Reading is not only an important way to acquire knowledge but also an essential skill for building a solid foundation for future life and career development. In the United States, the education system have implemented many commendable measures to help K-12 students improve their reading ability. Different reading level assessment tools enable personalized, life long and student-driven learning.

Six Primary Reading Level Assessment Tools

Accelerated Reader (AR) Levels

Developed by Renaissance, A global leader in pre-K-12 education technology. AR quizzes are designed to measure reading comprehension after a student has read a book within the AR system. It assigns point values to books based on their length and difficulty. Students earn points for passing the quizzes, which helps to motivate reading and assess understanding.

Grading Correspondence: AR levels range from 0.0 to 12.9 and are based on factors such as book difficulty, word count, and complexity.
Coverage: Widely used in schools and educational institutions across the United States and in many international schools following an American-style curriculum. As claimed by Renaissance, more than 40 percent of US schools rely on Renaissance solutions for data and insights.

Renaissance learning release authoritative reading reports every year, such as “What Kids Are Reading”. They provide highly valuable recommended reading lists for students of different grades based on a large amount of data. It’s an useful tool for parents to find a good fit book for your children.

Lexile measurement

Developed by MetaMetrics, with funding from The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Grading Correspondence: Lexile scores range from below 0L to above 1700L. Lower scores indicate easier texts, while higher scores indicate more complex and challenging texts.
Coverage: Widely adopted in schools, libraries, and educational publishing in the US, and used globally in many English-language learning contexts.

Both Renaissance and Metametrics offer tools on reading and math to accelerate the personalized learning.

Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA)

Developed by the giant educational group of Pearson. This assessment focuses on various aspects of a student’s reading skills, including accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. It provides a comprehensive evaluation to determine the appropriate reading level.

Grading Correspondence: Levels range from 1 to 80, with each level indicating increasing reading proficiency.
Coverage: Commonly used in many elementary schools in the US and some educational programs and assessment centers.

Guided reading levels (GRL)

GRL categorizes books into levels based on factors such as vocabulary, sentence structure, and content. It assists in choosing books that align with a student’s current reading proficiency.

Grading Correspondence: Levels range from A to Z, with A being the easiest and Z being the most challenging.
Coverage: Widely implemented in US classrooms and school libraries to guide reading instruction and book selection.

Degree of Reading Power (DRP)

DRP measures a reader’s comprehension skills through presenting texts and associated questions that require different levels of thinking. It helps identify areas for improvement in reading comprehension.

Grading Correspondence: Scores range from 1 to 80, with higher scores indicating higher levels of reading comprehension.
Coverage: Used in many US schools and educational institutions, especially for diagnostic and instructional purposes in reading.

MAP Growth

Developed by NWEA, MAP Growth Reading is a computer-adaptive test that measures a student’s reading skills and provides a score to indicate their proficiency. It can track a student’s progress over time and compare their performance to norms.

Grading Correspondence: MAP Growth Reading provides a RIT (Rasch UnIT) score that ranges depending on the grade level and the norms of the assessment. Generally, scores increase as reading proficiency improves.
Coverage: Widely used in schools and districts across the United States to measure student growth and proficiency in reading and other subjects.

Ways to Improve Reading Level

Obtain a basic comprehension of the reading level is a starter to help improve your child’s reading potential. Keep patient and take steps along the journey. Here are some ways to improve the reading ability:

Read Aloud: Reading aloud helps improve fluency, pronunciation, and intonation. It also enhances comprehension as the act of verbalizing the words makes the reader more engaged with the text. Online platforms like Audible or Storyline Online offer audio versions of books that students can follow along with while reading the physical or digital copy. In the US, many schools and libraries also provide access to such resources for students and parents.
Expand Vocabulary: Building a rich vocabulary is crucial for better reading comprehension. This can be done through daily word learning, using flashcards, or playing word games. Apps like Quizlet Vocabulary.com provide vocabulary-building exercises, flashcard sets, and word games. Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day can also help expand vocabulary. Many American educational institutions incorporate these tools and resources into their language arts curricula.
Practice Skimming and Scanning: Skimming helps to quickly get the main idea of a text, while scanning is useful for finding specific information. Regular practice of these techniques can improve reading speed and efficiency.Online articles, news websites, and academic papers can be used for practicing skimming and scanning. Speed reading apps and online courses, like Spreeder , can also train these skills. In American schools, teachers often use educational software and online platforms to assign skimming and scanning exercises to students.
Read Diverse Genres: Reading a variety of genres like fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and drama exposes the reader to different writing styles and structures, expanding comprehension skills. School and public libraries offer a wide range of genres for students to explore. Online bookstores and subscription services like Amazon Kindle Unlimited or Scribd provide access to diverse reading materials. In the US, school librarians and teachers often curate reading lists and recommend books from various genres to students.
Discuss and Share: After reading, discussing the content with others or sharing thoughts and interpretations can deepen understanding and perspective-taking. Book clubs, both in-person at local community centers or schools, and virtual ones on platforms like Goodreads or Facebook reading groups, provide a space for discussion and sharing. Classroom discussions and family reading time at home are also great for this. In the US, there are numerous community-based and school-sponsored book clubs and reading events that encourage students to engage in these discussions.

Resources for Improving K-12 Reading Ability

For parents and educators, a variety of tools and resources are available to enhance the reading skills of K-12 students. Educational software like Raz – Kids provides leveled reading materials and interactive activities to help students build reading fluency and comprehension. Epic! is an online library offering a vast collection of books and educational content for children of different ages and reading levels.

In schools, teachers frequently utilize literacy programs such as the Wilson Reading System and Read 180 to address the diverse needs of students and improve their reading proficiency. Additionally, many schools subscribe to online reading assessment platforms like i – Ready Reading to monitor students’ progress and identify areas for improvement.

Conclusion

As technology evolves, numerous resources and tools are available to enhance reading skills. However, time constraints pose a significant challenge. Effective time management strategies are essential for a successful lifelong learning journey. In our upcoming blogs, we will delve deeper into this important topic.