Understanding Reading Levels: A Comprehensive Approach for Teachers and Parents

What do I say when a parent asks what their child's reading level is?
​Learn how to effectively respond when parents ask about their child's reading level. Discover the limitations of subjective measures, explore the five pillars of reading, and empower parents with meaningful assessment data to understand their child's reading profile.

What do I say when a parent asks what their child's reading level is?

What do I say when a parent asks what their child's reading level is? 

In the past, when parents asked about their child's reading level, we would assign a letter and correlate it to a grade level. However, this approach was subjective and lacked objectivity.
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Instead, let's turn to a more comprehensive assessment tool like the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System. This universal screener includes an oral reading component and a comprehension component, which together provide an "instructional level" for each student (independent, instructional, frustrational). It is essential to note that the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System is still subjective as it relies on a teacher's beliefs, assumptions, emotions, and opinions, influencing the outcome.

Additionally, relying on a letter-to-grade correlation chart may be unreliable. Different formulas can result in a range of 2 to 3 years for the readability of a text. Moreover, benchmark tests may have inherent bias toward culture and background knowledge, affecting the accuracy of the results.

​To learn more about the limitations of subjective measures like the Fountas & Pinnell system, visit my blog post: 5 Reasons Fountas & Pinnell Should NOT be used to Refer Students to Special Education
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As educators, we should provide parents with data-driven answers. Building a student's reading profile based on the five pillars of reading—phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension—helps us become experts on their reading skills

To assess these pillars, I offer free research-based assessments: FREE Progress Monitoring Assessments

Meaningful assessment data provides a snapshot of students' strengths and areas for improvement.
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So, when a parent asks about their child's reading level, we can respond with specific information. 

"Your child demonstrates proficiency in blending and segmenting phonemes, decoding closed and open syllables, reads 20 words per minute at 87% accuracy, and comprehends text by answering both concrete and inferential questions. Their vocabulary skills are within expected levels."

While it may have been easier to provide a single letter as a reading level, answering with data empowers parents and provides a more accurate understanding of their child's progress.

To further support families in understanding their child's reading ability, I share a visual representation of the reading profile using my data sheet.

You can access the data sheet HERE!​

For more in-depth guidance on effective reading instruction for students with learning disabilities, consider enrolling in my course, "3 Steps for Effective Reading Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities"! 

​Click HERE to access this on-demand webinar to learn more about designing reading instruction for students with Learning Disabilities.

Let's embrace data-driven approaches and empower parents with a comprehensive understanding of their child's reading abilities.

Happy Teaching! 
Miss Rae

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