Reading Levels

A note about reading levels...

There has been a move to reduce the use of reading levels to avoid competition and comparison between students. That said, reading levels can be a valuable tool to help students, parents and teachers select books for young children. When using reading levels, remember...

1) Reading levels are based on reading accuracy, fluency and comprehension- Often, a weakness in one of these areas may be offset by a strength in another. This often allows a child to read beyond and beneath his or her assessed level productively.

2) Reading levels are not labels- A child is not an "S" or "V"- these letters describe the approximate level of challenge that a child can manage productively.

3) Students are encouraged to explore books in reading "bands" rather than a single level- If your child has been assessed to be reading independently at a level S, by all means let her or him explore books in the R-S-T band of levels.

4) The overwhelming majority of reading material is not leveled! Individuals learn other ways to evaluate whether or not a text is suitable for them. As adults, we know when a text is unproductively simple or over our heads. Recognizing this is a great habit to develop in our young children. Engage in conversations with your child to get a sense of his or her comprehension of a given text, and make a decision about continuing the text jointly.