YES YES and YES! I agree with all your statements. When I read an article on Lexiles and how it was never meant for parental consumption, I could have screamed. Like you said, it is a handy tool for reading teachers to share among their people to help a student, but telling an adult their child is "level 4" with no other guidance just makes everyone unhappy (except for authors with their books clearly labeled Level 4 - quality of story or writing be damned)
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