Embassy Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 (edited) What is/was the reading level of your 3rd grade aged child? Multiple choices available for multiple children. For the purposes of this poll reading level is the grade level of books your child can read without much difficulty. Edited May 12, 2011 by Wehomeschool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I don't know how to vote because I don't know how to choose among levels above 4th or 5th grade. We have not had formal testing. He can read the KJV of the Bible with ease. I've read that's 12th grade level? I'm sure he won't know the definition of every archaic word, but then, neither do I, and I know I read and comprehend beyond 12th grade level. :D The books he reads for his free reading time range anywhere from 5th to 8th grade level, if you consider the Lexile system an accurate determination of grade levels. I have heard some people base reading level on standardized testing grade levels, and that isn't correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 My dc tested at 'beyond hs' but they weren't reading Don Quixote ;) They tested as if they were 'beyond hs' taking third grade tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meriwether Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I don't know Dd8's reading level. She is in 3rd grade now. She does the VP lit books. They are easy for her. She can read 5+ chapter books per week in the evenings before she goes to bed. She can read more difficult books, but she is really enjoying the Chronicles of Narnia right now. I think she is right on track to a bit above for the third grade, but that is based only on my perception. Maybe she is just a bit above for her age since she just turned 8 at the end of third? I don't worry about it much. I wonder more how Ds6 is doing. He is almost seven and doing Amelia Bedelia, Frog and Toad, etc. I think he is holding his own, but I wonder sometimes what exactly grade level looks like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted May 12, 2011 Author Share Posted May 12, 2011 I just added a note defining grade level as the level of books read without much difficulty. If you don't know the grade level of books you can look up the grade level at Scholastic's Book Wizard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth in WA Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 (edited) I just looked up the AR Level of the last several books my daughter (age 8, finishing 3rd grade) read. They are all listed as late 7th to mid/late 8th grade level which surprises me because I assigned her books that I has enjoyed at about her age but which are out of copyright and freely available through Project Gutenberg. Old books all seem to have relatively high reading levels by modern standards. Edited May 12, 2011 by Elizabeth in WA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plain jane Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 During her 3rd grade year my dd read the Hobbit and in June at the end of 3rd grade, read TLOTR books. I know she didn't get all the nuances but she understood the gist of it enough to read the entire trilogy and enjoy it. We did have discussions about the books, but again, at a basic level. I'm not sure what grade level that would be considered though and they're definitely the hardest books she's read, even up until the end of 4th grade this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I was conservative, but just thought I'd mention that my DD's are twins but their reading levels differ by more than 3 grade levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquinas Academy Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 DD 14 was definitely beyond 8th grade level. DD 13 and DS 9 were probably around 5th grade level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 My oldest is at the end of 2nd grade and reads books in the 3rd-5th grade range comfortably. He hasn't been tested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 My son is in 3rd grade and he is reading the Redwall series. According to Scholastic (eyes rolling) that is somewhere around 7.8 grade level. My daughter was reading at about 6th grade level in 3rd grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I actually think "grade level" of reading is kind of artificial... Readability indexes are usually formulas involving how many words per sentence or how many letters per word there are. A lot of times they're completely off. I suspect readability/grade level depend a lot more on the child and their background and interests, their tolerance for unknown words and their motivation to read something. I've found that once reading "clicks" and kids become fluent readers, "grade level" becomes arbitrary. I actually don't think it's particularly impressive when a third grader reads a high school text on a subject they're passionate about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koerarmoca Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 When dd12 was in 3rd she tested at a 6th grade level, dd9 reads at an 8th grade level (this is according to what the schools tested them at no idea what scale/test they used) even though dd9 reads at a higher level I don't feel her maturity level is on par with some topics that go along with some higher level books so I closely monitor her selections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 DD9 read The Fellowship of the Ring to herself last summer, which appears to be at an 8th grade level, according to some sites. I'm sure there are things in it she didn't fully understand, but she was able to understand and enjoy the plot. She had no problems with decoding the text, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I actually think "grade level" of reading is kind of artificial... Readability indexes are usually formulas involving how many words per sentence or how many letters per word there are. A lot of times they're completely off. I suspect readability/grade level depend a lot more on the child and their background and interests, their tolerance for unknown words and their motivation to read something. I've found that once reading "clicks" and kids become fluent readers, "grade level" becomes arbitrary. I actually don't think it's particularly impressive when a third grader reads a high school text on a subject they're passionate about. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 My son was reading 6th and 7th grade-type books for fun at that age. Reading didn't really click for him until he was seven, but he made big leaps after that. My daughter was doing high school work at that age and could read anything she wanted without difficulty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 My 3rd grade dd reads on about a 10th grade level. My 2nd grade ds reads on about a 3rd grade level. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 I actually think "grade level" of reading is kind of artificial... Readability indexes are usually formulas involving how many words per sentence or how many letters per word there are. A lot of times they're completely off. According to the website linked by the PP, The Grapes of Wrath is written at a 4.9 grade level and has an upper grades interest level. I can't picture a typical 4th grader reading that book. I voted based on test results. We use a computerized adaptive test. According to it, my daughter was reading at the same level as 10th graders when she was 8 and my son was reading at the same level as 6th graders...meaning they could do the same level of difficulty as those grades. In reality, most of our reading selections are 5th-8th grade on the AR scale because the content and interest level fits what I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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