Anonymous
Post 03/17/2023 21:35     Subject: Reading levels
Our school no longer does levels, but if I recall correctly, my older child was one grade level behind and reading at a D level at the end of first grade (D is where they should have been at the end of K/beginning of first).
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2023 13:10     Subject: Reading levels
Child 1:
Start of K - nothing. Ended at J? This was the pandemic year
I think 2nd grade was P, ended at R
3rd T, ended at Z+? Out of levels. I hope those levels make sense. This school wasn't in the DMV area. He reads above grade level.

Child 2 in this area:
K: nothing, now at E (he tells me his level). I second the other posters though, his particular levels do not correlate with his reading ability. I'd put him at C.
Anonymous
Post 03/16/2023 23:06     Subject: Re:Reading levels
If you are suggesting app-based reading programs for Kindergarteners you have lost all credibility, sorry.

Better an F&P book than a screen
Anonymous
Post 03/16/2023 21:58     Subject: Reading levels
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP don't read too much into the F&P levels. School systems are moving away from using them because they don't give an accurate picture of early reading progress.

I like this video of a mom who is supplementing at home. Is My Kid Learning How to Read?

Part I The Purple Challenge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxx7hs0qdKQ

Part 2: Our Friend “Ur” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2pRi_B_Oj8


Listen to this PP. The F&P levels are really bad science and can be very misleading if you have a kid that is good at the F&P techniques but bad at actual phonics/decoding. I find the Lexile measure to be much more accurate for what it SEEMS like my first grader can handle, and I find things like having her read signs or instructions to me to be the most revealing. But note that even if your child is a good reader technically, they still have to build stamina. Once they get to being able to read smoothly without needing to sound out every word, they still will need practice to be able to get through paragraphs or pages of text without getting mentally tired.

And to answer your questions directly:

1) this actually doesn't matter. Our DCPS only tests up to the grade level benchmarks in kindergarten, so kids that are way above are often marked at lower levels than their actual ability. And for kids right in the middle of grade level, they can test at a higher level than their actual abilities for the reasons I stated above. I would pay attention to phonetic awareness (can they sound out new words? nonsense words that are phonetically regular?), comprehension (are they following the story as they're reading or focusing only on the decoding?), and make sure they can read plain text without pictures that give context clues.

According to school, my first grader started the year at a level G and is now at a level K. That said, she complains that all of the books in the classroom are way too easy and reads much harder books on her own at home. So again, grain of salt.

2) yes, absolutely supplement. A good reader is one that knows all of the phonics rules and can apply them automatically. There are tons of resources online for all of the different levels of phonics. If your school does F&P, then you NEED to supplement with phonics at home. It doesn't have to be drilling, try getting books like Fly Guy, Elephant and Piggie, the Scholastic Acorn series, and Step into Reading levels 1 or 2 (whichever is right) and work on being able to read and sound out every word in the book. If they can't sound it out, figure out what the phonics rule is and make a little chart with the "tricky" rules they need to practice.


+1 I am a reading specialist and all of this is accurate. If your child is still a beginning reader they need to build skills in decoding, spelling, and phonemic awareness. Most children learn these easily when taught correctly. I generally send decodable readers home to build fluency. I also recommend that parents read really fun books to kids at this age to build vocabulary and comprehension. If a school is still using F&P or "leveling" students, especially in K-2 I would be concerned and absolutely supplement. There are plenty of digital options that teach and reinforce these skills. Lexia Core 5 is decent, although not that interesting.
Anonymous
Post 03/16/2023 19:08     Subject: Reading levels
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:How do we know this?

I have a kindergartner in MCPS. This is not information that has been communicated.


My child comes home with books that have letter stickers on them. And he tells me “Mrs Larles told me to pick a Level D book because ‘C level book title 1” and “C level book title 2” were way too easy.”


Thank you!

My kid brought home a G book this week which is challenging but readable.

No clue where they started the year but there's been definite progress.

We do nothing at home, other than an average of 5 mins of reading to them a night.
Anonymous
Post 03/16/2023 12:27     Subject: Re:Reading levels
What has worked for my kids is for me to read to each of them individually for 10 mins a night before bed- from birth through ES (which is grades K-6 here).

I don't worry about anything else.
Anonymous
Post 03/16/2023 12:25     Subject: Reading levels
The easy way to figure this out it to look up on of their books they could confidently read at the beginning of the year and end of year. Then look up the Lexile or Guided Reading comparison charts.
Anonymous
Post 03/16/2023 11:49     Subject: Reading levels
Anonymous wrote:OP don't read too much into the F&P levels. School systems are moving away from using them because they don't give an accurate picture of early reading progress.

I like this video of a mom who is supplementing at home. Is My Kid Learning How to Read?

Part I The Purple Challenge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxx7hs0qdKQ

Part 2: Our Friend “Ur” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2pRi_B_Oj8


Listen to this PP. The F&P levels are really bad science and can be very misleading if you have a kid that is good at the F&P techniques but bad at actual phonics/decoding. I find the Lexile measure to be much more accurate for what it SEEMS like my first grader can handle, and I find things like having her read signs or instructions to me to be the most revealing. But note that even if your child is a good reader technically, they still have to build stamina. Once they get to being able to read smoothly without needing to sound out every word, they still will need practice to be able to get through paragraphs or pages of text without getting mentally tired.

And to answer your questions directly:

1) this actually doesn't matter. Our DCPS only tests up to the grade level benchmarks in kindergarten, so kids that are way above are often marked at lower levels than their actual ability. And for kids right in the middle of grade level, they can test at a higher level than their actual abilities for the reasons I stated above. I would pay attention to phonetic awareness (can they sound out new words? nonsense words that are phonetically regular?), comprehension (are they following the story as they're reading or focusing only on the decoding?), and make sure they can read plain text without pictures that give context clues.

According to school, my first grader started the year at a level G and is now at a level K. That said, she complains that all of the books in the classroom are way too easy and reads much harder books on her own at home. So again, grain of salt.

2) yes, absolutely supplement. A good reader is one that knows all of the phonics rules and can apply them automatically. There are tons of resources online for all of the different levels of phonics. If your school does F&P, then you NEED to supplement with phonics at home. It doesn't have to be drilling, try getting books like Fly Guy, Elephant and Piggie, the Scholastic Acorn series, and Step into Reading levels 1 or 2 (whichever is right) and work on being able to read and sound out every word in the book. If they can't sound it out, figure out what the phonics rule is and make a little chart with the "tricky" rules they need to practice.
Anonymous
Post 03/16/2023 10:34     Subject: Reading levels
This is nonsense
jsmith123
Post 03/16/2023 10:32     Subject: Re:Reading levels
Is this DCPS? I also don't know what level my K child is reading at using the scale you're referring to.
Anonymous
Post 03/16/2023 00:19     Subject: Reading levels
Anonymous wrote:How do we know this?

I have a kindergartner in MCPS. This is not information that has been communicated.


My child comes home with books that have letter stickers on them. And he tells me “Mrs Larles told me to pick a Level D book because ‘C level book title 1” and “C level book title 2” were way too easy.”
Anonymous
Post 03/15/2023 22:23     Subject: Reading levels
OP don't read too much into the F&P levels. School systems are moving away from using them because they don't give an accurate picture of early reading progress.

I like this video of a mom who is supplementing at home. Is My Kid Learning How to Read?

Part I The Purple Challenge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxx7hs0qdKQ

Part 2: Our Friend “Ur” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2pRi_B_Oj8
Anonymous
Post 03/15/2023 22:10     Subject: Re:Reading levels
Start of K probably A or B (knew a handful of sight words but that is it)

Right now around J (but they push them really hard)
Anonymous
Post 03/15/2023 22:07     Subject: Reading levels
How do we know this?

I have a kindergartner in MCPS. This is not information that has been communicated.
Anonymous
Post 03/15/2023 21:59     Subject: Reading levels
For those who remember,
1)what reading level did you child start at and end at for each year of lower elementary? I know every kid is different but I am curious. Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade.

And 2) did you do anything particular at home to supplement reading?

My child:
Beginning of K: B
End of K: D?

We try to read a level reading book from school a few times a week. We did BOB books for a few weeks in the beginning of the year.