Monday, July 4, 2011

Assessing Reading Level

 There's no need, but I'm really curious what grade level Reese tests at for reading.  I suppose there are two components I really care about.  The basic mechanics of decoding words or identifying sight words, and comprehension.  I can pretty easily determine his comprehension level, but I want to see what grade level he "tests" at for decoding words. 

A simple assessment for "reading" the words is the Wide Range Reading Test.  It's pretty quick & straightforward with very simple scoring.  The child reads a short list of words, until they miss 7 words in a row (which indicates frustration level), and that's the grade level.

 It took us about 5 minutes to complete the test & it was interesting to see when Reese was at frustration level...it was quite obvious from one line to the next!  He also got some words I didn't think he would know.  That made me happy!  I also realized that his instructional level is higher than I gave him credit for & I need to challenge him a bit more in the reading selections I pick for him. 

Another short test is the Three Minute Reading Check.   There are a total of 14 sentences/short passages for the child to read, each one getting harder.  It takes about 5 minutes, & comes with hints on how to determine grade reading level, and fluency level (frustration, instructional, independent).   This test only goes up to Grade 6.5 Level, so your reader may already test out of this exam.

The last simple test is the Reading Competency Test.  Your child reads a handful of sentences, you check their mistakes on your copy, & stop when they reach frustration level (5 miscues in one passage).  Each passage is numbered according to the grade level it represents.  The website tells you how to interpret the results, and you'll have another example of where your child is reading.

I don't think in homeschool it really matters where a child tests compared to his at-school peers, but if you're curious to check progress, these three easy tools may help!

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