The part of the assessment that determines where they start the rest of the assessment is vocabulary. From there, he has to reach 99% in all of the other areas (word recognition, expression and fluency, comprehension) as well to move on. Still a bit of a hindrance to slow but accurate readers, in many cases, but, if the routing test is properly administered, he still shouldn't be placed many grade levels below his actual reading ability. The routing test is based on the text leveling system. If he can read and define at least 5 or 6 words from the list of routing vocabulary words for that level, then he should be administered the other tests for that level.
The problem probably comes when assessors stop before administering the level -above- the appropriate level, so they don't know what the actual highest level of vocabulary he would have passed is. The instructions should really say to administer vocabulary levels until the student passes -fewer- than five words, and then continue testing at the level below that. If he parked there, working on oral reading fluency, it wouldn't be so bad.
