I asked her about the Mouse and the Motorcycle (I was very skeptical that this was an appropriate book for him) and apparently he did not complain about it and was able to answer comprehension questions. One other boy in the class was reading it as well. The teacher last year said he whipped through the Level O assessment in the middle of the year (they do Fountas and Pinnel). She said he could probably read more advanced material but she didn't have higher level assessments.
Fast Forward to this year. First grade teacher says that DS is reading at a Level L. (is it a coincidence that this is the highest level she has in the classroom?). Even the picture books that DS reads here at home are a higher level than that. i told her that doesn't sound right and she said he needs to learn to answer comprehension questions better. The stuff he is bringing home isn't even Level L most of the time. He has brought home books that are about a Level B! Very frustrating. I talked to another mom in the class and she said the same thing (and her kid had a different teacher last year). It is like we are going backwards one complete year.