OMG reading test result

[KC in KS]

I knew my DD was bright. Have been trying to not label her more than that just yet - she's in prek - but it's getting harder to ignore.

Just gave her a reading test (she started reading just before her 4th birthday). Keep in mind she's 5, but has a fall birthday, so she's technically not even in kindergarten yet.

She scored as 4th grade, 3rd quarter. That's even after accounting for the words she had to "think" about (14% words - lowered her score about a month)

OMG. The best I remember scoring myself as a kid was two or three grade levels ahead.

:blink:

[chai]

Welcome to the ride!

You might want to start subscribing to all the threads with reading lists for advanced readers. ;)

[dmmetler]

Don't panic yet-my DD is a similar age to yours, and her reading level on the STAR test for AR (a whopping 8.2 in September) is much higher than what she seems to actually read at. I think that the STAR (and maybe other computer done tests) tend to test such short fragments that it's almost more a vocabulary test than a reading test. DD still prefers books with a lot of white space and at least occasional pictures, although she's FINALLY gotten out of the Magic tree house rut that she was stuck in for what seemed like forever.

I've found the Sonlight book lists a good resource for finding nice longer books that aren't too intense for her to handle.

[elizabeth]

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/ This is a wonderful resource for materials, articles, information on testing, just everything you might need to refer to in dealing with a child who happens to be an accelerated learner and quite possibly a highly gifted person. I hope you are intending to home educate as public/private schools by and large do not deal with this at all. In fact, they are a danger to gifted students in many ways but primarily in the area of academics . Enjoy your young person and please ignore the well meaning busybodies who suggest you restrict her reading to the suggested age range as "she could not possibly understand or COMPREHEND what she is reading." They are insecure and likely not very bright. Ask me how I know ... That phrase became my polestar. If it was uttered in my presence, like Pavlov's dog , I would utter the obvious moniker appropriate to the speaker, " idiot" and walk away. Eventually the booksellers and librarians learned to keep clear and take notes from a safe vantage point. :lol:

[Amber in AUS]

What a great result! My DD also 5, July birthday tested at 7th month of 6th grade.

I find the Sonlight list helpful, also the VP Lit selections. I try to only surround us with quality literature therefore the choice is always a challenge. She just completed Pinocchio (in novel format) yesterday.

Enjoy the ride :)

[Reya]

The nice thing is that there are tons of books appropriate for young kids with a high reading level! The 1000 Good Books list for advanced K-3rd grade is a great resource.

[cdgni]

The nice thing is that there are tons of books appropriate for young kids with a high reading level! The 1000 Good Books list for advanced K-3rd grade is a great resource.

I've used that list often! It's a great resource. I recently read a book for myself for the next age group. What a treat to read good literature for that age.

[KC in KS]

Yes, she definitely doesn't have the attention span or whatever it is to handle books at a 4th grade level. I think she can read the sentences, but doesn't *get* the longer passages. Thinking of starting some comprehension work with her this year.

[KC in KS]

Which one are you all talking about? Seems to be a dozen similarly-named things out there.

[starrbuck12]

That was an interesting thread.

I also used one of those tests on the 2nd grader and she scored in the 6th/7th grade reading level - which was nice to finally have a number to work with. I tested her brother (as a control - LOL! :lol:) and he scored in a middle 2nd grade reading level - which is probably very accurate. That's right where I guessed he was (he's a 1st grader, but uses CLE).

So...if you look on the Sonlight website, they talk about brain development and reading level...even though they can read at a high level, most kids before 3rd/4th grade need to see white space on the page and large print. I didn't know that either, but it makes a lot of sense. The challenge is finding reading material that is developmentally appropriate, but is challenging/entertaining. :tongue_smilie:

[dmmetler]

I don't think it's as much comprehension as stamina. My DD's been given sections of the DRA test to verify her STAR score, and on short passages, she's fine on comprehension-but even a couple of pages of a small print, paperback book wears her out. She's trying to read a 4.9 novel that she bought at the school book fair. She wants to read the book, she's motivated to read it, but she's able to read maybe 2-3 pages at a time before she gets tired. So we're trading-she reads until she gets tired, and then I read for awhile.

One thing that has helped my DD is to bring home large print versions of books from the library-this was how she read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, for example. She wanted to read the book, but the paperback we had at home was just too small for her. It looks funny to see this little kid with a large print book, but it works. Luckily, our public library system has a lot of children's classics in Large print.

Regardless, one thing I've had to learn is NOT to just stock books at her reading level-because sometimes she just plain needs to read Curious George for what must be the 100th time.

[TracyP]

Which one are you all talking about? Seems to be a dozen similarly-named things out there.

This (http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/v2/index.php?page=440) is the one I use. I'm pretty sure this is the one everyone is talking about.

[starrbuck12]

I don't think it's as much comprehension as stamina. My DD's been given sections of the DRA test to verify her STAR score, and on short passages, she's fine on comprehension-but even a couple of pages of a small print, paperback book wears her out. She's trying to read a 4.9 novel that she bought at the school book fair. She wants to read the book, she's motivated to read it, but she's able to read maybe 2-3 pages at a time before she gets tired. So we're trading-she reads until she gets tired, and then I read for awhile.

One thing that has helped my DD is to bring home large print versions of books from the library-this was how she read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, for example. She wanted to read the book, but the paperback we had at home was just too small for her. It looks funny to see this little kid with a large print book, but it works. Luckily, our public library system has a lot of children's classics in Large print.

Regardless, one thing I've had to learn is NOT to just stock books at her reading level-because sometimes she just plain needs to read Curious George for what must be the 100th time.

Yep. This is exactly like our experience. The difficulty of finding reading material that is developmentally-appropriate versus something they REALLY wanna read...LOL! :lol:

And then, once in a while, she just wants to read Frog and Toad.

I think Sonlight was right when they were talking about white space on pages.

[musicianmom]

My daughter tested at 4th grade, 6 months, but I never know if she's going to be reading Lang's Fairy Tales on her own or if she'll want me to read her a Karen Katz board book.

[mmconde]

Um, why would they need white space and large print before 3rd or 4th grade?

Just wondering, because I know I didn't. I do remember being angry with adults who offhandedly dismissed my reading with, "Oh, well, she can't possibly understand it" as though I couldn't even hear them. Meanwhile I was sitting there thinking, "So you think I'm so stupid that I can think of nothing better to do than sit here for hours, staring at pages for no reason at all?"

[dmmetler]

Um, why would they need white space and large print before 3rd or 4th grade?

Just wondering, because I know I didn't. I do remember being angry with adults who offhandedly dismissed my reading with, "Oh, well, she can't possibly understand it" as though I couldn't even hear them. Meanwhile I was sitting there thinking, "So you think I'm so stupid that I can think of nothing better to do than sit here for hours, staring at pages for no reason at all?"


One reason why you'll hear people say that you shouldn't teach young children to read is visual tracking. Up to a certain age, children are a little bit farsighted normally, so they have more difficulty with smaller print just as someone who is farsighted would.

At least, that's what I've read and heard as part of early childhood ed programs. And watching my DD, it makes sense. It's not that she can't read smaller text, it's that it's harder for her to do so, and she tends to complain her eyes hurt, while the same passage in larger text is no problem at all. Just the difference between a paperback and hardback version of a book can show a change, and if a large print version is available, she'll always pick that. But her vision is supposedly perfect for her age.

However, I'm sure there's a YMMV part of that, and that not all kids need it.

[The Dragon Academy]

Welcome to the ride!

You might want to start subscribing to all the threads with reading lists for advanced readers. ;)
:iagree:

[starrbuck12]

One reason why you'll hear people say that you shouldn't teach young children to read is visual tracking. Up to a certain age, children are a little bit farsighted normally, so they have more difficulty with smaller print just as someone who is farsighted would.

At least, that's what I've read and heard as part of early childhood ed programs. And watching my DD, it makes sense. It's not that she can't read smaller text, it's that it's harder for her to do so, and she tends to complain her eyes hurt, while the same passage in larger text is no problem at all. Just the difference between a paperback and hardback version of a book can show a change, and if a large print version is available, she'll always pick that. But her vision is supposedly perfect for her age.

However, I'm sure there's a YMMV part of that, and that not all kids need it.


Yeah, I did read that explanation also - something about brain/eye development and I think they can also be overwhelmed visually. I've also noticed that every time my kids will pick LARGE print stuff over small print stuff (if they have a choice).

If there's an early elementary teacher on the board somewhere...they probably can explain it better than I can.

[skaterbabs]

I gave Dot Sonlight's reading assessment a week or so ago and she had very little difficulty reading the 6th gr words, but she doesn't like small print. I figure, she's only 6 1/2, she'll get there soon enough. We're using CLE reading and LA with her, and she's doing very well with it.