Lynda-WA
04-08-2003, 11:41 PM
DS's new school uses Accelerated Reader quizzes and their points to meet reading goals. To start with they gave DS (5th grade) a reading test. In fact they gave him two because he scored at the high school level and they wanted to make sure it wasn't a mistake. His teacher set him a goal of 50 points this trimester at the 7.5 grade level. I'm assuming the lower grade level is because of reading content and because there are so few books at the 10th - 12th grade level in the AR program. Out of curiosity I started looking up schools web site AR lists.
Can anyone explain to me why different schools have various books listed at a variety of reading levels? For example, DS says all of the Tolkien books are around the 6th grade level in his schools book. Other schools have them all the way up to 9th grade level. That's quite a disperity. I seem to remember something about plugging a page from the book into a computer program that analyzed it for word usage etc. Is that how it's done?
Isn't content taken into account at all? I'm seeing authors such as Mary Higgins Clark, Ursula K LeGuin, Louis L'Amour, Tom Clancy, Agatha Christie, Nicholas Sparks, Stephen King. John Grisham, Micheal Crighton, and Dean Koontz listed in the 5th - 7th grade levels. I have to admit to not reading everything by these authors, but I never saw a child buy any of these books at the UBS I worked at (except Clancy). Several of them were filed with the adult horror section. Is this normal? I'll let DS read any book he wants but I'd prefer to steer him to books he can actually understand the finer points.
Do schools only have access to AR quizzes that they order for their own school? Or is this something done at district level or above?
So far the only books DS has found at his school library at the higher reading levels have been books about countries. I asked DS to request a list of books so I can look at them for content but he was told to look at the book in the library. I have a feeling I'm going to need to go in and talk to his teacher.
Can anyone explain to me why different schools have various books listed at a variety of reading levels? For example, DS says all of the Tolkien books are around the 6th grade level in his schools book. Other schools have them all the way up to 9th grade level. That's quite a disperity. I seem to remember something about plugging a page from the book into a computer program that analyzed it for word usage etc. Is that how it's done?
Isn't content taken into account at all? I'm seeing authors such as Mary Higgins Clark, Ursula K LeGuin, Louis L'Amour, Tom Clancy, Agatha Christie, Nicholas Sparks, Stephen King. John Grisham, Micheal Crighton, and Dean Koontz listed in the 5th - 7th grade levels. I have to admit to not reading everything by these authors, but I never saw a child buy any of these books at the UBS I worked at (except Clancy). Several of them were filed with the adult horror section. Is this normal? I'll let DS read any book he wants but I'd prefer to steer him to books he can actually understand the finer points.
Do schools only have access to AR quizzes that they order for their own school? Or is this something done at district level or above?
So far the only books DS has found at his school library at the higher reading levels have been books about countries. I asked DS to request a list of books so I can look at them for content but he was told to look at the book in the library. I have a feeling I'm going to need to go in and talk to his teacher.