DD yr 7 reading age of 10 year old

[Daisy2315]

Could anyone explain to me how the school calculate the reading age and what we can do to help dd.

She is very slow at reading and she has said she is the only one in her class not to have finished a book yet. Teacher has said she has a reading age of 10 and her accelerated reader score is 3.8 - 5.8.

Not 100 per cent sure how they calculate it but I think they do CAT tests on all the kids in the first couple of months which will have highlighted your DD's weakness in reading (which is not that far behind, BTW, just a bit below average). At the risk of sounding glib, have you considered the possibility of dyslexia or similar specific learning difficulty? There's plenty of support to be accessed out there if you can afford the exorbitant consultation fees Try the British Dyslexia Association.

It's a long time since I was a teacher but they used to have standardised tests that most kids should pass at a given age. I would assume she has only achieved the average age 10 score.

Was anything mentioned at her primary school?

I work as a tutor for kids who have fallen behind so feel to pm. Me if you would like some advice on helping her catch up

If the school is using the Accelerated Reader package then they have probably measured her reading age using a STAR reading assessment.

Have a read of this which might help to explain how Accelerated reader works.

My son is also in year 7 and is a slow reader and the school are using this system. I have helped him in a number of ways including sitting next to him and reading my book whilst he does his 30 mins reading just to help keep him focused and by looking at speed reading techniques to see if can get a bit faster. What really seems to have helped is using his finger to keep his place on a page for a few days and getting used to running his finger along the text as he reads. after doing it for a little while he found that he was naturally better at not loosing his place and keeping his concentration going.
Hope this helps.

Thanks for the replies. We have noticed she also has trouble spelling, she uses the phonetical way to say letters to spell and also has to trace words out that she is spelling out loud with her finger.

Another thing is that she has always struggled with how to hold her pen, she holds it in a fist and struggles with left and right. We have wondered about dyslexia but I don’t really know anything about it and her primary school have never raised anything.

Where - thank you for the offer I will message over the weekend.

Mumski - thanks for the tips. She wanted to read tonight to me and I suggested following with her finger or using a book mark to read each line but she said it made it harder. After reading two sentences she had a crying fit over not being able to do it so if wasn’t the most successful.

It could be dyslexia but if she is struggling to hold a pen then it may be worth asking your GP to investigate dyspraxia also.

Thank you we will look into that.

A secondary teacher here. I would ring School and ask to to speak to the SENCO and raise your concerns.

We did some training on teaching reading the other day and the trainer suggested that you should not put your finger underneath as your eyes move quicker than your fingers.

While you are looking into assistance you can read to her every night. Read anything that will encourage a love of books, broaden her vocabulary and give you cosy times together. Doesn't matter if it's sparkly kitten books or harry potter.

Have a look at Irlens / visual stress, might explain the reading.