My son is also in 1st grade, has a DRA level of 44 and reading a-z level of U/V. I was told that 44 was the highest the test goes as well. They don't test the kids' reading level after 4th grade and according to his teacher, DRA 44 is the end of 4th grade reading level. This matches up with what he prefers to read at home as well. I don't think it can be overinflated because they have a fluency test and a comprehension test that is part of the higher levels for DRA testing.