How do I know what reading level my child is on?

[abh413]

We finished up K/1st & I'm happy with my DD progression. But how do I know her reading level? Is there an online evaluation somewhere? Or guidelines for how to figure it out?

[EKS]

You could have her take the DORA.  

 

A simpler way would be to look at the reading level of books she is able to read well.  It won't give you a perfect grade-month number, but in the end, it is probably a more accurate way to estimate reading level.

 

 

[HomeAgain]

Look at books she's able to read easily, then type them into lexile.com  The range of numbers you get back will help you find others at the same level.

[EKT]

I've never worried about or paid much attention to reading level. That said, at my library, they have a special set of shelves of books that are recommended by grade. So, they have a shelf that includes "Great books for kindergarten" and a shelf for "First grade favorites," etc. My girls can easily read the books on the shelf for the grade they are technically in as homeschoolers, so I know we're good. So, that's a good, non-stressful way for me to gauge reading level. Another option: if your local public school has a website or flier at the library with summer reading lists arranged by grade, you can look at the list and see if your child is reading/could read the books listed for their grade. (Though, like I said, I wouldn't worry too much either way, especially since you're happy with your daughter's progress.) Good luck!

[Jackie]

The Scholastic site lists grade levels in their book finder: http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/

 

The DORA, as mentioned by EKS, is much more thorough and would break the scoring into decoding, comprehension, spelling, etc. That one would cost you $20 and take a couple hours on the computer, and I don't know how much you want the answers.

[abh413]

Thank you all for the suggestions! I'm not looking to spend any money.

 

I think we will choose some grade level readers the next time we are at the library & go from there.

 

She's my oldest so I'm new to this. I think she's doing great but it's nice to be able to throw out numbers that relatives that don't homeschool will recognize when asked.

[cintinative]

You could buy or borrow the McCall Crabbs Standard Test Lessons in Reading--it gives you an approximate grade level of their reading ability

 

They *might* have it at your library?

Edited May 25, 2016 by cintinative

[J&JMom]

Easycbm.com has a free "lite" version that you can use to test letter and word recognition, fluency, and comprehension to compare with a national percentile. You can create an account that will save the data to compare later. It also has math competency tests as well. 

[ElizabethB]

I have several free options here:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/readinggradeleve.html

[Milknhoney]

If you're looking to prove yourself to relatives, have your daughter read out loud to them. They'll likely be stunned and impressed.