I was just curious about what would be considered a reading disability. I ask because it seems MANY students are not reading on grade level yet when given achievement testing their scores are in the “normal” range. For example my son entering 9th grade tested to be at a 6.5 reading level which equated to a percentile rank of 39. My understanding of testing is that scores between the 25th-75th percentile are within the normal range. I interupt this to mean that a 9th grader reading at a 6.5 levelis completely acceptable because it is in the average range. I take this to mean that in a typical 9th grade class the students read between the 5th and 10th grade levels. Yet when you read about reading level it is recommended that children be on grade level to succeede, to me this seem contradictory. My son is taking health over the summer because he found the vocabulary and reading difficult when he took it in 8th grade. The class does most the work in class, reading togehter as a group and discussing the topics. When my son was required to do the reading on his own last year he got a D, now with this method of teaching he is getting a B, he seems to really understand the concepts. Does anyone happen to know the average reading level of students entering the 9th grade? What is the average of students graduating? Just curious as there seems to be a mixed message out. Also curious as to what the definitions are of pre-primer, primer, proficient and literate. What reading level is considered literate?
I had 9th graders that tested at the 12th grade level, but I haven’t seen evidence in their performance to back this up. I believe there are so many factors involved, the type of test, the mood the student was in, the subject material…..I think the scores are very subjective.