The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is assigned in US schools at grades 10–12, with a Lexile measure of 1420L. It appears across 2 curriculum references and 1 state, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where The Scarlet Letter is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
- Lexile
- 1420L
- Grade range
- Grades 10–12
- Difficulty for grade
- Above the grade 9–10 band (1050–1335L)
- Age range
- Ages 15–18
- Pages
- 238
- Reading time
- about 4h 20m (est.)
- First published
- 1850
- Genre
- Historical Fiction
- ISBN-13
- 9780142437261
Reading difficulty: At 1420L, The Scarlet Letter reads above the typical 1050–1335L text-complexity range for 10th grade (Common Core Appendix A) — a stretch text that may need scaffolding for the youngest assigned readers.
Where to find this book
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About this book
In 17th-century Puritan Boston, Hester Prynne is sentenced to wear a scarlet letter A for adultery; the father of her daughter Pearl is hidden. Hawthorne's symbol-dense novel is the canonical 11th-grade American Literature text and a near-universal AP Lit text.
Why widely assigned
This Historical Fiction title, reads at high-school literary complexity, typically at grades 10–12. Written in the 1850s; pairs with curriculum units on sin and guilt and public shame vs private conscience; cited across 2 curriculum frameworks.
Themes
sin and guilt · public shame vs private conscience · Puritan society · identity and hypocrisy · womanhood · symbolism
Content notes
adultery · public shaming · child-rearing in hardship
Common Sense Media recommends age 14+.
Where this book is assigned
AP English Literature & Composition
- recommended·11th gradesource: AP Lit representative text
Common Core State Standards (ELA)
Similar grade-level books
Lord of the FliesWilliam Golding · 770L
The Great GatsbyF. Scott Fitzgerald · 1070L
1984George Orwell · 1090L
Fahrenheit 451Ray Bradbury · 890L
See all books like The Scarlet Letter→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Common questions
- What grade level is The Scarlet Letter?
- The Scarlet Letter is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 10–12, with a Lexile measure of 1420L. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
- What is the Lexile level of The Scarlet Letter?
- The Scarlet Letter has a Lexile measure of 1420L according to MetaMetrics. Lexile measures text complexity, not content maturity — check the grade range and content notes separately for age-appropriateness.
- How long does it take to read The Scarlet Letter?
- It takes about 4h 20m to read The Scarlet Letter (238 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 260 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- Is The Scarlet Letter hard to read for 10th grade?
- At 1420L, The Scarlet Letter reads above the typical 1050–1335L text-complexity range for 10th grade (Common Core Appendix A) — a stretch text that may need scaffolding for the youngest assigned readers. Lexile measures text complexity, not thematic maturity — check the content notes for age-appropriateness separately.
- What curricula assign The Scarlet Letter?
- The Scarlet Letter appears on reading lists for AP English Literature & Composition, Common Core State Standards (ELA). Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Why this book is on this list
Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.
- Lexile measure
- 1420L — sourced from MetaMetrics’ Lexile Hub.
- Grade band
- Grades 10–12 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 2 curricula on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Cited in 1 state ELA framework or DOE list (see citations above).
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- No seasonal or program-specific tags on this book.