Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Reading levels - how high do they go?

In our posts, many of us reference the grade level at which our children are reading. I've always wondered how high those levels go. Is there actually a grade 12 level for reading? Is that any different than an adult book?

Hi all,

I don't read most of DD7's books either. Lately I have been grabbing Battle of the Books choices a several grade levels up and letting her choose from those. I have already provided her with every violence and sex free classic I can think of that I feel she will enjoy. I'm kind of betting on the idea that the books they choose for school competitions are violence and sex free, but maybe I am wrong.

I couldn't possibly read all the books she does and also do all the other "stuff" from toilet scrubber to educational advocator and still have any shadow of a "real adult life".

Although, my husband did let her get a "graphic novel"(Puh-lease, it's a comic book) from the juvenile section and there was some overt references to sex on the second page.

My DD was reasonable enough to hand it back to him with a sad shaking of her head to indicate he was kind of clueless.

Really, we all have to give ourselves a break. I'm not going to puposely give her something to read that contains subject matter that is inappropriate. On the other hand, we all know some kids are just voracious readers and it's hard to keep up with all they are exposed to.

I'm glad right now the lines of communication are very much open with my child and hope that doesn't change drastically as she approaches the tween and teenage years.

This is a good question, though, I am very interested to read everyone's thoughts.

Yes, I agree with you about the testing for AR. It's a quick 10 minute vocabulary test, and it's only an estimate of reading level. My 3rd grader scored 6.0, but she reads some higher AR level books with good understanding. It really made me angry when the school used her STAR test score as an achievement test score for GT testing, though. I don't have a problem with the school's using the test for placement in reading groups or for an estimate of reading level, but I don't think it should be a part of GT assessment at all. Thoughts?

In general, I don't censor what my kids read. Unfortunately, my girls have learned some bad language from school/daycare already. Last weekend, they asked me the meanings of two different curse words, one of which they saw on a greeting card at Target. Sad, huh?

I've wondered the same thing myself. I am so unfamiliar with all of the tests than can be done. I really don't know exactly what dd's been given. Her 1st grade teacher was also a reading specialist and she was wonderful with dd. Last year at the end of 1st grade, dd (then 6yrs old) was said to be somewhere around a 6-7th grade level in reading and comprehension. I have no idea where she is now but the focus of her teacher this year is to expand her vocabulary since dd can read anything she is given.

The books she's reading right now are the Chronicles of Narnia, the first Harry Potter book and some non-fiction science books (mostly animal related). DD is rarely without a book in her hand but I do know everything she's reading. I read the Harry Potter book before she was allowed to read it to make sure I felt it was appropriate for her. (I love to read too so that makes it easy).

Oh, and over the summer she read Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and loved it! (although we had to translate quite a bit together!)

Yeah, it's scary. DD really didn't have a fair shake in the GT assessment process. We have no doubt she's gifted. There are just too many signs, and too many people (including all of her teachers) have said so. That many people can't be wrong about her. She did fine on the STAR test (93rd or 94th percentile, or something like that), but it's not really an achievement test.

They use DIBELS for referral, too. Don't get me started on that one!

It will be interesting to see what DD does in the spring on the OLSAT and SAT. We may also do private testing.

What is the STAR test? Are you referring to Accelerated Reader? Our school only uses AR as a peripheral requirement which usually means a minimum number of books or points are needed each grading period. I think that seems appropriate in comparison to your examples of schools using it as some sort of achievement measure. I am unfamiliar with the vocabulary versus reading comprehension aspect. I don�t pay much attention to AR, although sometimes the assigned levels do surprise me. The Angel Experiment trilogy, for example, ranges from level 4.4 to 4.6 despite the fact that they are from the Young Adult section of the bookstore. I�m not sure if that designation refers to the reading level or test difficulty level. Does anyone know the answer? In any case, it certainly doesn�t present a challenge to either kid. They read that type of genre almost exclusively (Fantasy/Adventure) and for recreation only.

Tammiane, we allow our kids (11 and 13 this fall) to read anything from the YA section or lower and any nonfiction they choose. Most classics are fine, but I am not willing to let them pick up typical adult fiction yet.

A STAR test is for AR. It determines a range of levels that the child should be reading between. For example, if they test at 5.0 level then they should read books between 4.5 and 5.5 (or something similar). Our school usually it only for points also and if you make your goal you get to do something special like an ice cream party or some such fun thing. It refers to the reading difficulty level and the content does not have to match the reading level. I found this out the hard way!

Several parents from my kid's school and I have been talking about the appropriateness of the higher level books for the younger children. When DS9 was in 2nd grade I let him read the Alex Rider series. He brought it home from the school library and loved the books and it was only on about a 5th or 6th grade level so I assumed it couldn't be too bad. After he had read the entire series we went to the book store to get the newest one. I couldn't find it any where in the junior and intermediate level books. I asked about it and was told it was in teen fiction!!!! I was a bit upset and wondered what on earth I'd been letting the child read! That is when I found out it was all about kidnappings and murders and blowing up the world, etc. Now I am more protective than lots of people about what their children read or watch but I did feel that this was a bit much for an 7 year old. But the damage was done and I can't honestly say that it hurt him.

So I've been wondering how do you find age appropriate content for higher level readers? I wonder if there are websites out there that give this information. I'd love to know if anyone out there knows of anyway to find out this type of information!

delbows - We read Romeo and Juliet together after going to a Shakespeare Festival Day at the library. The kids actually got to act out a simplified version of the play with one of the Shakespearean actors. It was a lot of fun. Dd loved it (she got to be Juliet) and so we picked up the book in the kids area of the library. It was actually fun "translating" the language together.

I would love to know too!

My mom's rule for me--and I was a positively voracious reader as a kid--was that if I could pick it up, I could read it. She found that without interference from her, I generally either put down a book that was too mature for me or I ignored the parts that weren't right for me.

Granted, I wasn't a particularly highly sensitive GT kid. Sex and/or violence didn't really faze me like they do some kids. I read "Gone with the Wind" in 3rd grade and loved it. I read "Wifey" in 4th, I think, sex and all. But I loved Judy Blume, so reading her adult novel was pretty much a no-brainer for me.

I'm not saying that's the right tack to take for everyone (or even for anyone else), but I do think it worked pretty well for me. I think such material can just provide an opportunity for "teachable moments" about our family's values. I'm much more conservative in my approach to TV and movies than I am to books.