Reply to What is the highest reading level in your kindergarten class?

Forum Index » Schools and Education General Discussion

Reply to "What is the highest reading level in your kindergarten class?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm sure there are school systems that have the time to test children individually like this. Just because here in the DC area with classes well above 25 doesn't mean there aren't other schools much smaller with the time to do this. Outside of DC I hear about public schools in the 15-20 range all the time with no special ed, FARM, or ESOL students. Even here there are private schools of 10 kids in a class. [/quote]

There may well be but this person doesn't want to disclose it nor does she want to hear anything but that her child is well above and beyond.  Two first grade teachers commented as did many other parents about how advanced readers often level off and slower readers catch up.  (That is precisely why most advanced academics don't start until third grade.)[/quote]

I am not sure why it bothers anyone whether or not the PP's child is advanced. I am a school psychologist and the vast majority of advanced readers do not level off. There are kids who enter kindergarten decoding AND comprehending at a third grade level and above. It is silly to say the student doesn't comprehend a book because they can't somehow relate it to their own limited life experience. The vast majority of those kids do not stagnate for three years while the others catch up. They continue to progress, however, the difference is not so apparent. Anyone can tell the difference between reading at a kindergarten level (which is not really reading) and reading at a second grade level (you can read and understand beginning chapter books like Frog and Toad to slightly harder chapter book Junie B. Jones / Magic Tree House). However, it is much more difficult to tell the difference between reading at a third grade level and a fifth grade level, so it appears that everyone has leveled off.  There are a few students who enter kinder without knowing any letter sounds and are fluent readers by the end of kindergarten and have caught up to the earlier readers by second grade or so. They tend to have attended play-based preschools AND have well-educated parent who have read to them since they were very young.  The vast majority of students in the U.S. do NOT catch up if they are not reading at grade level in first grade; they fall further and further behind. Anyone interested in the research should Google Mark Stanovich and the "Matthew Effect".[/quote]

This is completely, completely against what I've been taught in my education (masters degree in education), my experience in teaching (both first and third grades), and the continuing education courses I've taken.  For what it is worth, we would not consider Junie B. Jones or Frog and Toad to be advanced literature on a third grade level.  [b]I think the above poster is the sock puppeting mother of the kindergartener.[/b][/quote]

You are wrong on a lot of things.  Mom of kindergartner here.  I'm not any of the PPs.  And, it is becoming more and more clear that you just suck at reading comprehension.[/quote]

I'm the mom of one kindergartener and one former kindergartener.  Former kindergartener was in the most advanced reading group (pulled by AART 2x/week for enrichment) and current kindergartener is the same (highest reading group, pulled for enrichment 2x/week for enrichment).  I have to say that what I've witnessed is similar to what the teachers posted.  Also, I attended the AART's informational session a few weeks ago about AAP and she said that the reason they don't do Level IV services until third grade is because there is a huge catch up to the faster readers by the slower readers by the end of second.  Again, I'm coming from the same stance where my kids were in the highest in kindergarten.  I also can tell you from someone who has had two advanced readers in K:  there is a peer group.  It is not unheard of.  (I felt so certain that my oldest child would be "the" best out of the class and was a little surprised to find that she was one of 4 kids pulled out for enrichment.  I then found out the other k class had several kids pulled out for the same thing. So while it was definitely a minority, there was a peer group of like readers.  Yes, I was surprised at that.  So that meant that out of about 56 kids in two different years, there were about 6 kids who were on a similar level.)

As a parent, I also do not consider Junie B Jones or Frog and Toad anywhere near a third grade level.  (Don't get me started on Junie B. Jones "Stupid Smelly Bus..!"  I was THRILLED when my then-kindergartener read through the Junie B. Jones series and got them out of her system (UGH!)  Frog and Toad is much more pleasant and is a classic...but I think it is a very, very easy book and not on a third grade level.  I'm not, in any way, discounting the fact that readers can be advanced in kindergarten...I'm simply giving my perspective that in an area like this, there are definitely several children who have these abilities.

As far as those who read being way ahead then as the years go on...I found in both first and second, several kids who were NOT pulled out for enrichment or who were not in the highest reading group, later joined in...remember if a family reads aloud to a child who may not be as advanced in reading, the child can still get vocabulary, different genres, etc.

I'm just giving my two cents and fully admit that I was surprised two years ago when my then-kindergartener was one of the best, but not the best.  The summer before she began, I felt certain she would be the stand out star...boy was I taken down a peg or two![/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics