reading level assessment

[dianeh47]

Hi ladies.
I was on the board for the first time a couple of days ago. I am excited to be at HOD. No more researching curriculums. I have a couple of questions. Does anyone know how I can find out what reading level my dc are at? Also, I am doing Preparing this year with my 10 yr old, 11 yr old and my 13 yr old ds. I plan on doing Ancients next year with my dc, but am wondering if my 13 yr old will be too old . He will always be one year ahead of the guides, including the extensions. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks,
Diane

[Tansy]

I borrowed a reading assessment test off of a special ed teacher. But not everyone can do that.
My dad gave me a quick way to test kids that is useful in figuring out your kids reading lvl. He actully used to do this on the sly to see if I was doing a good enuf job of teaching...

use a book list that has reading lvls listed. Grab a set of books lvl 3, 4, 5, 6, etc. then sit child down open the first book you think is under the childs reading lvl and at random pick a normal paragraph. have child read it. Keep doing this with higher and higher lvls till the child makes more than 4-5 mistakes in one paragraph. (if child self corrects its still an error). The lvl under the mistakes is the child's general reading lvl.

So if the child reads lvl 3,4,and in 5th lvl makes a few mistakes. Then makes 5 mistakes in lvl 6 they are reading at the 5th lvl.

Get it? hope that helped. You could do this in the library really easily.

[jensmom]

I have used an online assessment twice now. It is very easy to use. http://www.readingkey.com/athena/en/trialTest.php

Judy

[Mom2Monkeys]

I have used an online assessment twice now. It is very easy to use. http://www.readingkey.com/athena/en/trialTest.php

Judy

Judy, in your experience, is this test pretty accurate?

I know my 7yo 2nd grader is a pretty good reader, but she scored on a 5th grade, 7th month reading level! Maybe I should be getting her the Extension pack in Bigger for next year! LOL She actually had pretty good comprehension of the words as well so I would guess that it's safe to assume she's at least on a late 4th early 5th grade level??

Thanks for sharing that link!

[dale1088]

I question the accuracy of this one. The link was floating around our local group a little while ago and about 4 of us had kids that ranged in ages from 6 to 9 and 1st-4th grades, and all read at 5.something level. It was weird. i know when my dd was taking it though it sure seemed accurate. But what i notice with her is that she can read individual words but not know the meaning of them, thus affecting her comprehension. This type of test just shows them individual words to read, not their meaning or use. So instead of thinking my 3rd grader is reading at a 5.7 level, I choose books more in the 4th grade area. They are challenging enough for her without messing with comprehension.

[Mom2Monkeys]

My 5yo scored a 1.1 so at least we know it doesn't always score in the 5th grade range!

[pollo_la]

My dd scored a 2.1. I would say that is perhaps a bit high for her. She does pretty well reading individual words, but if you give her anything more than a short sentence it takes a LOT of work for her. But maybe that is typical of an early second grade level??? I don't really know

[dale1088]

Ok, so, excellent! This tells me that this test might be accurate after all. Thanks for your responses. I think it's mostly useful for me to know dd's level when I am looking at Carrie's booklist and trying to decide which book to read next for a genre. DD wanted to read "Esperanza Rising" so badly next, but i think it's a bit much for this year based on what I can tell from her comprehension. But we have SO many other great choices! We are reading Baby Island right now and actually read 3 chapters today because we couldn't stand not knowing what was about to happen! Guess I like "adventure" huh? Thanks Carrie for such a great book list that I can trust implicitly!

[Carrie]

Amy,

You're welcome! I LOVE Baby Island and remember reading from my own childhood! It is by the same author who wrote the very famous Caddie Woodlawn (which is in the girl pack in our upcoming ancients guide)!

Ladies,

By the way, you are all making excellent points about the reading assessment. It's important to note that while kiddos may be able to read/decode the words/sentences at a fifth grade level, it doesn't mean that they can comprehend at a 5th grade level. Reading the words and understanding the meaning are two different things.

Even with my oldest son, who has always been an outstanding reader, I was careful not to allow him to read classic books that were too high of a level too early, as I knew he'd miss the nuances in the story that would make the story able to be enjoyed so much better later. He has always read far above his level, but that is when the VERY careful screening for mature content and for saving some of the best books for later begins! I didn't want him to plow through every classic/excellent book I had by the time he was in 5th grade and then not want to read them later, when he could have appreciated them so much more.

Just some food for thought.

Blessings,
Carrie

[dianeh47]

Thank you ladies for your input. I went to that website and tested my two sons , grades 4 and 6. They both tested 6.9. I don't know if it's right. They say that the test is for grades 1 to 6. I'm still going to try to find some other websites to compare the results.