He would pick the books in the room during silent reading time that were way below his level, read them through in a matter of minutes and then pretend he was reading if the teacher looked.
In our case, I finally figured out that the problem was how an appropriate book was defined. They were to choose "appropriate" books, and the big sign on the wall defining it spelled out "not too hard." My DD would pick books that were not too hard, and then was constantly butting heads with the teacher because the books she was reading weren't appropriately challenging.
I had no clue this was the standard practice. (My older daughter is dyslexic so I'm used to having to advocate for her to get reading help) I'm just disappointed b/c I had no idea the teacher stopped testing her after she reached a DRA level of 16 last Fall.
Can you share any online places that are good for finding out their reading levels? If I had to guess I would say she is at a mid-3rd grade level based on the books she is reading at home and their lexile level on Scholastic.
Considering family history, you might want to have some sort of assessment to monitor growth. We now have a reading level for DD9, which I pushed for in anticipation of writing her IEP for a reading disability. I'm not sure if monitoring her growth as a reader more accurately would have turned something up quantitative earlier or not, but I do feel as though we're missing 4 years of records reflecting her progress. ETA: by way of explanation, DD's reading level is mid- to late-high school depending on the type of reading she's doing. She's a 4th grader with a diagnosed reading disability.
Online reading assessments don't appear to be good measures, as most just focus on decoding. Reading is decoding, fluency, and comprehension. If I were in your place, I'd probably keep a journal of what your daughter is reading and the date. Look up the reading level on the occasional book, particularly the ones she enjoys. That's as good as any a measure of her level. The journal will give you a record of her level through time to look back on in the event you start to wonder about issues.
Come to think of it, considering DS' state, I should start doing the same. (Also maxed out at a DRA 16)
