Reading groups
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Anonymous
| My kid was moved down in reading when writing was introduced in 1st and 2nd grade . No one knew then that she had adhd and no one questioned moving her down after she has been at nearly the same level in kindergarten! She was really bored and stagnated further until I talked to the 2nd grade teacher. She thought about it and then said, "you know, she does give deep answers in oral discussion, it's the writing that is pulling her back, but I'm going to move her up." Very grateful she could see what I saw, but with 20+ kids, it would not have been easy for her to spot. Sometimes parents are in a position to provide observational info, and some teachers appreciate it and are receptive. |
Anonymous
NP, but if the student’s test scores are off the charts and the material is for someone just starting out decoding, then the student is obviously not being matched with the appropriate reading group/level. Think that’s what these parents are concerned about - things like this. |
Anonymous
How do you even know this?!! I am a teacher and obsessed with my child's school stuff and ask him all the time. I do not know what group he is in or what level the group is or what level the kids that might be in his group to determine what level it is. (Except the one time during the virtual where the teacher sent different work for each group and I could draw my conclusions from that). |
Anonymous
They used to give the MAP-RF for K-2, but now I think they switched back to DIBELS. |
Anonymous
How do you not know this? Do you have a kindergartener? Does your school not send home reading material with the reading level on it? Once your child is in 2nd you've had quarterly reports hat report the reading level and you've had quarterly testing of reading level plus map. You should actually know this unless you're a really checked out mom if you are in our school district. But you may be somewhere where this information isn't beaten into your heads. In fact it's really the only feedback you get from the school at all unless there are behavioral or emotional concerns. |
Anonymous
I know what my child's reading level is - heck I can test him myself. But I don't know the levels of the other kids in the class so therefore I could not tell the teacher he is in the wrong group. Teachers should not be shring that information and if you know then you are doing way too much gossiping with other parents in the class. |
Anonymous
| You sound a bit clueless. Not many kids are reading actually chapter books in K and if that child is put into a group where they have booklets with only three letter words you don’t need to be a genius to realize they is an issue. In DC’s class they post reading groups on a chart. |
Anonymous
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I would tread lightly so you don’t offend the teacher and make her/him defensive. IME, there was a lot of fluidity to reading groups in K and 1st, with a bit less in 2nd. By 3rd grade there was very little fluidity.
My dc’s first grade teacher did not administer the reading assessment in the spring to kids who were well above grade level, but we still got the letter from MCPS, stating that our child had recently been assessed. They just reported the winter results again, without disclosing that these were old results. I thought my child hadn’t progressed. Then, in the fall of second grade, for some reason, my dc tested lower on the reading assessment than they ever did in first grade (perhaps it was the writing component?). They were placed in a reading group that was reading all of the books my child had already covered in first grade. I didn’t find out until parent-teacher conferences. I expressed concern and surprise because by this time, my child was reading much longer, more complicated texts at home and clearly comprehending them. The teacher didn’t budge. When my dc took the MAP-R in the winter of second grade, they tested many levels higher and got moved to the highest reading group. I was glad dc was back on track. I made sure to check in about the spring reading assessment score, and guess what? Once again my child wasn’t tested in the spring because dc had maxed out on the score in the winter and therefore wouldn’t be tested again until 3rd grade, when they administer a test with higher reading levels. Again I received the letter informing me that dc had recently been assessed when they had not, and the winter score was reported. By third grade, our school didn’t move kids between classrooms for reading to group kids as accurately as possible. DC’s teacher taught reading to every child in her classroom. She had 4 reading groups: kids who were still just learning the basics of reading, kids who could read but were below grade level, kids who were on grade level, and kids who were above grade level. It didn’t matter if you read 1/2 a grade level above or 4 grade levels above, you would still be in the same group. DC was in the highest reading group in their class and had higher MAP-R scores than dc’s twin in another 3rd grade class, but had a lower instructional level because the instructional level was based on the group as a whole and the teacher’s determination of what level of instruction was appropriate. In fifth grade, dc was in a local CES, and the class only had two reading groups. DC was placed in the lower one and was disappointed with the selection of novels compared to what the other group got to read. I thought dc was wrong that there were different levels in a CES, so I didn’t follow up with the teacher. More than halfway through the school year, when dc was admitted to a middle school humanities magnet, dc told me that they’d been moved to the higher group. Shortly after that, dc’s teacher approached me at a school event and actually told me that they’d never even looked at dc’s MAP-R score when they assigned reading groups, but now that they’d found that dc had the highest MAP-R in the class, they’d moved dc to the higher group. 😧 If you think your dc may be in the wrong group, you may be correct, but it’s a long road and the older your child is, the less their placement matters. Their own individual ability is more determinative. |
Anonymous
+1. My two kids were always in the highest reading groups. It literally only meant they had the least amount of small group guided reading time and extra read-to-self time. It’s no great prize. |
Anonymous
In which grade? I know in K my kid was in the highest and they didn’t meet with the teacher as frequently. But in 3rd it shouldn’t be that different don’t you think? My kid did well on the MAP R which is why his reading group assignment makes no sense to me |
Anonymous
In K-1 most groups met a fairly equal amount of time. In 2nd, the teachers focused much more on readers below or at grade level. In 3rd, one teacher just didn’t do reading groups. Literally did not meet with small groups and assigned no novels. Other kid’s 3rd grade teacher met with all groups fairly equally. |
Anonymous
NP. My child's great met much less frequently than others for K-3rd. There were a few whole months where they did not meet. 4th/5th was at CES and there were no groups. Everyone read the same set of books and they had reading or English every day which was a great change. |
Anonymous
| My child's group met much less frequently than others for K-3rd... |
Anonymous
DP but ok I will pester more this year- we had the MAP scores last year but the kindergarten teacher never shared a reading level with us and really the MAP scores were rather meaningless to me! The class was big and I tried not to bother the teacher too much but I guess I should have.  They always got Ps on repot cards but can only read CVC words (like Bob books) so it seems like maybe they are behind and I need to find out if they qualify for remediation.....
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Anonymous
Another DP. Our school never sent home any reading materials in any grade. Did not find out reading level until parent teacher conferences in November. MAP was never mentioned until one first grade teacher told me about it (other one never brought it up). This was before parentvue/portals existed a few years ago. Some schools may be pretty chill about all this, especially if your child is above grade level and there are no concerns to communicate. |