Reading level poll

[minkin03]

I was just curious as to what level your LOs are reading at now, and how old they are.

[moominmamma]

My kids can all read anything. Youngest is 7 and just finished re-reading the Hunger Games trilogy (yes, she's got older sisters...) and a travelog by Dervla Murphy and is currently reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. She has a taste for dystopic fiction which I guess maybe she picked up from me.

Miranda

[bec]

I am not sure where her reading level is at right now. She's comfortably reading books that are over rated at over 800L on the Lexile scale, which is somewhere between 6th-9th grade. I would put that at being able to read pretty much anything that she is likely to see. She's going to be 7 in December.

[LynnS6]

Ds: Age 9 in the 4th grade. Reading level probably 7th-8th grade. He can pretty much read anything he cares to, our real problem is finding things he's interested in. I know he can read lexile level 1000-1200 books, which seem to range from 6th grade through about 10th grade, from the charts I just looked up.

Dd: Age 6, in the 1st grade. Reading level: 3rd-4th grade or so. Lexile level 500 is too easy for her, and I've seen her tackle lexile 800. But she's most comfortable around 600-700 right now.

[eepster]

Reading level, is a multi faceted thing. The various systems that exist for measuring reading level often measure completely different aspects of level. So, a child who is at level X for aspect A is, may be at level Y for aspect B.

With that said, the hardest book DS (4y 7m) has read part of so far is a "level 4" that is claimed to be for 2-3rd grade. He only read a couple of chapters in it though, so I think his endurance is still on a 1st grade level, though obviously his decoding is higher. I have no idea about comprehension, beyond he understands what signs around us mean, since I never actually test him on that (well, I don't test him on any aspects of reading, but since he reads the leveled books often I have a clue there.)

[Linda on the move]

My kids are 12 and 13 and both read at college level. They are both officially gifted, and neither were early readers. My older DD started reading at 7, and my younger DD started reading at 8.

Both my kids are avid readers.

[no5no5]

I am still saying that DD (4 1/2) reads at the 4th grade level, because she's never read a whole book beyond that level. I've been saying that for a year now, I think! And she still enjoys her old board books that she could read when she was 2, but she is clearly craving more challenge. I'm having trouble finding it, since her endurance is still fairly low and her interests are pretty young, but her ability to decode and understand is through the roof, limited only by her vocabulary (which is pretty great for a 4-year-old, but clearly not yet at a college level).

Her favorite book right now is Brain Surgery for Beginners, which Scholastic rates at 5.4, and she reads it easily...but again, not the whole thing, or at least not all at once.

ETA: I realize that I sound like an idiot for saying that DD has "young" interests and then saying that her favorite book is about brain surgery, but other than surgery (which I guess is a pretty quirky interest for someone her age), she's really into dinosaurs and rhymes and animals, etc., and not at all interested in the social dynamics of school-aged kids.

[loraxc]

The hardest books DD is currently reading are I think around 1100 Lexile. That's supposed to be 7th grade level or so, but I think those books are rated rather too high. I would say I think she's comfortable at a 6th grade level of difficulty in terms of vocab and sentence structure, but there are many books at that level I wouldn't give her and that she wouldn't enjoy or really understand. On her own, she reads anywhere from around 3rd-6th, usually more like 4th? That's more about interest and themes, though. She doesn't like anything dark, sad, or overly emotional/introspective. If something harder appeals, she will try it. The only series she was actually interested in that I remember her rejecting for being too difficult was Erin Hunter's Warrior cat series, which interestingly is rated lower than various books she's finished with no issues. She sometimes is scared off by small print or books that look very long--she assumes they're too hard.

She will be 7 in January.

[jkpmomtoboys]

How do you know what your kids' reading levels are? Do you just look at the back of the book that they're reading for the level? Do you look at average lists for a certain grade? Do the teachers tell you? I've never had a teacher tell me that.

Just wondering...

[Thalia the Muse]

I have no idea what DDs reading level is! Her recent reading has been Anne of Green Gables, the "The Name of This Book Is Secret" series (fun but not particularly difficult reading, I think), old Nancy Drew books, and the original Oz books. Oh, and the Narnia books. Basically, she's all over the place.

She's nine, in fourth grade.

[loraxc]

jkp, there are websites you can use:

http://www.lexile.com/findabook/

vague grade level equivalents:

http://www.lexile.com/about-lexile/g...ivalent-chart/

and this one:

http://www.arbookfind.com/default.aspx

I think the AR one overestimates, and others agree. In general I consider these rather vague ranges.

Sometimes they do have them on the back of the book.

[TEAK's Mom]

My 8 year old can and does read everything and has been able to do so for a long time. She was reading novels before 4 and hasn't been officially evaluated since then. Things she's been reading today: The Last Hunt, The Titan's Curse, I Shall Wear Midnight, and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. She tends to enjoy fantasy and science and reads very quickly.

My newly turned 6 year old has only recently started to read. She is learning quickly, but on a more standard time table than her sister. She is more concerned with Ballet and Kung Fu.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by jkpmomtoboys

How do you know what your kids' reading levels are?

it was part of the standard testing and grading practices at the school they attended last year. Every child's reading level was tested quarterly and improving their level was part of their grade in reading.

[Doodlebugsmom]

At the suggestion of my dd's first and second grade teachers, she was tested for the TAG program last year near the beginning of her second grade year. At that time, her results showed that she was reading at approximately the 8th grade level.

[karne]

It's complex....tested reading level is 2-3 years above gr. level at least, comprehension is off the charts....but to listen to him read out loud, I'd say he's squarely at grade level.

[Daffodil]

My DD is an outlier on this thread. She's 7 1/2, would be in 2nd grade this year (but she's homeschooled), and she reads at about a second grade level. I really do think she's gifted, but she also seems to have some type of learning disability. Some of what I've read about naming speed deficits or dyseidetic dyslexia sounds like it might fit, though I'm not sure she'd be considered behind enough to be called dyslexic.

DS will be 5 in a couple months. He reads CVC words, and is just now appearing ready to move on from there.

[hergrace]

DS1 (7) has read books at a 1200 lexile measure (late high school equiv.) when he has been interested, but most of what he wants to read is in the 800-1100 range. At this point, I only check when I see a question like this. Basically, he can read anything he wants to. He loves fantasy aimed at 9-12 year olds.

ETA: He reads at slightly above grade level in his second language and is frustrated by having to read the "baby" books.

DS2, DS3, and DD (3) are picking sight words they know out of a sentence.

[LynnS6]

Originally Posted by jkpmomtoboys

How do you know what your kids' reading levels are? Do you just look at the back of the book that they're reading for the level? Do you look at average lists for a certain grade? Do the teachers tell you? I've never had a teacher tell me that.

Just wondering...

I know because of ds' score on the state reading assessment was passing for 7th grade. I also look up the books that he's reading on the Scholastic Book Wizard, and their lexile levels. Scholastic's reading levels are approximate (people here think they tend high, and I agree), but combined with the lexile levels, it gives me a sense of where they're at. Books that they can burn through in a short period of time are ones that are too easy. Books that they can read on their own are at the right level. Books that they struggle a bit with are too hard or at their instructional level.

The other thing to note is that the level of books for pleasure reading are probably lower than the 'instructional' level. So, I've put the levels that I know my kids are reading for pleasure.

Originally Posted by Daffodil

My DD is an outlier on this thread. She's 7 1/2, would be in 2nd grade this year (but she's homeschooled), and she reads at about a second grade level.

At age 7, I think ds was also reading at a 2nd grade level. It wasn't until the middle/end of 2nd grade that his reading took off. That's one of the things that makes me think he's gifted. It's not that he started off ahead, it's that his growth has been faster than average.

[ChristaN]

My one who really likes to read is 12 now, so it is probably no longer relevant in that most 12 year olds who like to read can read pretty much whatever they'd like I imagine.

Throughout the years, her lexile scores that I remember ran at 1000 in 2nd grade (age 7), close to 1300 in 4th (age 9) and 1500+ in 6th (age 10 -- she skipped 5th). She was comfortably reading Harry Potter at 6.5, The Call of the Wild at age 8, & The Phantom of the Opera at 10. She also read the Hunger Games trilogy in the past few years and a lot of other easier books b/c she enjoys them.

My youngest just turned 10 and is in 5th. I'd say that she reads comfortably at around an 8th-9th grade level. She might be able to read more challenging books than that, but she virtually never reads unless she has to. Reading just isn't her thing and she isn't the fastest reader either.

[whatsnextmom]

My kids are older so reading levels are pretty irrelevant. I know the last time DD (now 13) was assesed she was considered post high school level. I believe she was 10 at the time. DS's (9) assesment last spring put him at 6th for English and 5th for Spanish. However, that test only scored through 6th grade so don't know if he would test higher or not. He's reads a lot of non-fiction text these days.