What reading level for second graders is typical?

[Anonymous]

6:10 here again..it is true that for some the story goes like the pp...but I had to bite my tongue every time people said..just keep reading to him. We read alot..he loved books..but he just couldn't make sense out of the sounds. He did learn some simple words and was able to keep at that minimal grade level mark but nothing more and spelling was impossible. We did a full pycho-educational work up (yes expensive) which looks at many different parts of the learning process..including things like ADD. Despite the report the school would offer nothing in reading because he was on grade level. I am certain my son would not be reading if not for the outside tutoring we did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: At what reading level do you think a tutor is needed? We keep being told that if at benchmark, you're fine but I don't fully buy that, esp. since DC's private testing showed decoding skills 45 percentile points below his other test scores.

Have you presented the private testing to the school? If so, to whom? Who is telling you "if you're at benchmark, you're fine" (not by name, but by position -- is this the classroom teacher an IEP or 504 team?)

A test score 45%ile points below other test scores is such a vast difference as to be prima facie evidence of a learning disability. What specific scores are you referring to when you say this? (e.g. WISC v. WJ reading? or other?)

Sometimes a tutor is necessary even though a child is "on grade level". Perhaps it is taking a huge amount of work for the child to maintain grade level when a tutor who can give appropriate instruction would make things easier. Or perhaps what the child has expression or cognitive ability is far beyond what he/she can decode; this would create a lot of frustration.

What was happening with your DC that prompted you to seek out private testing? Did the private testing provide a diagnosis? What did the private tester recommend in terms of accommodations or remediation?

I have BTDT. Our IEP team also said in 2nd grade that our DC was "fine", denied my questions about DC possibly being GT/LD, refused to give assistance, etc. I fought for over a year with the school. All the while, DC's reading dropped. DC had entered school about 1 year ahead, but didn't make expected progress. However, even without the expected progress, DC was still "ahead" and the school maintained that he qualified for nothing. The problem is that consistent failure to make adequate progress eventually will bring the student down to or below grade level. The problem is that reading and writing skill demands become more and more complex beginning in 3rd grade. In this situation, the peers of the LD student are able to progress much more rapidly under general instruction and eventually the LD student is left behind and then it is often much more difficult to fix things. My DC did finally get an IEP as a GT/LD student in 3rd grade, but the remediation/goals were inadequate IMO.

In retrospect, I should have gotten a tutor in the necessary areas immediately when my DC was struggling instead of wasting time with the school. For us, this would have meant getting a Phonographix trained tutor for reading. I think if my DC had had this at the early age when I was initially concerned (instead of my listening to the soothing school voices) some of DC's problems wouldn't have snowballed.

BTW, the law (IDEA) says that you don't have to be "behind" or "failing" to get help. But, you do need to build a case that there is an "adverse impact" on education, even if it isn't showing in grades.

[Anonymous]

Thanks PP - great info. (This is 7:55 - not OP).

[Anonymous]

I am not sure of the lower end but in my sons 2nd grade class last year the range was around level J through level P. There was a cap at P.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure of the lower end but in my sons 2nd grade class last year the range was around level J through level P. There was a cap at P.

Why is there a cap at P?

[Anonymous]

PP. I don't know. There seem to be caps at every grade.

[Anonymous]

Second grade teacher here. Levels usually range from J-P in my class. Kids are mostly from well-educated families. A tutor is only needed if your child is below benchmark or in danger of falling below benchmark.

[Anonymous]

It's very rare for a second grader to be able to do written comprehension beyond level P. Second graders still need a lot of guidance with writing and have trouble formulating constructed responses that can pass them on to a level Q.

[Anonymous]

My child is at N and in the highest group. The next one is at L/M. And there are two below that, including a group that isn't at the benchmark yet.

[Anonymous]

On this site, most 2nd grade kids are reading at a 12th grade level, thanks to the work of dedicated and resourceful parents, and the only reason they are not yet reading at a college level is because their advanced calculus gets in the way.

[Anonymous]

My son's school has caps which seem to be one year above grade level. They don't tell parents they have caps, but it's obvious that they do; I have seen it for four years now. It seems like some schools do not have caps and will do a reading group for one or two kids, if necessary. Every year I have watched as kids who weren't in my son's reading group during a previous year move up to his group, but there isn't another group for him to move to becaue of the way they cap the groups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On this site, most 2nd grade kids are reading at a 12th grade level, thanks to the work of dedicated and resourceful parents, and the only reason they are not yet reading at a college level is because their advanced calculus gets in the way.

Amen.