7 Diy Steps To Measure Your Child's Reading Ability

Follow these easy steps to quickly and accurately measure your child's reading ability

. It is better to catch a potential reading disorder while your child is still young, and it can be corrected, than to wait until it becomes an insurmountable obstacle to their success in life. Slow reading speed and low comprehension are both indicators that your child may have a reading disorder.

You will need: a short reading passage, a timer, and a calculator.

Step 1: Choose a short reading passage (no more than a page or two) that is slightly above your child's age/grade level. For example, if your child is in 2nd grade, ask your child's school what books the 3rd grade is reading. You can then purchase one or borrow one from your local library or even find a sample online.

Step 2: Ask your child to read the passage aloud. Make sure your child is comfortable and relaxed. Let them know that this is not a test but that you will be measuring how quickly they can read the passage. This will give you an idea of their reading abilities under slight pressure (which will simulate the school situation without unnecessarily complicating things).

Step 3: Grab a stopwatch or use the clock on your wall or computer. Start the timer once they begin reading and stop the timer once they have read the pages you decided on before hand.

Step 4: Then simply divide the number of words on the pages read by the number of minutes taken to read the passage.

Step 5: Now simply compare the measured speed against the standard speeds which can be found on reading speed charts available online. There are many reading speed charts available for free on the internet and you can find a widely accepted chart on my site linked in the bio section of this article.

Step 6: Comprehension is easy to determine by forming questions from sentences taken directly from the text. Generally between 5-7 questions will give a good idea of your child's comprehension. Above 80% is very good, while comprehension below 60% indicates that a reading problem may exist. However you must take into consideration that if your child is reading below the accepted speed for their age, they may need assistance even if their comprehension level is above 60%.

Step 7: The last key is vocabulary assessment which is far more involved than the simple DIY test and will generally require specific diagnostic software to measure your child's working vocabulary as well as to pinpoint any deficiencies.

The key in correcting a reading disorder is to recognize it before it becomes a severe problem. The information in this article should not be taken as professional medical advice, but rather as information for you to make a decision about whether professional support should be sought.

If you feel that your child may need help, please seek out a professional reading specialist or learning consultant to discuss your options for correcting your child's disorder. There are many traditional and non-traditional methods out there, and I urge you to consider your options carefully.

by: Cameron Cope

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