What exactly is reading "on grade level" for a 1st grader?

[FairProspects]

What is grade level reading for a 1st grader? I've googled MP's 1st grade list and some of the books are leveled as high as 2.7. Similar with SL's readers. My PS friend says her daughter is receiving reading pull-out tutoring because she can't read Level 3 Easy readers and she should be able to a month into 1st grade. Of course that freaked me out.

 

How on earth to do I figure out what grade level reading is? I've given ds tests, but they are just word lists and he can decode individual words to a very high level given his phonics training, but that is different from really reading. How do I know if we're on track or need to step it up? Teaching reading has been such a long difficult process!

Edited September 24, 2011 by FairProspects

[ByGrace3]

:bigear:

I have been curious about this as well. I "know" the answer is to be sure they are progressing, but I still worry about the correct "level" :tongue_smilie: I have no idea what ps kids are reading in first grade, but I know there is probably a wide range, as well as for hs kids. However, I do find myself curious to know if my dd is reading on or above grade level.

Sometimes I think it might be helpful just to know what other first graders are reading (not as a comparison, but just an idea of the range). If it helps my dd is reading the Abeka 1 phonics readers and the SL 2 readers. Her library picks are usually Amelia Bedelia. :001_smile:

[Tigger]

:bigear:

 

I've been really curious about this one for a long, long time. If DS were enrolled in public school, he'd be first, but since we started K at five and he's now seven, he's (at home) second and with the exception of reading doing second grade work without any issues, and in some cases third and fourth grade level work.

 

But, I have no clue how to really, really evaluate DS's reading level and whether he's truly "at grade level" for reading. He's progressing and his reading has improved vastly in the last three months, he's taken to picking up books on his own recently to read (they're easy stuff, but it's a positive development IME), and he's an amazing speller...but if I look at the various sites to determine reading level (lexile, etc.) he's not grade 2 month 3, he's still in mid-first level material, like grade 1 month 6. But I remind myself, just a few short months ago, he was fluent with CVC words, sounding out slowly everything else, and now he's reading fairly fluently with less having to sound out. So I have no clue how to judge and would love some insight!

[blondeviolin]

I check what Abby's reading by Scholastic's Book Wizard. I think reading level is not only decoding capabilities, but stamina and interest. Abby can decode past a 3rd grade level, but most of her books hover in the 2nd grade level because it is what interests her and there aren't a billion words on the page. She may be able to "read" some books meant for older kids, but that doesn't mean her comprehension would be as high.

[Crimson Wife]

Beginning of first? Readers with a simple decodable sentence per page. By the end of first? Something like Green Eggs and Ham or Little Bear.

[Penelope]

I think of Little Bear books, too, which are listed mid-late first grade level, I think.

 

Frog and Toad are listed as early second grade.

 

Many of the hs reading curriculum assume a slightly higher level than that, I think, because they seem to cover most of phonics in first grade. If a ps uses a sight word with incidental phonics approach, some of the phonics won't be covered until second grade. If a child completes OPGTR in first grade, he should be close to fourth grade level. I think SWR and some of the other vertical phonics programs are similar. However, even in ps, there are going to be children who are reading ahead of grade level at the end of first grade, and a few who are behind. So maybe the level is considered more of an average than a benchmark? I'm not sure how it works.

[angela in ohio]

Dr. Seuss, Amelia Bedelia, Danny the Dinosaur

 

I'd say if he can decode words, I'd say you are fine, because there are likely no underlying issues. Now you just need practice, practice, practice. Learning to read doesn't look like a slow continual climb, it looks like a long (frustrating, boring, anxiety-inducing :D) plateau and then a big leap over a short period of time, then another plateau, and so on. And part of it is physical readiness; you can put the skills in front of them over and over 9and you should,) but thehy won't "take" until the brain is ready.

[Snowfall]

I wouldn't worry. Some kids just take longer to learn to read than other kids do. It doesn't mean anything is wrong. My dd could barely read 3 letter cvc words at the beginning of first grade, and she flipped out if I asked her to read sentences. Close the end of first grade she was tested as part of an eval and she was an advanced reader. She just needed more time than some kids do, even though she's verbally advanced and all of that. It just took longer for her brain to get ready to read. I worried about it a LOT back then, but now she reads very well.

[threeofakind]

Hello- When I hear about 'levels' I think of 'sight word' based books (I'll explain in a bit). I will also say that it may vary slightly where you live. I was a reading teacher and in our district we wanted entering first graders at a level 3/4 (Brown Bear, Brown bear), Nov. at a level 6 (Look for me, The Chick and the Duckling), Feb. a level 12 (The Carrot Seed) and by the end of the year a level 16 (Kiss for Little Bear). We used an assessment kit that provided books for each level that are not on the market, because it had to be a 'cold' read (so the books mentioned are samples of that level) and then they had to answer basic questions about the story.

 

I did say levels reminds me of sight word based books, because in the beginning students are not taught all the sound spellings in phonics- but we expect them to read it (such as in Brown Bear- level 4, color words are often taught as sight words so they can read more than cvc words; in ps 'ow' is not taught until later first or second grade).

 

We also would assess on the phonics survey- again this may vary slightly on exactly where you live and what you use but I'm just going to share this anyway. Follow this link:

http://www.hershey.k12.pa.us/56039310111408/lib/56039310111408/_files/CORE_Phonics_Survey_2008.pdf

If it does not work just search "Hershey Phonics Survey" and it would get you there.

But on this assessment we considered kids passed each level when they reached 80% proficiency at each level. By the end of Kindergarten we wanted them at level E (12 out of 15). By the end of 1st grade level I (12 out of 15) and by the end of 2nd grade level L (20 out of 24 I think).

 

But that is ps and you'll have to make your best judgement from there. All my kids have been different- first one "ahead", my son "behind' and now my third "right on track". Hope it helps some!

[Murmer]

Like someone else mentioned...Amelia Bedelia, Frog and Toad books, are all end of 1st grade average reader books. Magic Tree House is middlish of 2nd grade. If you scholastic Book Wizard look as Fountas and Pinnell Level of I/J for end of first and K for begining of 2nd grade.

[boscopup]

My son's first grade class had Frog and Toad in their readers for second semester.

 

But yeah, if the child is making progress, you're fine. I don't know of any child that progresses in reading exactly per the grade levels, reading at grade level 1.3 in the 3rd month of 1st grade, etc. :)

 

When your son is an adult, it won't matter what level he read at in first grade, and there likely won't be any difference between him and the kid that was reading at 4th grade level in 1st grade. ;)

[chepyl]

My first grader (6 yesterday) tested at the sixth grade level for word decoding. Her can read aloud from a sixth grade book and understand it. His stamina and interest level are second to third grade. He can read a chapter of a Magic Treehouse book in less than five minutes amd tell me about it.

 

I check the level by looking at the Scholastic book wizard. Most paperbacks have the levels on the back now.

[FairProspects]

:bigear:

If it helps my dd is reading the Abeka 1 phonics readers and the SL 2 readers. Her library picks are usually Amelia Bedelia. :001_smile:

 

This is exactly what ds is reading too, so maybe that is right about on grade level?

 

My son's first grade class had Frog and Toad in their readers for second semester.

 

It sounds like Frog & Toad, and Little Bear are the common consensus. Ds can read those (although not willingly), so I think we are about average. It sounded the local PS books were much harder than that, but maybe they are filled with sight words and the kids aren't reading phonetically.

 

My first grader (6 yesterday) tested at the sixth grade level for word decoding. Her can read aloud from a sixth grade book and understand it. His stamina and interest level are second to third grade. He can read a chapter of a Magic Treehouse book in less than five minutes amd tell me about it.

 

That's nice. Not really what I asked though.

[ByGrace3]

This is exactly what ds is reading too, so maybe that is right about on grade level?

 

 

 

It sounds like Frog & Toad, and Little Bear are the common consensus. Ds can read those (although not willingly), so I think we are about average. It sounded the local PS books were much harder than that, but maybe they are filled with sight words and the kids aren't reading phonetically.

 

I am actually glad to know this sounds on target. I am surrounded by people that think I am "over the top" in homeschooling (all too often hearing, it is just k or just first grade...) it doesn't help that I have 2 sisters homeschooling first graders (one of which who can barely read cvc words due to lack of instruction) :glare:

Anyway, sounds like I am not crazy anyway :tongue_smilie:

[JessicaLady]

My good friend and I just discussed this b/c her son had his open house at school. They were told ps kids should read DRA 4-6 by the end of Kinder and level 18-24 by the end of First. I'm sure most kids in First are all over the place right now.

 

I've had a hard time w/ the Level 1, 2, 3 classified books as they don't seem to be consistent. Some level 2's may have significantly more words but then some of the 2's seem too easy and should be 1's. I've had better success lookind at DRA levels instead.

 

J

[GingerPoppy]

I think it's important to keep in mind that kids in public school in any given grade can span about a year and a half depending on where you live. My daughter started grade one at just after age 5 1/2 (we live in Canada and the age cutoffs are at the end of December). Others start grade one at 6 years old but on the verge of turning 7 (in a place with a September cutoff).

 

I don't think the grade matters as much as the age. I didn't expect my 5 year old to be doing much more than CVC words at the beginning of grade 1 due to her age. If she had been virtually 7, I would have expected her to be at a higher level.

[chepyl]

That's nice. Not really what I asked though.

 

You asked what was first grade level. My son is in first grade. I answered with what I know and how I figure the level. As someone else said, kids are all over the place. I can only answer with what I know.

[momofabcd]

My good friend and I just discussed this b/c her son had his open house at school. They were told ps kids should read DRA 4-6 by the end of Kinder and level 18-24 by the end of First. I'm sure most kids in First are all over the place right now.

J

I've never heard of DRA levels, so I searched some books on scholastic. I like how they show the equivalant of Lexile, grade level, guided reading and DRA. (how many more leveling terms can the "experts" come up with?). :tongue_smilie:

From what JessicaLady said,

Caps for Sale DRA 16-18, Frog and Toad Together DRA 16-18, Owl at Home DRA 18-20, Mouse Tales DRA 18-20, Keep the Lights Burning Abbie DRA 18, Billy and Blaze DRA 24, Blueberries for Sal DRA 24, are the types of books ps 1st graders are expected to be reading by the END of the year. This really isn't much different that what Memoria Press StoryTime Treasures offers for the entire first grade year or Veritas Press First Favorites Vol. 1.

Edited September 25, 2011 by momofabcd

[angela in ohio]

You asked what was first grade level. My son is in first grade. I answered with what I know and how I figure the level. As someone else said, kids are all over the place. I can only answer with what I know.

 

A thread by someone who is concerned about whether their dc is up to grade level or not isn't really the place to share how ahead your dc are. There have been threads asking "what is your first grader reading?" This isn't one of them.

[....]

My PS friend says her daughter is receiving reading pull-out tutoring because she can't read Level 3 Easy readers and she should be able to a month into 1st grade. Of course that freaked me out.

 

It looks like you are using OPGTR. My 1st grader is also working thru OPGTR (she's probably a little behind most 1st graders in reading :D). OPGTR introduces long vowels at lesson 66 and I know that is a 1st grade skill.

 

With OPGTR, I wish there was some kind of marker...where she says, "OK, now you are at a 2nd grade reading level" or something like that. I was actually flipping thru the book a few weeks ago looking for the "congratulations, you are now reading at a 1st grade reading level" page. :tongue_smilie:

 

Here is an article about what reading skills a child should have at the end of 1st grade: http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/234-first-grade-reading.gs If you scroll down and look under "By the end of 1st grade, your child should be able to...", there is a list of decoding skills that make sense to me.

 

I also agree with the "as long as they are moving in a forward direction" philosophy for 1st grade. Lol.

Edited September 26, 2011 by starrbuck12

[Farrar]

I think this very question is flawed. By third or fourth grade you can begin to say that a kid is ahead or behind with reading. But first? There's a huge range of normal. Kids struggling to decode CVC words are normal in first. As are kids reading lengthy chapter books and everything in between. In my opinion, the failure to recognize this totally normal range and come up with some sort of median standard is one of the more flawed things public schools have done. Reading at this age requires brain development as much as good teaching methods, and that's simply not something you can standardize.

[Nart]

A good measure that is used by many public schools and is free is DIBELS that is from the university of Oregon. You just have to register.

https://dibels.uoregon.edu/measures/materials_signup.php'>https://dibels.uoregon.edu/measures/materials_signup.php'>https://dibels.uoregon.edu/measures/materials_signup.php'>https://dibels.uoregon.edu/measures/materials_signup.php

 

It has Reading assessments for k through 6 th grade for fall, winter and spring with benchmark goals.

https://dibels.uoregon.edu/measures/materials_signup.php

 

So for first grade in the fall there is not an expectation that students will be reading paragraphs, instead it tests nonsense word fluency ( read made-up words like jit or poth ) to assess decoding skills, Phoneme segmentation, and rapid letter naming. In the winter and spring there is an oral reading fluency test. It will rate students as low risk, some risk, and at-risk.

[Roadrunner]

My son is in the first grade (PS) and I volunteered in his classrom. One of my tasks was to organize reading books for homework. Those kids are all over the place. Some books were very basic, much simpler than Frog and Toad and more like simple level 1 readers you see in the library. I would say the majority (80%) of kids were getting those books. The other 20% of kids got mixed levels of difficulty.

[Ritsumei]

You know, as I'm looking at all these very interesting tools, trying to figure out where my boy is on them, I'm thinking that they're made for use with instruction that is based on sight-words and incidental phonics more than strict phonics instruction.

 

This "wide range reading test," for example, Monkey would apparently test out reading around the 4th grade level. At least, that's how I understand their 7 failures-frustration level comment at the bottom of the page. Monkey has only incidental instruction in digraphs (we're about to start that section of OPGTR), and nearly no exposure to long vowels because OPGTR does that late in the book. As a result, I have a very hard time buying 4th grade!

 

On this First Grade Academic Skills list it's a little easier to apply to a phonic-instructed child, but there are still areas where things are pretty fuzzy. According to this list, Monkey is functioning mostly at a mid-to-late 1st grade level... but there are no picture books on our shelf that he can read independently because we haven't got those pesky long vowels yet.

 

Looking at this, I've concluded that when going with a phonics-based instruction "grade level" isn't really that useful of a measuring stick in 1st grade. A question to the Hive I'd be very interested in reading about would be: what age was your child when they finished ____ program, which I am also using. Looking at the tools the ps systems use to evaluate their 1st graders, I'm thinking it's an apples-to-oranges comparison because the teaching methods are so different.

[ChandlerMom]

A good measure that is used by many public schools and is free is DIBELS that is from the university of Oregon. You just have to register.

https://dibels.uoregon.edu/measures/materials_signup.php'>https://dibels.uoregon.edu/measures/materials_signup.php

 

It has Reading assessments for k through 6 th grade for fall, winter and spring with benchmark goals.

https://dibels.uoregon.edu/measures/materials_signup.php

 

Awesome! Thanks for this!

[ElizabethB]

The wide range test has a flat bell curve--it tests higher at the low end and lower at the high end than it should. It is also based on sight words.

 

The NRRF test is based on phonics, but has reading grade levels based on late 1800's to early 1900's norms, so they are more stringent than today's grade levels. I think it is the most useful test because it is a closer measure of actual reading ability. (For reading real books, not the leveled books based on sight words.) The passage for the NRRF test comes from near the end of the 1879 McGuffey reader, so is what 1st graders were expected to be reading by the end of the year.

 

That being said, there is a wide range in first grade, and as long as you are making progress and eventually plan to teach all the phonics skills needed to read anything, you are fine.

 

Students taught with sight words appear to be reading more in K and 1st grade than many phonics taught children because they can "read" leveled readers packed full of sight words. However, when you look at the same children in 4th grade, the phonics taught children can read anything and many of the children taught with a mixture of phonics and sight words will start to struggle and experience the "4th grade slump."

[FairProspects]

The NRRF test is based on phonics, but has reading grade levels based on late 1800's to early 1900's norms, so they are more stringent than today's grade levels. I think it is the most useful test because it is a closer measure of actual reading ability. (For reading real books, not the leveled books based on sight words.) The passage for the NRRF test comes from near the end of the 1879 McGuffey reader, so is what 1st graders were expected to be reading by the end of the year.

 

 

So, help me interpret the results from this test. I haven't given ds Part 2 yet, because the total test is a lot of small text for him to read in one sitting. On Part 1, groups A-E he received 1 check mark in a couple of groups. In group F, he received 4 check marks, so if I'm reading it right, that is his instructional reading level? We stopped at F and he did not attempt groups G & H.

 

How do I use these results to interpret what phonics we still need to cover? The test instructions seem to state that a student who has completed 2nd grade should be able to read all groups with 1 check or less, and obviously we aren't there yet.

[Rivka]

I think this very question is flawed. By third or fourth grade you can begin to say that a kid is ahead or behind with reading. But first? There's a huge range of normal. Kids struggling to decode CVC words are normal in first. As are kids reading lengthy chapter books and everything in between. In my opinion, the failure to recognize this totally normal range and come up with some sort of median standard is one of the more flawed things public schools have done. Reading at this age requires brain development as much as good teaching methods, and that's simply not something you can standardize.

 

:iagree: I lead a book club for kids who are 5-8 years old. We have kids who are just learning to sound out CVC words and kids who can read middle-grades chapter books with ease - not, as far as I can tell, because there's a wide range of intelligence in the group, but because it's natural for reading abilities to show a wide spread at this age. The kids all seem smart to me, but some of them have really cracked the code and some of them haven't yet.

[ElizabethB]

So, help me interpret the results from this test. I haven't given ds Part 2 yet, because the total test is a lot of small text for him to read in one sitting. On Part 1, groups A-E he received 1 check mark in a couple of groups. In group F, he received 4 check marks, so if I'm reading it right, that is his instructional reading level? We stopped at F and he did not attempt groups G & H.

 

How do I use these results to interpret what phonics we still need to cover? The test instructions seem to state that a student who has completed 2nd grade should be able to read all groups with 1 check or less, and obviously we aren't there yet.

 

The letter groups are not for grade level, they are to assess phonics skills. So, depending on the order that your phonics program used, you could actually do fine on G or H but not F.

 

The second part is for grade levels, part II. And, many beginning of year 1st graders will not be able to read the first passage, but that doesn't mean they are behind. My son, who is 6 and starting 1st grade, can't yet read that passage, but he is making steady, albeit slow, progress with his phonics so I am not concerned. Now, he is not learning as fast as his sister did in phonics, but he is moving much faster in math. So, when I have an occasional day where we just do the bare minimum, he does phonics and the Bible. His sister's bare minimum is and has always been math and the Bible.

[FairProspects]

The letter groups are not for grade level, they are to assess phonics skills. So, depending on the order that your phonics program used, you could actually do fine on G or H but not F.

 

The second part is for grade levels, part II. And, many beginning of year 1st graders will not be able to read the first passage, but that doesn't mean they are behind. My son, who is 6 and starting 1st grade, can't yet read that passage, but he is making steady, albeit slow, progress with his phonics so I am not concerned. Now, he is not learning as fast as his sister did in phonics, but he is moving much faster in math. So, when I have an occasional day where we just do the bare minimum, he does phonics and the Bible. His sister's bare minimum is and has always been math and the Bible.

 

Ok, I tested him on the other part and he placed perfectly based on where we are in OPGTR. Man, does phonics work though! That kid can decode crazy hard words even when he doesn't know the meaning. I think we just need to work on fluency, which can be frustrating in another way.

 

Also, I think I saw you recommend on another thread that phonics be reviewed through the end of 2nd grade. Is AAS enough of a review or should I be looking at some additional phonics work? We are behind in AAS compared to where we are in OPGTR.

[ElizabethB]

Ok, I tested him on the other part and he placed perfectly based on where we are in OPGTR. Man, does phonics work though! That kid can decode crazy hard words even when he doesn't know the meaning. I think we just need to work on fluency, which can be frustrating in another way.

 

Also, I think I saw you recommend on another thread that phonics be reviewed through the end of 2nd grade. Is AAS enough of a review or should I be looking at some additional phonics work? We are behind in AAS compared to where we are in OPGTR.

 

From their samples, if you did all the levels, yes.

 

However, I'm not sure if they have syllable division or not, if they don't, you would also want to do Megawords level 1 and 2 or Marcia Henry's words or my syllable division rules and exercises.

 

Also, phonics does work, you're right! And, fluency and understand will come with time. A lot of natural vocabulary learning comes from reading for most students.

[FairProspects]

From their samples, if you did all the levels, yes.

 

However, I'm not sure if they have syllable division or not, if they don't, you would also want to do Megawords level 1 and 2 or Marcia Henry's words or my syllable division rules and exercises.

 

Also, phonics does work, you're right! And, fluency and understand will come with time. A lot of natural vocabulary learning comes from reading for most students.

 

It does include syllable division. We are working on them right now in Level 2 and are about to enter that section in OPGTR too.

[Soror]

Someone had posted a reading level test from Sonlight once that was fairly easy:

http://www.sonlight.com/quick-reading-assessment.html

 

I do agree with others though that ability is all over the map. It especially seems generally easier for girls than boys(from the boys I know irl). I abhor those leveled readers from the library, it depressed me for the longest time as he could never read any, then I finally figured out they are full of sight words. I'm trying to focus on slow and steady here- we are making progress!

[FO4UR]

That kid can decode crazy hard words even when he doesn't know the meaning. I think we just need to work on fluency, which can be frustrating in another way.

 

 

 

This is fantastic! :001_smile: Just keep at it.

 

 

I have a late bloomer and an early bloomer. My late bloomer is 8.5yo and is reading Henry and Mudge without help or frustration. It's been a long road to get *here.* The bit about the plataues and leaps is very true for him.

[ByGrace3]

Also, I think I saw you recommend on another thread that phonics be reviewed through the end of 2nd grade. Is AAS enough of a review or should I be looking at some additional phonics work? We are behind in AAS compared to where we are in OPGTR.

 

I was also wondering this. I was planning to stop "official" phonics instruction at the end of Abeka phonics 1 (maybe late Oct, early Nov?) but we will be way behind in AAS in comparison to where we are in phonics (we are about halfway through 1, though I will start 2 right away). I know I have been told AAS is enough, but I am still nervous! :tongue_smilie:

 

sounds like you guys are doing fine (I hope so anyway since we seem to be about the same place!) :D

[Bloggermom]

Someone had posted a reading level test from Sonlight once that was fairly easy:

http://www.sonlight.com/quick-reading-assessment.html

 

This is FANTASTIC!

[Critterfixer]

I’m glad you reminded me of the NRRF test, ElizabethB. It’s almost December. Time to test the boys again. I ran them through the wide-range test today, and both scored well. Fluency is a work in progress. I'm eager to run the NRRF tomorrow to see how far we've come this quarter. Both are about twenty pages from finishing Word Mastery, and I use the Abeka Phonics Cards for review with the younger twin. Webster's is waiting in the wings, and they already have the syllabary down cold. (They should-we drill it pretty often.)

 

 

I did discover something that the wide range test is good for. Little Engineer, math-man and hater of the printed word spotted those big, gigantic words at the bottom of the page. He asked me what he had to do to learn how to read them. Guess who actually volunteered first for reading this evening AND asked for and took a stack of Abeka cards to his room to study this evening?!!!:hurray:

Shameless brag...but this is a huge step for him, because he really has no use for the written language...only numbers matter.