Teaching Reading

As I've been contemplating going back to school to get my masters in Teaching Reading, I am also currently trying to figure out just what is going on at Kt's school for reading. It's been so confusing, so disorganized, so much misinformation.... is reading really that complicated or difficult??

Kt is a great reader, but certainly not at the tippy top of her class. When she was promoted from Kindergarten to first grade, she was placed in a class as an "Early D" reader. As a parent, that means little to me, as no one at her school has bothered to explain what that means. So, when the teacher called up the first Friday to let me know that she "assessed" Kt because she stood out in the class as a student who seemed farther along than the others - a.k.a., she would be easy to move to make the numbers even. In fact, during our little conference with this teacher and the school administrators over this change, it came out that only the 36 new students were assessed, and then they chose 7 returning students to test and Kt was the lone, lucky student who would get to "skip" 7 reading levels - miraculously, she was really a K or beyond. (Every student is supposed to be assessed at the beginning of each year - but they just didn't have time!?)

Now, we were a little stunned by this, as we had done very little reading with her over the summer. We had serious concerns about her skipping skills, decoding especially, and being able to keep up and catch up with others. We were assured that she would not miss any skills, nor would she have any trouble. But this did require, of course, her moving from a classroom with a wonderful teacher (who she had already grown to love!) and all her friends to a room with only a couple of students she even knew and only one friend. I was told by the teacher who tested and moved her that "social considerations are the least of our concerns" - as a teacher, I did not receive this news very well!! I was also told that in assessing students, if they get a 95% or above on an assessment, she would interpret that as a student who has most likely mastered all the skills taught at that level and they should be tested for higher levels.

So, here we are in second grade. Kt was placed in second grade as a late level second grade reader on level "M." She is finishing this year as an "N" - and while I know little about how they assess or choose to move levels - even though several people have explained it several different ways - I am thinking something is not right!! So, we finally decided to meet with the principal about Kt's placement for next year. I don't want a repeat of what happened in first grade and she seems much farther along than the Magic School Bus book she has been reading for a month! Kt has also spent the year in a reading group comprised of half her class (11 students), half of whom were in that first grade class she was moved out of!

Today the reading teacher called me. She assessed Kt today and basically confirmed what I've been saying all along. She first said that Kt tested 99% on level O (she has not read one book this year at that level) and got 4/4 on the comprehension questions. She then tested her at level P (which is end of the year third grade level) and she got a 97% and 4/4 on the comprehension. She also mentioned that Kt is fluent, conversational in her reading BUT she fumbles on the small sight words (the ones that they teach you by rote in levels D-J perhaps!!!) while easily reading longer, higher level vocabulary words. When I explained why that bothered me, i.e. that we were worried in first grade that she would miss important skills - that particular concern of smaller words having been mentioned!, the reading teacher then poo-pooed it like it was not a big deal. Don't want to get any friends in trouble now, do we?

I'm being sarcastic, but really, what bothered me the most about our traumatic classroom switch in first grade was the idea that I was not doing what was in my child's best interest by possibly holding her back in reading - that somehow, this teacher, who had known my daughter for 4 days, automatically knew what was best for my daughter more than I did. Only complicating this was the fact that I used to teach first grade, and I had a pretty good idea what kind of reader my daughter was. That, of course, meant little to these folks!!

Funny, though, that this time, they don't really want to send my daughter on ahead of where she should be. They are thinking it might be best to keep her at end of third grade level. I guess their numbers don't work if we move her up? Or maybe that would just admitting that Kt wasn't where she should have been all year, that we were right at all of our parent teacher conferences and her teacher failed to take us seriously?? I don't know, but what I do know is that this reading assessment stuff is just so tricky, and it makes no sense.

So, why do I even want to bother to get my masters in teaching reading?? Well, I can tell you this, it has nothing to do with wanting to know what I'm talking about. No one at Kt's school can give me a similar explanation about why they do what they do and what it means!! I also am not doing this so I can enter this crazy politicized system of education in our county - it is clear to me that it's just too contradictory and confusing. I think what I'd love to do is be able to instruct my own children better - then I guess I should have started this a long time ago!! *rolls eyes*

And for Kt next year?? Well, I think we are all in agreement at this point that skipping a bunch of reading levels isn't going to solve anything, so we'll keep her at end of third grade level and not bump her up to fourth. Hopefully, she'll do well, be happy, and become a super reader who enjoys what she reads. And then maybe we can become parents who aren't so involved and pushy with the school. I know they just want us to leave them alone! I know it! ;-)