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literacy skills of approximately 100 million K-12 Arabic speakers across the Middle East and

North Africa. The unique scale is set to become the de facto standard for Modern Standard

Arabic, just as the Lexile® Framework for Reading is now the standard for English, as
ministries of education in the MENA region strive to preserve and promote Arabic language

and culture.

This innovative collaboration aims to provide native Arabic speakers with a powerful tool to

improve their literacy in Arabic, promoting a more effective and personalized approach to

improving literacy in the region. By leveraging the expertise of Alef Education and the
MetaMetrics® Lexile® Framework for Reading, the initiative aims to provide students across

the MENA region with the foundational skills they need for academic success and lifelong

learning.

Benefits of an Arabic reading scale include the ability for governments to identify and measure

students’ reading levels and progress over time, regardless of the reading materials used, by
comparing geographic regions, school districts, and individual schools using the same scale.

In addition, publishers, EdTech companies, and authors of Arabic language content will be

able to link their reading materials and assessments to the unified scale to meet learners’

needs for reading materials. It will be easier for teachers to measure their students’ levels and

create data-driven plans for their individual development. At the same time, parents will
understand their children’s reading levels so that they can further develop and improve their

reading skills.

Recent data from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) shows that six

Arab countries scored an average of 406 points in their PISA exams, while the international

OECD average is 480. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)

shows that eight Arab countries scored an average of 432 points in elementary school and
441 points in secondary school, while the global average is 500. The Progress in International

Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) shows that seven Arab countries scored an average of 441,

while the worldwide average is 500, underscoring the urgency to address the literacy crisis

among today’s learners. The need for action requires a reimagined solution: an Arabic

reading scale powered by the Lexile scale, which will serve as the foundation for a unified

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