner. HMH is also home to The Best American series®; The American Heritage® and Webster's New World™ dictionaries; Betty Crocker®, Better Homes and Gardens®, How to Cook Everything®, The Gourmet Cookbook, and other leading culinary properties; the Peterson Field Guides®; CliffsNotes; books by J.R.R. Tolkien; and many iconic children's books and characters including Curious George®, The Little Prince and The Polar Express. For more information, visit www.hmhco.com.