https://www.nessy.com/en-gb/dyslexia-explained/testing-and-screening


An online screener used a lot in the UK. It’s pretty good.

My child was similarly struggling in 1st grade. We did decide we needed to switch from our neighborhood public to a private school that teaches with the orton gillingham method. Though my child is still behind where I think he should be, things are starting to click for him thanks to the emphasis on phonics. We’ve shelved our balanced literacy/leveled reading materials and don’t use them anymore.

Anonymous wrote:Don’t listen to parents saying your kid just needs more practice. If your child is at Level B in the second half of 1st grade, there is a problem. You need to investigate to find out where the problem originates- is it a learning difficulty and/or an instruction problem. Do not wait. Start asking lots of questions, ask the reading specialist for an assessment, or get a private evaluation. A child’s confidence will be crushed if they get to 2nd grade and can’t read. You don’t want to have two years of catch up.

OP is at a well known private. The kid's confidence will be crushed when they are counseled out because those schools don't want second graders who can't read

Don’t listen to parents saying your kid just needs more practice. If your child is at Level B in the second half of 1st grade, there is a problem. You need to investigate to find out where the problem originates- is it a learning difficulty and/or an instruction problem. Do not wait. Start asking lots of questions, ask the reading specialist for an assessment, or get a private evaluation. A child’s confidence will be crushed if they get to 2nd grade and can’t read. You don’t want to have two years of catch up.

Anonymous wrote:What level of reading is your 1st grader reading on? When should a parent be concerned? I have a 1st grader making progress but still only reading level B books. She’s at a well-known private on this board but looking for insight or maybe your kid took time as well and eventually caught up.

Thanks for your insight…

The pace of learning reading is all over the board for kids at that age and school can only make such an impact. Since you say your child is making progress, they probably just need more practice and some time. The biggest readers in my experience are children reading with parents, sibling, someone else outside of school in little bits every single day. In the early years, the majority of the reading will be done by the parents/caregiver with the child just practicing a little in an easy book. Overtime, the parent/caregiver will read less and the child more. Throughout the parent/caregiver should continue to read interesting books (harder than child can read) to encourage love of reading. It is super frustrating (a kin to potty training), hang in there.

Anonymous wrote:I'm happy to see Fountas and Pinnell getting the grief it deserves. It sounds like your school is teaching a balanced literacy approach, which is a bad start. If your school offers reading support, I would ask for Orton-Gillingham instruction. This can include Wilson and Barton methods. They're not obligated to provide it because it's a private school. So if they don't, hire a private tutor to work with your child at least two days a week. Don't worry about dyslexia, at least not yet. The majority of kids who have difficulty reading are not dyslexic. They're just poorly taught.

This

Your kid isn’t get much instruction in n reading from the school.

Do they read out loud DAILY, or at least a couple times a week, to the class or a teacher / aide/ specialist? One test every 60 days doesn’t cut it for understanding a student’s ability.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our public has most kids read out loud 1-2 grade levels ahead of their grade. And their comprehension is fine and progressing well.

What’s your point? That didn’t answer the question. If a child is having issues, it doesn’t matter if it’s public or private so bye! Head back over to the public school board!

Our private school did more whole language guessing at words pedagogy for k-2 so no one caught anything wrong with most students who had LDs.
And they only cared that kids were at or around national grade levels. Average national reading level is quite low so that’s quite a low bar.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our public has most kids read out loud 1-2 grade levels ahead of their grade. And their comprehension is fine and progressing well.

What’s your point? That didn’t answer the question. If a child is having issues, it doesn’t matter if it’s public or private so bye! Head back over to the public school board!

It's also complete BS. Of all the things that didn't happen, this didn't happen the most.

I'm happy to see Fountas and Pinnell getting the grief it deserves. It sounds like your school is teaching a balanced literacy approach, which is a bad start. If your school offers reading support, I would ask for Orton-Gillingham instruction. This can include Wilson and Barton methods. They're not obligated to provide it because it's a private school. So if they don't, hire a private tutor to work with your child at least two days a week. Don't worry about dyslexia, at least not yet. The majority of kids who have difficulty reading are not dyslexic. They're just poorly taught.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The biggest issue here is that your child is being assessed according to Fountas and Pinnell levels. These levels are pretty meaningless...

Good, in-depth explainer here:

https://www.readingrockets.org/blogs/right-read/fountas-and-pinnell-benchmark-assessment-system-doesn-t-look-right-sound-right-or

+1

+2 OP the school has an issue with the measurement tool and a possible issue with instruction.

You should be concerned by Level B at this point in 1st grade. You need to get the child assessed to determine which part of reading is difficult. This may help determine if there is dyslexia or challenges with certain consonant or vowel blends.

Anonymous wrote:Our public has most kids read out loud 1-2 grade levels ahead of their grade. And their comprehension is fine and progressing well.

What’s your point? That didn’t answer the question. If a child is having issues, it doesn’t matter if it’s public or private so bye! Head back over to the public school board!

My child with mild dyslexia was only reading at level B/C at the end of K. I did not know at the time they were dyslexic, but I was concerned because when I read with them, there seemed to be very little progress in the second half of the year.

We switched from public to private (not because of the reading) for first grade and the phonics-based instruction made a huge difference, as did more attention from the teacher. DC made huge leaps in reading in first grade, and did not receive dyslexia diagnosis until more writing started in second grade.

If your DC’s school is using a phonics-based approach and your DC is struggling with reading, have them screened (not by the school, by an independent person) for dyslexia. If they don’t pass the screen, then do the full testing.

If your school does not use a phonics-based approach, switch schools (I’m serious).

In retrospect, my gut that something was wrong with DC’s reading was right on the mark, but DC was my first kid, so I didn’t know what to really expect. My other two DC’s learned to read fairly easily in K (neither was reading when they entered K) - both started K at the same private schools as oldest DC.

Fwiw, DC1 doing well with remediation, able to do well academically at their school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What level of reading is your 1st grader reading on? When should a parent be concerned? I have a 1st grader making progress but still only reading level B books. She’s at a well-known private on this board but looking for insight or maybe your kid took time as well and eventually caught up.

Thanks for your insight…

We're in a very small private in Bethesda and most kids can read at least level F-G by the end of Kindergarten. A few kids read level K. The minimum requirement by end of K is level E.

Wrong. The minimum requirement to be considered reading at grade level is C for end of kindergarten.
- a reading teacher

OP. TRC/reading level should be taken with a grain of salt. Especially since many schools are leaning towards phonics instruction. A level B isn’t tragic but ask your child’s teacher about her progress with the phonics component/ that is more telling.

Hi, level B at this point in first grade puts her more than an entire year behind. However, F&P levels aren't really used much anymore. I'd want to know so many things (how many letter sounds does she have, can she read CVC words, can she read CVCe words, how many "sight" words does she know, etc, etc.) I would ask for an eval. Get a private tutor who is trained in phonics, phonemic awareness and really knows how to build on prior skills.