Year 7 - Low Star Reading score

[MissZara]

My DS is quite down today after receiving their STAR reading score, which the teacher read out aloud to the whole class.

Thier SATs scores were very good, one of the top achievers in their class, Greather Depth in all areas, to rank them it would be Maths first, GPS then Reading but nonetheless at Greather Depth.

DS is in set 1 for all core subjects and today they had a STAR reading test and scored at age 9.8 (DS is 11 summer born for context if that helps in any way). He was very disheartened, I asked him not to worry and there will be plenty of opportunity to improve or work on this score and English will have many other assignments they will be assessed on.

DS was reading books ranging from 4.8 to 6.1 but the teacher asked him to select a book at 3.2 which he feels he will finish in a day. I told him that’s fine finish reading and you can tell your teacher you need another book.

Firstly, does this dip seem concerning?

Secondly, what can we do to encourage better reading practice at home? DS finished 3 books over summer, DS also reads daily but usually in the living room while siblings are playing/talking, he said he will try and read in his room so can focus a bit more in a quieter environment. I have also asked him to spend a minute, after reading, and pop some bullet points down to summarise what they read but other than that, with a homework heavy school I’m not sure what other advise I can give him.

Your thoughts and suggestions please…

Honestly just don’t give it another thought, he’s either at the correct level and that’s great or he’s ahead of the level and the teacher will soon cotton on and give him harder books. It’s just year 7 reading I really wouldn’t worry or put pressure on him. Maybe he was having a bad day when he took the test, it’ll sort itself out.

The cynic in me saw my DDs school do this so they could “show progress” at the awful school. She was at a poor performing school.

Do you think it’s accurate? Was the test on a computer and is he good on a computer?

Does he feel he did his best? Did he understand what the test was for and did he focus?

If he thinks he messed up by lack of focus or because he has never done such a test before can he ask when he can redo the test?

I would choose a book beyond his ability and read it to him and check his understanding. I’d read to him every day until his scores improve and I’d ask him to read alone too/out loud to me. Maybe in the car going to school.

If he is bothered I wouldn’t ignore it.

Has he done a star reading test before? Both of my DCs did them yearly at primary school, so it would be easy to see if this is a blip or a trend. If he got a very good result in his SATS reading exam it is unlikely that he is behind. Maybe he got distracted during the test.

We don't use star... we do ngrt and then second screen on a paper based test. It helps us to identify students who have issues with reading on screens.

If they think he's behind there he should be, what are they doing to support him?

Yes he has completed star tests before at primary school, one every term. His September ones tend to be the lowest scoring for some reason, not sure why. He seemed to get a grip of them in year 6 but over primary school they scores did seem to fluctuate but have always been higher than actual age, he isn’t a fan of these tests generally and did mention today’s ones he was sat very close to other students and was overthinking/worried they could see.

DS can use an iPad/computer used mainly for homework but does prefer paper based activities. He doesn’t have any social media, at home after school it’s dinner, outside with siblings/friends/sports club, homework, reading, bit of tv then bed - just for context on focus levels.

Teacher hasn’t circulated the score (not sure if they will) in two minds about emailing and reaching out, that’s why I asked here to see if they’re important or if I should just let DS read at the level he scored, work on reading habits at home and hope for the best next time.

This is quite a good school so don’t think they’ve reduced score in any way to show progress, DS said he was one of the lower scoring students and one student scores high enough to be reading at age 15.

We don't share our scores at all, especially not with students. We use them to plan interventions.

I may email the teacher and see what the impact is and if there is anything we can do at home that we’re maybe missing. Other than that I don’t have any concerns about his abilities, just want to make sure I’m not overlooking anything.

When I did query the September dips at primary they always said not to focus too much on that as there are other things used to assess overall ability and his has always been at expected to greater depth.

If his previous scores have always been above his actual age the. You have nothing to worry about. Presumably he has had a number of scores at primary school high than his most recent score? Then it is clearly a blip - especially given what you have said about September testing. I would reassure your DS and leave it for now.

Yes that’s correct, previous scores in primary school have been higher than today’s current score.

the teacher has now given him a book at 3.2 rather than at the higher end of the range. Should I ask for him to change it and challenge himself or leave it until next term?

I administer Star reading tests regularly, and if I had a student who came up from Y6 at GD for reading, I would be checking this score and discussing it with the child. It is very easily possible to take the test again, and I would ask the student if they wanted to do that. 9.8 is very low for a child normally at GD, I would expect someone of 11+ to have a reading age of within a year of their actual age to reach the Expected level. A reading age of less than 10 for a Y7 pupil would be a concern to me.
It's worth having a discussion with the teacher, so that if they didn't realise that this test result is anomalous, you can flag it up with them, and and they can put your child's mind at rest. Find out how often his school do the test ( at mine, it's every half term) ,point out that the reading level he's been given is based on a single test that doesn't reflect his reading ability and so it would be better for him to read books at the level he was at previously ( assuming that when he does so he gets 90%+ on the Accelerated reading book quizzes), and ask if they will just see this as a blip.
Star Reading is just one way of testing, it's not always accurate, and I've seen children move up and down 3 reading year levels within a few months. It's best viewed as a rough indicator, and over several tests, in order to get an accurate picture.
The recommended reading levels are suggestions, and DS can read whatever he wants. But it might be sensible to get him to read the book he has been given, sit the AR quiz for that book, and ace it, in order to demonstrate your point.

Thank you, I did say exactly this, read the book, score well and they will realise themselves that the range needs to move up.

Are the accelerated reading tests completed as soon as they finish the book?

My child’s current concern is they will be moved to set 2 for scoring low today. I have tried to reassure them that won’t be the case but not sure myself tbh!

I would email.and ask if he can retake as this is much lower than he was reading at before. I would also encourage him to read the book and ace it. Reading ages of between 8-9 are not usual at all in year 7 at my school sadly so would not expect the teacher to question it really. Some are reading at lower. They should be retaking the star test every term.

Reading tests have to be taken asap after finishing a book.