Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Mostly Just a Vent - Reading Assessment

DD9 brought home her beginning of the year reading assessment with a grade level placement of 5th grade (insert massive rolling of the eyes here). This is the same child that 2 years ago scored in the 99.6th percentile in reading comprehension on the WIAT (comparable to how a 10th grader would score) and last year scored as a 9th grader on the school's STAR reading assessment. The same child who is going to the CTY awards ceremony this weekend because of her score on the SCAT verbal section. From dd's description of the assessment, I doubt her teacher even tested anyone past the 5th grade level.

Okay, I know I should just take a deep breath and let it go, but her teacher is going to use this score to determine what dd is allowed to read in class. In her experience children do best when they don't read books that are "too hard" for them. They need to read lots of books "at their level" in order to progress to the next level.

To read this teacher's communications, not one child in the class is an eager reader. We parents need to give our kids pep talks about how much fun reading can be! Reading is important! If we work on encouraging our kids to read this year they might (gasp!) choose to read on their own next summer.

I haven't mentioned to her teacher yet that we use grounding from reading as a consequence in our house. I'm sure she'd be appalled.

Okay, vent over. I did email dd's teacher her previous test scores, noting that since this was an "informal assessment" (her words) she might like some additional information to help dd choose books in class. Keeping my fingers crossed for a good outcome.

I have to laugh... we do the same thing here... threaten to take away reading because that is the only thing that DC does all the time. How many people have to do that?! HAHA!

We had this issue last yr. Said DC read X words per min. (well, DC said, there was only that many words to the assessment.) It never stopped DC from reading the normal choice books. The teacher realized it. We got those generalized notes home too about reading. I just took them to mean they didn't apply to our situation

Granted my dd is older so the schools are no longer involved in selecting what she reads for free reading, but dd12 came home with a similarly ridiculous reading assessment. Her middle school is using a measure called "acuity" - an online test of sorts. The questions for her grade (8th) were comprised of 7th grade reading comprehension and 8th grade reading comprehension in order to see whether they had retained the info from the year prior and what they would need to learn from this year's curriculum

I know that dd wasn't the only child to get a "100th percentile" score. (eta: we're well aware that the 100th percentile doesn't exist.) She didn't miss any of the questions. Like your dd, this is a kiddo who, two years ago, tested at around 1500 on the lexile test the school gave, who scored better than the avg high school student on the critical reading and writing part of the SAT last year, and whose reading scores on tests like MAPS were well beyond 8th grade by 2nd - 3rd grade.

Not only for my dd, but apparently for a lot of the kids in the accelerated classes, these tests are meaningless. I don't imagine that they can measure growth when the kid didn't miss any of the questions on the pretest measure, if we want to consider it that.

Good luck in your situation. I hope that they don't serve as gate keepers regarding what she can or cannot read!

I bet the 5th grade level has a lot more to do with how reading groups are being broken up. If there are other kids in the class who top out at 5th grade, then the teacher has a nice little clump of compatible readers. I agree that it is irritating.

I think we could start a club about disallowing reading. I have removed all the books from the house before. Recently, I have only done this in the car if dd won't stop reading long enough to get out of the car when we get home. I expect her to carry in her stuff and help with shopping bags. Giving her a minute to finish a page is one thing, but ignoring me is another. When its a problem, all the books go in the trunk for a few days. Nothing is worse than riding in the car with no book. I am SO strict!

Just had to say thanks - I thought I was the only kid whose parents used books as a carrot for good behavior. By the age of 10, I was reading Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour novels like they were candy, and my mom used to take the books away until I had my chores and homework finished.

If I tried to use "you can't read" with my son, he'd laugh until his stomach hurt.

I'm going to guess Steinbeck or Hemingway.

My mind boggles at the thought of removing all the books from my house. That thought alone has kept several members of my family from considering moving, at times.

We've removed all the books from dd's room before, when she's been grounded from reading. Thing is, if we're serious about it, we have to go over it with a fine tooth comb--she hides them everywhere. Under the mattress, behind the dresser, in the drawers, under the stuffed animals...and that's just in her room. She also hides them under the bath mat in her bathroom. And we wonder why she's in there for an hour at a time.

To answer a previous poster's question, she reads anything and everything, but she's especially into the Hunger Games trilogy and similar dystopia-type books right now. I made the mistake of giving her the Giver before bed one night and she couldn't sleep until we'd had a chance to discuss how unfair that society was. She's big into issues of justice, fairness, etc. She did a great book report on Witch of Blackbird Pond last year and every time she'd mention Kit being accused of witchcraft, she'd add "which is TOTALLY RIDICULOUS!" as an aside.

Is there a website or can someone fill me in on the various reading levels. Our district just moved to the DRA, which is apparently letters. I am amazed at how easy the books seem. But worse, they aren't even good writing or literature. How do you figure out these different systems.

Cat

Does it start with a "T" and end in an "E"?