I would try the approach that you are concerned that, while YES, there is a significant gap between your DD's reading and writing skill set-- if she is trying to WRITE at her readiness level about literature that far below her readiness level in reading--
she may not be motivated to improve her writing skills as a means of communicating her ideas about what she is reading.
If nothing else, pushing the writing demands up a bit may force identification of a problem sooner, and in any event, it will send the message to your child that writing IS for communication of authentic ideas, not just regurgitation of comprehension at a basic level.
We actually did try this in our second e-mail with the teacher stating how the low level could be exacerbating the problem to which she responded that at this time she is committed to the book and will not re-evaluate until mid-November.
I am embarrassed to say but the book is "See You Later, Alligator" in the Time Warp Trio series. It's been listed as a gifted reader book for 5 and 6 year olds and the class is spending 5 WEEKS on it. It's exactly like Magic Treehouse which DD read long ago. At home she just finished Harry Potter #4 and wants me to get back to the library for #5 this week. And this is for "high ability" reading.
Porosenok96 - Yes, they use DRA2 for assessment and the teacher has her at level 40 (level R). I have always been somewhat skeptical of this assessment because of it's subjectivity and how it never aligns with MAP. The group that is actually reading the book DD wants to read is at DRA 50. This book is DD's lexile level (hence her interest)but I am still investigating what DRA50 involves. Her MAP Lexile is 771-921. Most R books are in the 600's and low 700's. I know there has been discussion of the usefulness of Lexiles but I still like to see them and the related books.
I have thought about asking to sit in on the reading group to verify DD's statement that it is incredibly easy and filled with language-challenged readers (while the teacher says there are no problems in her e-mail to us). But this may be a nuclear option for the rest of the year. Typically I have found when a parent verifies what's happening, the teacher has found it more difficult to "wobble" as DH calls it.
We have conferences coming up in a few weeks and maybe it's best to wait until a face to face to really drive the message home. Perhaps finding out the DRA50 level and what it involves may be more of a bargaining point?
I would go for testing but DH does not want to. He feels it is not an issue and is wanting to wait until the next book choice to see if she makes an improvement.
