Curious as to what really constitutes being behind? If a child in the 4th month of 8th grade tests at a 6.0 reading level for example are they really considered to be behind. It has been explained that each grade level consists of a variety of ability levels so just because on a test a child looks behind does not mean they really are. My question is if there is such a big gap in the kids ability whose ability does the teacher teach too? From reading on this board it seems a lot of kids get into high school alot further behind then my kiddo—but I cant help but worry. How will he be able to keep up with the classes—the ones needed to attend college with a little greater then a 2 year gap in his reading level? Hopefully I won’t have to find out as we are now getting him tutoring. I just found it strange that the school did not see this as a problem.
Re: How far behind?
Schools are notorious for saying “oh, quit complaining, there are lots of kids worse off than yours that need our help worse.” And indeed, they’ve got tough choices to make as far as stretching their resources.
Please don’t use “ability level’ and “reading level” interchangeably.
Re: How far behind?
Sorry, for mixing up the terms I was just repeating what the school said. I know they can be very different indeed.
Re: How far behind?
I’d say it depends on the school. In my school, many students read well above the national “grade level’ for their grade. In some schools, most to many students are reading below grade level. Why that is is a subject of much debate and discussion.
How are the students in your son’s school as readers? Do they mostly tend to read on grade level? Perhaps they do not and that’s why the school does not see it as a particular problem for him. As to what kind of readers teachers teach to - the answer to that would vary from school to school. Sadly in my school most teachers teach to the top readers and the others struggle to keep up. In any school, teaching reading is a great challenge when there are many different kinds of readers in the room.
You could take a rough ‘litmus’ test of this by looking at what’s being assigned for reading. Are the books in your son’s Language Arts or lit class ones he can easily read? Read with some difficulty? Or struggles to read?
If he’s reading them easily, then tutoring him might be a pleasant extra. If he’s struggling, tutoring might help him to develop skills to read the books he’s assigned.
Re: How far behind?
They generally read above grade level. In the recent testing the school participated in the school as a whole scored in the top 10 percent. He really struggles to read the assigned books, so far this year the books were A Seperate Peace, To Kill a Mockingbird, and a few others whose tile I forget. This is an 8th grade class. Thanks for the input.
Re: How far behind?
I’d offer another suggestion then. It’s hard to impossible to improve your reading skills when your class assignments are several grade levels about your reading level. To improve fluency it’s thought that students should be reading 20-30 minutes every day at a comfortable reading level.
What I did with my own son was this. He listened to his class assigned reading on tape usually rented from www.recordedbooksontape.com. That way he was better able to participate in discussions about the reading. Then he’d read 20 minutes a day in a book that was closer to his reading level for continued practice and to improve his reading skills.
Re: How far behind?
IMHO I don’t think schools are taking kids being behind in reading seriously enough. Reading effects all other subjects. I got tired of the schools and LD Unit trying to blame my son’s LD for him being 2 yrs behind. They did not want to take responsibilty for their program not working for him.
I got him a tutor who is a reading teacher two times a week and I am not saying an instant miracle happened but his reading comprehension, fluency and desire to read has improved incredibly.
Don’t expect the school to do it for him if you can get him outside help. If you have a college near you they may have tutoring programs.
I’m with you. That’s pretty strange rationalizing if you ask me. I think you are wise to get a tutor.
Janis