Does your school have the Accelerated Reader program?
For anyone who doesn�t know, it�s consists of computer based tests of 5, 10 or 20 questions depending on level and book length. For our school it is a non-graded requirement. Depending on the grade, kids are required to earn a minimum number of points. Some kids far exceed that minimum, yet their grade is based solely on grade level reading assignments and tests. At least as a parent, I see that they have excellent reading comprehension. The school librarian doesn�t allow my son to check out books far above grade level. We work around that by purchasing or borrowing elsewhere.
Other parents here have mentioned that math is an area that is easily accommodated by self study. In my opinion, reading (for comprehension, not phonics) is the easiest subject for kids to progress at their own rate. Although it isn�t a graded area at their school, I believe that the Accelerated Reader program is a more accurate measure of reading comprehension than any reading worksheet I have every seen. The exception is the Weekly Reader magazine-like papers that they do occasionally.
