Strong reading skills are key to students’ overall success at school and beyond. Oxford Levels support all students to progress at every stage of their reading journey.

How do Oxford Levels help you address reading challenges?

Differentiate for every student

We know every student is different, so we make books that are age-appropriate for a variety of readers, including struggling readers and very able readers. We ensure that at each Oxford Level, students feel adequately challenged, while also making progress.

Instil confidence with consistent criteria

Oxford Levelled texts are finely graded against a consistent set of criteria so you can be confident you are accurately matching your students to books that will support their reading progression.

Align to your teaching approach

Schools use a wide variety of reading texts and levelling systems – Oxford Levels can be aligned to other levelling systems and take students all the way from Foundation to Year 6. Matching students to books that will be at, or slightly above, their reading level develops their skills at every step of their reading journey.

Engage all students in reading

Oxford Levels run from Level 1 to 20. Each level offers new language, new themes and a chance to practise what the student has learned already. Thousands of books have been levelled using this system, providing a wide range of texts that will spark interest and engagement, fire imaginations, and broaden world views.

Oxford Levels support reading progress

Help every student to progress their reading in carefully considered stages

At Oxford, we use an expertly developed, well-established system for levelling our books, which has been used to develop many of our popular and well-loved series.

Our books are finely graded so you can accurately match students to the right book. You’ll notice that our books:

  • span from the very early stages of reading in Foundation (Oxford Level 1) all the way up to an advanced Year 6 reader’s level (Oxford Level 20)
  • are matched to age-related expectations
  • signal the level on the cover.

With the help of expert authors, our levelled books hook children of different ages into reading, capture their imaginations and make them think. We also work with leading literacy consultants and dedicated levelling and phonics consultants.

If you’d like to look inside books from every Oxford Level and learn how students' literacy skills develop with each level, download our Understanding Oxford Levels brochure.
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Oxford Levels structure chart

The chart below shows how Oxford Levels relate to other commonly used levelling systems. Due to the subjective nature of levelling, this chart provides a ‘best fit’ judgement.

Approximate age Stage of the reader Oxford Level Best fit Australian reading level
4–5 Beginner 1 1
5–6 Beginner 1+ 1
5–6 Beginner 2 2
5–6 Emergent 3 3
5–6 Emergent 3 4
5–6 Emergent 3 5
6–7 Early 4 6
6–7 Early 4 7
7 Early 4 8
7 Early 4 9
7 Transitional 5 10
7 Transitional 5 11
7 Transitional 5 12
7 Transitional 5 13
7 Transitional 5 14
7–8 Transitional 6 15
7–8 Transitional 6 16
7–8 Extending 7 17
8 Extending 8 18
8 Extending 8 19
8 Extending 9 20
8 Extending 9 21
8–9 Extending 10 22
8–9 Extending 10 23
8–9 Extending 10 24
8–9 Fluent 11 25
8–9 Fluent 11 26
10 Fluent 12–13 27
10 Fluent 14 28
11 Fluent 15 29
11 Fluent 16 30
11 Fluent 17  
12 Fluent 18  
12 Fluent 19  
12 Fluent 20  
13+      

Oxford Levels provide the foundation of our reading schemes. Our levels offer a finely-gradated sequence that supports students’ reading journeys and gives parents and teachers confidence, knowing that students are being appropriately challenged while reading.

Oxford Levelled texts have helped millions of students all over the world learn to read and to love reading. Oxford Levels are an expertly developed and well-established system for levelling our texts.

Oxford Levels underpin our series

Oxford Levels have been used to develop both our newest phonics series as well as many of our well-loved ones.

All of Oxford’s decodable series (excluding Read, Write Inc.) follow a structured phonic progression matched to the Letters and Sounds phonic sequence. Oxford Levels follow this sequence too, letting you know exactly when new letters and sounds will be introduced in our decodable books.

You can use the table on the right to get at-a-glance information on the letters and sounds that you’ll see introduced at each Oxford Level.

Oxford Level Letters and Sounds phase
1 Phase 1
Phase 2, Set 1
1+ Phase 2, Sets 3–5
2 Phase 3, Sets 6–7+
3 Phase 3
4 Phase 4
5 Phase 5
6 Phase 5
7 Phase 6
8 Phase 6
9 Phase 6
10 Phase 6
New series

Project X Hero Academy

Project X Hero Academy is a fully decodable fiction series designed to motivate young readers and turn them into reading superheroes. Hero Academy is composed of 78 student books that are matched to the Letters and Sounds phonic sequence.

Explore Hero Academy

Project X Alien Adventures

Project X Alien Adventures are exciting, fully decodable stories that will motivate and support reluctant readers through to independence. Fine levelling throughout the series builds students’ confidence and helps them make progress.

Explore Alien Adventures

Traditional Tales

Traditional Tales are 100% decodable retellings of classic tales with clear phonic progression for Years F–2. Storymaps in each book fuel students' writing and inside cover notes support both teachers and parents.

Explore Traditional Tales

Biff Chip and Kipper: Decode and Develop

Biff, Chip and Kipper: Decode and Develop readers are 60% decodable to support the transition from phonics to richer reading. Familiar settings, real-life scenarios and humorous illustrations will hook students into reading.

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Floppy's Phonics: Fiction and Non-fiction

Floppy's Phonics: Fiction and Non-fiction decodable readers are ideal for providing extra practice and reinforcement alongside any phonics teaching program. Inside cover notes for parents and teachers are included in every book.

Explore Floppy's Phonics

Project X Phonics

Project X Phonics offers a sequential introduction to letters and sounds, with step-by-step progression. Perfect for both group work and one-to-one reading, the fully decodable texts enable students to practise their phonics knowledge.

Explore Project X Phonics

Oxford Levels are the foundation of Oxford's comprehension resources, which offer a finely gradated sequence that supports students' understanding of texts. As they progress through the levels, students are gradually introduced to more complex vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, spelling, layout and themes, enabling them to develop, practice and consolidate their comprehension skills.

Each level offers new language, new themes, and a chance to consolidate comprehension skills.

Refer to our Understanding Oxford Levels brochure for an look at how Oxford Levels support the development of students' comprehension.

New series

Oxford Reading Buddy

Maximise independent reading time at school and at home by giving every student a virtual reading coach with Oxford Reading Buddy.

Underpinned by the latest research into comprehension teaching and learning, Oxford Reading Buddy helps students to read more and develop deeper comprehension skills. Oxford Reading Buddy eBooks are automatically allocated to students based on their Oxford Level.

Explore Oxford Reading Buddy
New series

Oxford Reading for Comprehension

Oxford Reading for Comprehension is a new, research-based guided reading program that explicitly develops comprehension skills for Years F–3.

With Oxford Reading for Comprehension, students learn to be active, engaged readers with the help of 250 full-colour engaging fiction and non-fiction books featuring captivating characters and stories designed to appeal to young Australians. Every text supports the teaching of one of the seven comprehension strategies from the Comprehension Skills Framework.

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TreeTops

TreeTops encourages all children to read for pleasure. There is something for everyone in this series, making it the perfect choice for finding interesting and accessible reads for your students, including advanced readers.

Explore collection

Talk to an Oxford Education Consultant about how Oxford Levels can benefit you and your students

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