I think also the fact that you are talking about 6-9 year olds also play into things. DS 7 last year found the captain underpants books in his school library. They are maybe 15 levels below his reading level, but he found them just as hysterical as the other boys in his class. Because he was 6 and its toilet humor! However those boys are not then capable of reading and understanding Neil deGrasse Tyson's book about killing Pluto - mine could. Comprehension is often the thing teachers or others who believe in leveling out hang their hats on - he's not getting all the depth of a book, like after reading the little prince, or something else with depth. So they think sure he's reading but he's not absorbing so then at 3rd grade when all the others are reading those books, they think DS's depth has not developed, possibly because unless you engage in a deep conversation you won't find out if they understand it deeply. But any teacher actually doing reading assessment should be able to see the difference. I also think the whole reading on a 4th grade level or whatever terms are used also often mask things - the average 4th grader or the gifted 4th grader.
What also interesting is that this leveling out conversation disappears in high school where separation is encouraged, with honors and AP courses.
DeHe
