Teachers, will this make me THAT mom?

[vanillacourage]

DS1 is in 1st grade. Book fair is next week so his teacher sent home a note encouraging us to buy books and giving us his specific reading level, which was 0.9-1.2. But at home we read chapter books like Magic Treehouse that are around 2.0, switching off chapters, and he only needs help with a couple words in an entire chapter.  He has also told me that the books at school are boring. His teacher has put books in baskets by reading level and they can only pick from their assigned basket. 

Would you ask ask the teacher about the difference in reading levels, or what goes into their assessment?  I don't care what actual number he's on, just want him to be engaged. 

[prettyinpink]

Sept 18, 2014 20:45:07 GMT -5 frkls said:

Sept 18, 2014 20:42:54 GMT -5 vanillacourage said:

DS1 is in 1st grade. Book fair is next week so his teacher sent home a note encouraging us to buy books and giving us his specific reading level, which was 0.9-1.2. But at home we read chapter books like Magic Treehouse that are around 2.0, switching off chapters, and he only needs help with a couple words in an entire chapter.  He has also told me that the books at school are boring. His teacher has put books in baskets by reading level and they can only pick from their assigned basket. 

Would you ask ask the teacher about the difference in reading levels, or what goes into their assessment?  I don't care what actual number he's on, just want him to be engaged. 

this is the AR reading stuff, right?  did he do a STAR test?

jonah did this in TN.  they take a reading test on the computer and it spits out their reading level and then they can only read the books on that level.  i'd ask to see his STAR reading results if they haven't sent it home yet

This. We even use this program at the high school level. I'd ask about it and then ask if he can be re-tested. STAR test also test comprehension too so that might be why he's not at the level at school as what he is reading at home. 

In addition, I had a student last year who was in 9th grade and placed 10th at the begging of the year and then at Christmas time when she was retested she dropped down to 7th. I asked the English teacher to retest her. She was up to 11th at that point. She was having a bad day the day she was tested. It happens. Ask if he can be retested. 

[joenali]

Reading assessments include fluency, accuracy and comprehension. For a child to be independently reading they need to read 100 words with a 96% accuracy rate, give a sufficient retell, have proper fluency rate (depending on level) and answer two literal questions and two inferential questions. If they can't do that, they can't read that level independently.

Magic Treehouse books are considered more of an end of the year second grade book (Level M).

[hopecounts]

I don't think you'd be that Mom to clarify.
But his school level is likely based on what he can confidently read, decode, and fully comprehend answering detailed questions about the book without any assistance which is likely lower then at home with the knowledge that you are there to help as needed.
However, it may be that he has made a big leap since the original testing since reading tends to be a skill that takes off seemingly over night. Or the obvious of he may have just had an off day the day they did the testing.
I would simply send her a nice note/e-mail saying that you received the info for the book fair but wanted to touch base about his reading level since he is reading higher level books at home and want to make sure you get appropriate books for him.
She will probably say thanks for the heads up and retest him to see where he is now.

[katb]

I don't think it would make you "that" mom if you ask about the discrepancy. First grade is a time of fast changing learning /comprehension and his reading level could be changing monthly, weekly, etc. Also, if he is interested in what he is reading at home, that could make a difference on what reading level he is actually demonstrating at school. I would have students who if interested, would work very hard and read 1 - 2 grade levels above what the instructional level I was teaching in class.

[Captain Serious]

There can be two different kinds of books in his life: books you read to him for enjoyment, and books he reads on his own for practice. This is what we do with J. He doesn't get bored of the lower level books because we talk about how practicing with them will result in him learning to read better, so that he can read what he wants (insert chapter books here) on his own soon.

[joenali]

Are teachers just relying on STAR testing? Are they doing their own assessing, like listening to them read while doing running records? I think doing both would crete a clear picture of a students level.

[cjeanette]

Do they go over their ready scores. Our district does DIEBEL testing to determine their reading levels and it breaks down everything. So having that knowledge may clarify the books assigned. I have a hard time believing they wouldn't provide a higher level if he warranted it.

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[stephm0188]

I get to listen to the kids in my son's class read to me from their book boxes, and I'd agree with your son- the leveled readers are boring. That's not to say they're too easy. They just don't have content that is very exciting.

Buy whatever books you want from the book fair. I'm chairperson for ours, and we have two goals... getting reading material kids are excited about into their hands, and raising money for the school. If kids are excited about the material they're reading, they're more likely to read for fun.

[vanillacourage]

Sept 18, 2014 21:01:41 GMT -5 TamiTaylor said:

Sept 18, 2014 20:45:07 GMT -5 frkls said:

this is the AR reading stuff, right?  did he do a STAR test?

jonah did this in TN.  they take a reading test on the computer and it spits out their reading level and then they can only read the books on that level.  i'd ask to see his STAR reading results if they haven't sent it home yet

vanillacourage, keep in mind that the Star test for AR levels is largely vocabulary based. I have seen it place kids very low because they don't know the vocabulary but they can read with fluency and comprehension. I have also seen it rank kids high because they have the vocabulary background but they can't comprehend anything they read.

DS has a great vocabulary. Like, "mommy I'm going to be proactive and put my backpack by the door for tomorrow morning".

I want to find a way to get context on the level assignments without making it obvious that my preshus is a genius, lol. 

[redheadk]

Sept 18, 2014 21:11:07 GMT -5 stephm0188 said:

I get to listen to the kids in my son's class read to me from their book boxes, and I'd agree with your son- the leveled readers are boring. That's not to say they're too easy. They just don't have content that is very exciting.

Buy whatever books you want from the book fair. I'm chairperson for ours, and we have two goals... getting reading material kids are excited about into their hands, and raising money for the school. If kids are excited about the material they're reading, they're more likely to read for fun.

There are more books in his range than leveled readers. The leveled readers are part of the textbook series (most likely) and used for reading groups and practice in class. Pretty much all children's books have a Guided Reading level assigned to them.

vanillacourage, it's totally fine to ask the teacher about the discrepancy and explain to you what she's seeing in class. There are many possible explanations and it's great to be informed about what she's looking for and what your son is doing. You'll be able to support him better at home if you know. It's ALWAYS okay to ask these things. You will only be "that" parent if you come in saying the teacher is lying, little Johnny is soooooo smart, there is no way he's only a 0.5 or whatever, that sort of thing.