The teacher is not aware of my DD's reading level

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
She responded by saying, “I spend more time with DD than the teacher. Why would you assume I don't know her reading level? I do. I don't need fancy tests to know.” Now she also said that, “just to prove the point at school she is testing for 2nd grade level.” I believe that underlined part is a complete lie. Why? Because her first post is, “The teacher is not aware of my DD's reading level I'm bothered by the fact that DD's kindergarten teacher has been sending books for her to read at home and these books are way too easy for DD. I corrected the teacher and asked for higher level reading, but now it bothers me. Should she know the levels of her students?” Clearly if the school tested her at a 2nd grade reading level, the teacher would know she was at a 2nd grade reading level, even if she was sending the “wrong” books home. The mom is backpeddling now because she doesn’t “need a fancy test” to actually “know” what her child’s reading level is. So this is why this post is spot on...she KNOWS her kid's reading level without "needing" this "fancy test" that schools throughout the nation feel are necessary to determine true reading level.

Well, if she's fluently reading second grade books at home. And her DIEBELS scores are ranked for second grade. So if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and looks like a duck... maybe she DOES know the alphabet, after all.

It is Dibels, one "e". Who administered it?

Dibels is a fluency test, not a comprehension test. It has many critics. Here are some quotes from a WA Post article:
..."Early childhood expert Samuel J. Meisels, president of the Chicago-based Erikson Institute, a graduate school in child development, said DIBELS has "very, very weak validity," and numerous other critics have gone further. "It is an absurd set of silly little one-minute tests that never get close to measuring what reading is really about -- making sense of print," wrote Kenneth S. Goodman, a professor at the University of Arizona who is a past president of the International Reading Association, in his book "The Truth About DIBELS."
Goodman and others say the mini quizzes focus on only a few specific skills that do not encompass everything needed for comprehensive reading instruction. The emphasis on speed, they say, is misplaced in reading development. The quizzes include one in which students are supposed to read made-up words as fast as they can, called the Nonsense Word Fluency measure. Another asks students to read short passages out loud as fast as they can."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Dear, she is fluently DECODING second grade books at home.

Or she might actually be fluently reading second-grade books at home. The point is that the OP assumed, right off the bat, without any further information, that the teacher

1. doesn't know the reading level, and
2. has no good reason to send home the book that came home.

I think the OP is clear that she is assuming her child is reading at a second grade reading level because she reads books at second grade reading level at home. It is like when parents say their kindergarteners are reading Harry Potter. Like nails on a chalkboard...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't speak for others, but the reason I assumed you might not know her reading level is because you don't come across as having a high degree of cognitive flexibility, which suggests you might now know what is in someone else's mind.

In any case, I think its very bizarre that your take-away from the fact that Finnish teachers know their students very well is that teacher expertise is trivial relative to your momma sense.

So, in your mind, we should not question the expertise of a teacher? So if a teacher gives out assignments that are not challenging we should assume that she knows better and the child should stay bored?

No, I did not in any way say or imply that, and it makes me question even more if you would know a second grade reading level if you saw one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't the teacher tell you what her reading level is? Do you have question with the assessment? Or simply what was sent home that day.

I think the reason people are frustrated with the OP is that she clearly does not have a terminology right. It makes other think that she does not know what she is talking about.

sounds like it was simply that the child brought home a reading book one time that the OP thought was below her reading level. I would assume that the OP had gotten other info during the school year about the child's reading level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't speak for others, but the reason I assumed you might not know her reading level is because you don't come across as having a high degree of cognitive flexibility, which suggests you might now know what is in someone else's mind.

In any case, I think its very bizarre that your take-away from the fact that Finnish teachers know their students very well is that teacher expertise is trivial relative to your momma sense.

So, in your mind, we should not question the expertise of a teacher? So if a teacher gives out assignments that are not challenging we should assume that she knows better and the child should stay bored?

No, I did not in any way say or imply that, and it makes me question even more if you would know a second grade reading level if you saw one.

Was your child bored reading these books?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I think the OP is clear that she is assuming her child is reading at a second grade reading level because she reads books at second grade reading level at home. It is like when parents say their kindergarteners are reading Harry Potter. Like nails on a chalkboard...

OP here. Why, do you think it's impossible for a kindergartener to read at a higher level? Why are you dismissing this as an option?

Our friends' son was reading Harry Potter at 4, not just mechanically reading it out loud to his parents, but taking the book to his bedroom and reading it alone, for pleasure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Was your child bored reading these books?

Yes. She read them in one minute and there was not much to talk about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think the OP is clear that she is assuming her child is reading at a second grade reading level because she reads books at second grade reading level at home. It is like when parents say their kindergarteners are reading Harry Potter. Like nails on a chalkboard...

OP here. Why, do you think it's impossible for a kindergartener to read at a higher level? Why are you dismissing this as an option?

Our friends' son was reading Harry Potter at 4, not just mechanically reading it out loud to his parents, but taking the book to his bedroom and reading it alone, for pleasure.

But "do you read it for pleasure" is not how the teacher assesses a child's reading level.

Yes, he was reading Harry Potter. No, he wasn't reading at a Harry-Potter (whatever that is) reading level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

sounds like it was simply that the child brought home a reading book one time that the OP thought was below her reading level. I would assume that the OP had gotten other info during the school year about the child's reading level.

When DD started kindergarten she did not know how to read. I personally worked with her at home, every day to teach her. She was tested twice in the year - when she started and half way through. The scores were dramatically different. The teacher continues to send very easy books. This time, she explained it was due to a mix-up by a volunteer parent.

It turns out the teacher doesn't have time, as she told me, to listen to kids read, so, of course, how can she be aware of their advancement if she is not spending time listening to them reading?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Was your child bored reading these books?

Yes. She read them in one minute and there was not much to talk about.

So, one minute of boredom, and then she could move onto other books she picked out herself? If it were me, I wouldn't find much to get upset about here, but of course everybody has their own things to get upset about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, he was reading Harry Potter. No, he wasn't reading at a Harry-Potter (whatever that is) reading level.

What the f does that mean? If you read a book and comprehend it, then that's your level.

[Anonymous]

It turns out the teacher doesn't have time, as she told me, to listen to kids read, so, of course, how can she be aware of their advancement if she is not spending time listening to them reading?

Sounds like she had a busy day. Also, sounds like you need to home school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

sounds like it was simply that the child brought home a reading book one time that the OP thought was below her reading level. I would assume that the OP had gotten other info during the school year about the child's reading level.

When DD started kindergarten she did not know how to read. I personally worked with her at home, every day to teach her. She was tested twice in the year - when she started and half way through. The scores were dramatically different. The teacher continues to send very easy books. This time, she explained it was due to a mix-up by a volunteer parent.

It turns out the teacher doesn't have time, as she told me, to listen to kids read, so, of course, how can she be aware of their advancement if she is not spending time listening to them reading?

I would be seriously concerned if the teacher "doesn't have time" to listen to the kids read. What school is this? District at least?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So, one minute of boredom, and then she could move onto other books she picked out herself? If it were me, I wouldn't find much to get upset about here, but of course everybody has their own things to get upset about.

I'm upset that the teacher is not aware of my child's situation, of her strength and weaknesses, and is not challenging her.

If the teacher doesn't have time to listen to kindergartners read, then what is she there for? It's K, for God's sake, the entire goal for K is to learn how to read. Besides lining up properly along the walls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So, one minute of boredom, and then she could move onto other books she picked out herself? If it were me, I wouldn't find much to get upset about here, but of course everybody has their own things to get upset about.

I'm upset that the teacher is not aware of my child's situation, of her strength and weaknesses, and is not challenging her.

If the teacher doesn't have time to listen to kindergartners read, then what is she there for? It's K, for God's sake, the entire goal for K is to learn how to read. Besides lining up properly along the walls.

Are you generally happy with other aspects of the school? Any point in staying for first?