Is reading "ON grade level" a bad thing??

[Jenny in GA]

Something has been occurring to me lately.

 

My friend whose third grade daughter is in public school is always picking library books for her that are listed at a fifth grade level, because supposedly that's what level she tests at. She would never dream of having her daughter read a book marked as "third grade."

 

People on these boards are always saying their kids read at least one -- usually two or three -- grade levels higher than their actual age. I don't think they're bragging; just stating a fact.

 

In WWE 4, I've looked up some of the books used for excerpts, and several are listed at a seventh grade reading level. At least one was listed at a ninth grade reading level!

 

I'm getting the impression that, if a child reads at the "grade level" for the grade they're in, that's actually a bad thing. In other words, that the bar is set very low for grade level, and that it's a bare minimum (at best).

 

Do you find this to be true?

 

My fifth grade daughter reads exactly at a fifth grade level. Does anyone else have kids that read exactly at their grade level, and not higher?

[Julie in CA]

I don't think "at grade level" means that most kids in that grade read at that level. I think it means that if your child isn't reading to their grade level, then you should consider whether or not there's a problem. In other words, it's not necessarily an "average reading level for that grade", but rather, a minimum that would be expected. That would explain why most kids read above their grade level.

 

If you're satisfied with your dd's reading level, and you don't see signs of a learning disability, I wouldn't worry about it much unless you suddenly see a lack of forward progress. :001_smile:

[fhjmom]

In my masters education classes, we actually divide reading levels into "independent", "instructional", and "frustration". Independent reading should be at the student's level that they can read by themselves and know almost all the words, concepts, etc. they should be able to read by themselves and have a high level of comprehension. This is the level students should be reading for pleasure and is typically 1-2 grade levels below their instructional level.

 

Instructional level is one where the student should be challenged but can still be successful. They may need to look up vocabulary or ask for explanation of unfamiliar concepts but overall they can be successful reading the majority of the text. This would be appropriate for instructional materials and possibly some pleasure reading for a highly motivated reader who likes the challenge.

 

Frustration level is pretty self explanatory. ;)

 

IMHO, it is a good way to kill a child's desire to read to ask them to always choose materials at their instructional reading level. Allowing them to read at their own independent level builds confidence and also content knowledge and comprehension skills in a highly successful setting. I would make sure I knew what the assessment the is being used is actually testing; and many only give the "instructional" level. To answer your original question, I don't think it is a bad thing at all for a child to be reading on grade level.

[kalanamak]

 

IMHO, it is a good way to kill a child's desire to read to ask them to always choose materials at their instructional reading level.

 

The whole post is what I've come to believe. :iagree:

[laundrycrisis]

I'm getting the impression that, if a child reads at the "grade level" for the grade they're in, that's actually a bad thing. In other words, that the bar is set very low for grade level, and that it's a bare minimum (at best).

 

 

It depends on the child, and where the child is coming from regarding his or her skills, and how challenging the child's school work is for that kid. I do not like to see a value judgement word such as "bad" applied to this. There is no reason to apply a word that is only likely to make someone feel like "carp" over her kid's reading level. For one kid, reading three years above grade level is not challenging and there is no advancement of skills, and it would be a good idea to include some more challenging reading. For another kid, reading 2-3 years behind grade level may be very challenging. If a kid is doing his or her best, being challenged and receiving the help needed to keep advancing, that is good. It's only "bad" if a child is not being challenged and provided with appropriate help.

 

Our DS1 has had to deal with visual processing issues and has had a mighty struggle with learning to read. Not his fault, and not my fault either. After several years and some very specialized outsie help and a lot of very hard work, I am thrilled that he is now reading at grade level ! I will never agree to call this "bad" ! It is personal and unique. If the child is being challenged to advance his or her skills through school work, from wherever those skills stand today, and is learning to enjoy reading and not wanting to avoid it, and is being given the help needed to keep advancing, that's all good regardless of reading level.

 

BTW I am referring to all schoolwork reading. Reading for pleasure should be at whatever level the person chooses.

Edited April 5, 2012 by laundrycrisis

[Desert Rat]

My youngest reads at grade level. I've noticed a huge improvement this year, but he was slow to start to read. My oldest read at a 5th grade level when he turned 5. It was crazy! I still challenge my youngest to read any book he likes even if it is a bit hard for him. If he gets frustrated, we put it down and revisit later. But, I don't want him to think he's limited to reading just third grade books.

I think people like to have spectacular kids. They like to have a special. I'm thrilled with my guy who has learned to read on grade level just as much as I am with my smartie who started reading at 18 months.

[catz]

Some kids learn to read in an all or nothing way. My kids seemed to learn this way. They were not interested and then within months went to probably a 5th or higher grade level (at K when introduced to reading). Some kids learn to read more incrementally.

 

If you have a child that enjoys reading at grade level for pleasure, I think that's great. :001_smile: I agree with the comment about fostering a love of reading before pushing your child to higher and higher levels. If your child tested at grade level X and you only allowed them to have that grade level, I think that's a little nuts. I let my kids pick most of their own reading and it's all over the place in terms of reading level.

[angela in ohio]

IMHO, it is a good way to kill a child's desire to read to ask them to always choose materials at their instructional reading level. Allowing them to read at their own independent level builds confidence and also content knowledge and comprehension skills in a highly successful setting. I would make sure I knew what the assessment the is being used is actually testing; and many only give the "instructional" level. To answer your original question, I don't think it is a bad thing at all for a child to be reading on grade level.

 

And that could be at, above, or below "grade level" for each individual child. It's not that reading above grade level will kill the child's enjoyment of reading, it's that constantly reading above the child's own reading level for enjoyment is unenjoyable. If homeschooling teaches us one thing, it's that each child, when taken off the assembly line, will develop at his or her own pace. The idea of all students of x age reading at x level is for the convenience of class instruction and has less to do with homeschool students.

 

So for you friend's child, if her reading ability is high, she will enjoy reading those books. It doesn't really matter what grade level she is in. Unless I knew the mother to have issues, I would trust that she knows her dd's abilities and is choosing books based on them.

 

As for homeschooling parents on this board, yes, the average homeschool student does tend to read at a higher level than the average public school student, imho, though in many places the average public school student reads below (sometimes far below) grade level, so that might not mean much. Homeschool students get more practice from what I see IRL, and they tend to read (especially students of parents on a classical education board) classic literature rather than only popular series fiction, which increases their abilities. That average doesn't mean that there aren't students with reading abilities at or below grade level as well, and there is nothing wrong with that. I know parents who would be thrilled to have their dc read at grade level, so I think it's something to be happy about.

 

The WWE excerpts should be above grade level. If you are teaching a child to write and showing them models, you want them to be above their level, so that they are learing something. That doesn't mean they would be expected to read those books necessarily.

 

There are plenty of posts on here about students reading at or below an average reading level, though those many not stick out to people.

Edited April 5, 2012 by angela in ohio

[Princess Peach]

It really depends on the child. My oldest was tested at a 10th grade reading level in 4th grade. It certainly would've been inappropriate for him to be actually reading that material, though. So I suppose he read at below his ability for quite some time.

 

My DD tests pretty much on grade level and my younger DS has had tremendous troubles learning to read, was held back to 2nd grade this year and is now reading at a 2nd grade level.

 

All that to say, I don't much care what their reading level is, as long as they are not having difficulty in school. As long as they keep reading, I'm happy.

[fhjmom]

And that could be at, above, or below "grade level" for each individual child. It's not that reading above grade level will kill the child's enjoyment of reading, it's that constantly reading above the child's own reading level for enjoyment is unenjoyable. If homeschooling teaches us one thing, it's that each child, when taken off the assembly line, will develop at his or her own pace. The idea of all students of x age reading at x level is for the convenience of class instruction and has less to do with homeschool students.

 

So for you friend's child, if her reading ability is high, she will enjoy reading those books. It doesn't really matter what grade level she is in. Unless I knew the mother to have issues, I would trust that she knows her dd's abilities and is choosing books based on them.

 

 

I agree and just to clarify what I wa saying, if the parent that is choosing reading material based on an assessment that tests instructional reading level the selections may not be really appropriate for her child's independent reading.

[mytwomonkeys]

reading levels are sometimes more of a hindrance than a help. i see more people stress about this than necessary. my kids read well & are free to read what appeals to them. they get a lot of rich literature from our read alouds, so i don't become overly concerned with twaddle and/or lexile levels.

[SKL]

Parents choose their third-graders' library books? I don't even choose my KG kids' books.

 

I think that at that age, it's interest level that determines what a child "can" successfully read. If your daughter is keenly interested in, e.g., horses, she will be able to read horse-related books at a much higher reading level than books on other topics.

 

And, there's no harm in reading an un-challenging book now and then.

[Dmmetler]

FWIW, I was one of those kids who was always pushed to read at my reading level, which meant reading Judy Blume at age 6 and being handed Dickens by age 8 or so. When I got to college, my school had a great children's book collection in the library for the education majors, and I spent a good part of college sitting in the children's literature collection, just reading all these wonderful books I'd missed, for fun. My now husband commented that I was the only person he knew who would go from Introduction to Psychoneurophysiology to "Pat the Bunny". :). I now let DD pick whatever books she wants to read, and she regularly will have high school and college level non-fiction, adult light fantasy and fiction (things like Robert Asprin or Piers Anthony), and children's picture books, all out at the same time.

 

I think one reason why parents in PS tend to pick books at the child's tested "reading level" is because that's what's required to get credit for them on programs like Reading Counts and AR. The AR STAR test uses Cloze techniques to judge reading level-that is, can the child pick a word that fits into the sentence, so they're using vocabulary to judge where a child should be reading. My DD was testing post-high school on the STAR test by age 5, and it was simply because she was quite good at picking the word that "sounded right" in the sentence. I don't know that she knew the meaning of half the words she gave as answers.

 

I think part of the myth of "All children even out by 3rd grade" is because after about a 5th grade reading level, publishers seem to go to "Young Adult" themes in literature, which simply aren't all that interesting to a child who is 7, 8, 9, so a lot of gifted readers will keep reading books at about the same level for pleasure for years, and since they're also not given textbooks or other subject reading material above their level, the assumption is that they're reading at that level because that's what they're capable of, not because that's where they find books they like. It's like assuming that a child who mostly reads comic books is a poor reader, even though there are research studies showing the exact opposite.

[Lizzie in Ma]

I don't think there is anything wrong with it.

My kids have always had the capability of reading well above their grade level.

This has not meant that they always choose to read books at that level.

They will frequently return to beloved books regardless of what age they were written for, akin to my fondness for YA as an adult.

As long as they are readers, I am happy.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

reading levels are sometimes more of a hindrance than a help. i see more people stress about this than necessary. my kids read well & are free to read what appeals to them. they get a lot of rich literature from our read alouds, so i don't become overly concerned with twaddle and/or lexile levels.

 

:iagree: My older son can read and comprehend things way beyond his grade level. Should he necessarily be reading those things? I don't think so. And so far, he's pretty much just interested in reading things geared toward his age level.

[ocelotmom]

I choose many of my kid's books. They don't mind. I think I'm pretty good at it because they often like my choices. :D

 

This is not to say I don't let them choose.

 

Same here. If it were left up to them, they'd get all Scooby Doo and Pokemon. But I know what type of things they liked, and what I enjoyed as a kid, and they usually end up enjoying what I choose.

 

When they branch out a little more on their own, I'll cut back my involvement :) (This is happening. It's only within the past few months that DS has really been reading books independently, and each trip to the library he's getting higher level books and doing more of his own choosing.

[Tammyla]

This...:iagree:

 

In my masters education classes, we actually divide reading levels into "independent", "instructional", and "frustration". Independent reading should be at the student's level that they can read by themselves and know almost all the words, concepts, etc. they should be able to read by themselves and have a high level of comprehension. This is the level students should be reading for pleasure and is typically 1-2 grade levels below their instructional level.

 

Instructional level is one where the student should be challenged but can still be successful. They may need to look up vocabulary or ask for explanation of unfamiliar concepts but overall they can be successful reading the majority of the text. This would be appropriate for instructional materials and possibly some pleasure reading for a highly motivated reader who likes the challenge.

 

Frustration level is pretty self explanatory. ;)

 

IMHO, it is a good way to kill a child's desire to read to ask them to always choose materials at their instructional reading level. Allowing them to read at their own independent level builds confidence and also content knowledge and comprehension skills in a highly successful setting. I would make sure I knew what the assessment the is being used is actually testing; and many only give the "instructional" level. To answer your original question, I don't think it is a bad thing at all for a child to be reading on grade level.