Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion How do you define grade level?

A friend and I were recently discussing how differing perceptions play into how we define and describe our children.

Take the following hypothetical situation:

Let's say that Jane, age 7 and in the second grade, is assessed one day on the WJ and scores a composite that gives her a grade equivalent reading level of 8.6. Jane however only reads Junie B Jones books and the Magic Tree House. She started the first Harry Potter but put it away after the first couple of pages.

What would you say was Jane's reading level? 8th grade or 2nd/3rd grade?

Now let's say that Julie, also age 7 and in the second grade, was also assessed on the WJ and also scores a composite that gives her a grade equivalent reading level of 8.6. Julie however has worked her way through much of Charles Dickens and has recently started on Jane Austen's Pride and Predjudice.

What would you say was Julie's reading level? 8th grade or high school level (or possibly 12th grade +)?

(Neither child is 2E)

I'm unclear about the premise. Why do we need to say the reading level? Is this for something to turn into the state for homeschooling purposes or what?

We've never considered our child to be at a particular reading level or said or reported this to anyone. Once he could read well we figured he could read and beyond that there wasn't much point in trying to summarize that with a single reading level. For homeschooling purposes I have tried to keep an eye if there are particular reading related skills (summarizing, reading charts and graphs, etc.) that he needed to work on.

Hi,

I'm not sure what Jane or Julie's reading level is, but keep in mind that a grade level equivalent given on an achievement test is not actually the grade level the child is reading at. In the example you give, the grade equivalent reading level of 8.6 means that the child scored as well as an eighth grader would have taking the same test. (I hope I am stating this correctly! If I am not, please feel free to correct me!) In any case, this is explained better on the Hoagie's web site - check out this article:

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/tests_tell_us.htm

I hope this helps!

I remember being in a gifted program in grade 7 and the teacher saw a Hardy Boys book at a student's desk and had a fit. And most of us were reading Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. Top gifted students in the city in this particular class. She mentioned there was a boy in the 8th grade reading the encyclopedia and making notes. Which makes me laugh to this day.

Someone here shared about Ramona books. DD doesn't like Ramona but loves Junie B and Magic Tree house.

So reading level is not the same as interest level.

Ren

Yep. I say DD has a 4th-grade reading level, because she decodes and understands at that level. But her interest level is more often 2nd-3rd grade. (I think that's mostly because 4th (and many lower) grade books tend to have concepts and characters that just aren't relevant to her in her little 3-year-old world.)

When our son took the school's reading placement test the summer just before 2nd grade, he scored right around the middle of 8th grade.

Upon seeing the score I called to speak with his teacher. She confirmed it (he tested twice) but said that with scores that far beyond age/grade, it's rarely, if ever, used to start the kids out. (I was able to walk-thru the test with her and it is pretty much a vocabulary test, which makes a little more sense to me.)

While my son could undoubtedly read & understand all the words in an "8th grade" book, he's not likely to comprehend all the subject matter. And I'm certain that there's more than a few topics that I'm not in a hurry for him to tackle.

I personally like having the grade levels so that we can keep track of his progress, primarily for the sake of expanding his vocabulary and stretching his mind. But I don't like discussing these levels with other parents.

When parents at school have asked me what his reading level is, I usually say that the teacher lets him read any book he can wrap his mind around, and that there is no set level. I try to leave numbers out because the truth would just sound like bragging.

With your particular example, I'd say that Julie's true *reading* level is unknown, or at least somewhere between Junie B. and Harry P.

No, I don't think so because of the limitations in available reading material. There may be a child who wants nothing more than stories about safe happy stories about signing frogs written at a high school level but it doesn't mean those books exist. Like a lot of parents here we spent tons of time scouring library lists trying to find that odd old book that was emotionally young but intellectually challenging. Those sorts of books were our child's favorite, but that wasn't what he read the majority of the time because there simply wasn't enough of them.

Overall, I think the focus on grade level is probably not really helpful. Kids can be at more than one grade in the same subject and probably most are.

OH yes, the endless search for stimulating reading material which is not emotional inappropriate!

Also, I know my son's non-fiction reading level is MUCh higher than his fiction reading level simply do to exposure to those words in everyday conversation, TV shows, etc.

I'm sure if many of us checked our bedside tables we'd find some junk - mysteries, chick lit, legal thrillers written at the 7th grade level, that doesn't mean we are incapable of functioning at the post graduate level.

I think there's a physical component to some kids' reading choices, too. My DS7 has trouble reading books with too small print or books where there is too much text on a page without a break. It has nothing to do with his actual ability to comprehend older books, when we can find books that are more accessible at a higher reading level he devours them (such as recently retiring his Encyclopedia Brown collection when he discovered the classic Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books).