DODO's Lexile baseline comes from its own entrance assessment, taken before the first session. Your child works through it at their own pace in our online classroom, and their Navigator scores it and estimates a Lexile level. Within 72 hours you receive that number, a written report in English and Chinese, and a call with the Navigator.
What is a baseline for?
A Lexile level places a reader and a text on the same scale, from 0L to 2000L. The figure DODO gives for your child is an estimate, made by the Navigator from an assessment we built for the purpose, and its first job is practical: it sets how hard the texts are in weeks 1 to 4 of the cycle. Every session reads a text set 80L to 120L above the child's current level, a stretch that is read with a Navigator beside them.
As our Lexile page puts it, "A single Lexile score is a position, not a direction." It shows where a child reads today and cannot show which way they are moving. So the assessment comes back at Week 8 and Week 16, and you see a line instead of a point.
What does the assessment look like from the child's side of the screen?
The assessment opens in our online classroom, and no Navigator sits in while the child works. The design behind it states its purpose in one line: "The instrument tells the student what they know, not where they break."
At the first three levels, the child begins by reading a short passage aloud, which the classroom records. Then comes a reading passage they have never seen, with questions on it, then a short break to stretch, then a section on the language itself: words, grammar and sentences. Last is listening, a short passage played aloud and answered out loud.
Three rules shape every section. The first two questions are easier on purpose, drawn from the level below, because, in the design's words, "The first two items shape the student's emotional posture for the section." The questions never climb steadily towards the hardest; easier and harder ones alternate, and each section ends on an easier one. And the wording stays plain. A question reads "Which of these…", never "Can you correctly identify…".
How long does it take?
The length depends on the level the assessment is set at. Each level's assessment also reaches into the level below and the level above, so a child placed a little high or a little low still meets questions they can answer. These are the times it is designed around:
| Level | Time, all parts | Separate writing task |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | about 37 minutes | none |
| 2 | about 43 minutes | none |
| 3 | about 49 minutes | optional, 12 minutes |
| 4 | about 53 minutes | optional, 15 minutes |
| 5 | about 60 minutes | yes, 20 minutes |
| 6 | about 67 minutes | yes, 25 minutes |
| 7 | about 75 minutes | yes, 30 minutes |
The writing task is always a session of its own, on another day or after a longer break. Run straight after the rest, it would measure tiredness as much as writing.
How does a scored assessment become a Lexile estimate and a starting level?
The Navigator scores it. The answers to the shorter questions are checked; the spoken and written answers are heard and read by the Navigator. Any question the child spent more than twice the usual time on comes back flagged, and the design is firm about what that flag means: "The flag is not a score reduction — it's a signal." Some children are slow because they are careful, and the Navigator looks at which it was.
From the scores, the Navigator estimates the Lexile level, and the report recommends where to begin. The recommendation reads one of five ways: Ready to Advance, On Track, Consolidating Foundations, Strengthening Prior Foundations, or Foundational Diagnostic Recommended. The report gives your child's age and never the internal name of a level.
What arrives within 72 hours?
Three things. The first is the Lexile estimate itself, a specific number. The second is a written report in English and Chinese. After Week 0 it opens with the recommendation for where to begin, then scores your child's reading and language, their writing, and their listening and speaking, shows how they did on the questions below, at and above their level, and ends with the Navigator's notes. The third is a call with the Navigator who scored it.
What happens at Week 8 and Week 16?
The Week 8 and Week 16 assessments are set to what the cycle has taught. At Week 8, if growth is under 50L, a diagnostic review starts then, with a parent call, the Navigator's observation and a check on how hard the material has been. At Week 16 the exit assessment closes the cycle. Across our students, reading grows by about one grade level per 16-week cycle: 187 Lexile points on average, about 1.2 grade levels, with 94% gaining at least one full grade level.
Questions parents ask
When is my child assessed — and who does the assessment?
Three times. Week 0: entrance assessment before the first session. Week 8: mid-program check. Week 16: exit assessment. Each is DODO’s own assessment: your child takes it at their own pace in our online classroom, and their Navigator scores it and estimates a Lexile level. Within 72 hours of each assessment you receive the number, a written report in English and Chinese, and a call with the Navigator.
Where will my child start?
At the level the diagnostic puts them, not at the level their grade implies. The 20-minute consultation gives a first read of where their reading actually sits, and the Week 0 Lexile baseline, taken after enrollment, confirms which of the seven levels they enter. Every session runs the full Read → Think → Speak → Write sequence from the first week, whatever the level.
What if my child doesn’t show measurable growth?
If your child shows less than 50L growth by week 8, we initiate a diagnostic review. This involves a parent call, Navigator observation, and content difficulty audit. If the issue is engagement, we adjust. If the issue is developmental readiness, we defer enrollment to a later cohort and refund the remaining balance.
What can you do at home this week?
If Week 0 is coming up, the preparation is small. Find a quiet room and check that the microphone works, because the read-aloud and the listening answers are spoken. Then let your child work alone and at their own pace. The assessment is built to show what they know, and a question that takes a while is a note for the Navigator, not a lost mark. Afterwards, ask them what the reading passage was about, and listen.
Before Week 0 comes the consultation: 20 minutes with a Navigator, who gives a first read of where your child's reading sits and what the first 16 weeks would look like. Book a consultation.