Anonymous wrote:Reading level at the younger grades is largely about a child’s ability to sound out words and understand the meaning of words, phrases, and simple sentences. As reading levels advance, it is more about being able to comprehend the meaning behind increasingly complex content. Even if a 3rd grader can read all the words, he cannot necessarily process the meaning and nuance in a complex middle school text. He just hasn’t reached the maturity level to do it yet. Lots of kids read several grade levels ahead at 3rd grade. Fewer do after that because the reading levels are less about reading mechanics and more about content comprehension. - a teacher