Social Stories - Southern Early Childhood Association

Leveled Texts:
Strengths and Weaknesses
The controversy between leveled
texts and assessment is a growing
concern for educators. Running
records and other informal assessment
tools have been used to help
determine children’s reading levels.
In the United States, Informal
Reading Inventories (IRIs) may be
used to assess children’s fluency,
retelling, and comprehension (Paris,
2002). Assessment tools, such as the
Qualitative Reading Inventory and
the Developmental Reading Assessment,
provide different levels and
genres for assessing children’s reading
ability (Paris, 2002).
Controversy arises because this
type of assessment is now being
used as a summative evaluation in
some districts. Informal assessment
tools are not designed for summative
evaluation, so Paris (2002) feels
there are two main problems with
their use:
• When children are assessed at
their reading level, there is no
accurate way to determine children’s
summative progress,
compared to themselves or
other children; and
• “Just as the leveled texts are not
equally seriated, neither are the
IRIs testing levels equivalent.”
(pp. 168-169)
These concerns make it difficult
for summative evaluations to be
completed using only leveled texts.
With these controversies, the
increase in the use of leveled texts,
and the growing availability of texts
from a variety of publishers, teachers
must make informed choices
about their use in a balanced reading
program.
Children who are learning to
read must be comfortable with
the text and they should have
opportunities to read both on
their independent and instructional
levels. According to Worthy
and Sailors (2001),
“When students read text that
fits, their error rate is low, making
it easier to focus on comprehension
and fluency. Students who
experience success in an endeavor
feel more competent and are
more likely to engage in it, to
expend more effort, to persist in
the face of challenges, and to
achieve at higher levels.” (p. 229)
College students used
leveled texts in
one-on-one teaching.
Leveled texts enable teachers to
effectively note their students’
strengths and weaknesses and act
accordingly (Paris, 2002). Nevertheless,
Brabham and Villaume (2002)
acknowledge several problems in the
popularity of leveling:
Michele Lucia Brener
Teachers established a system whereby texts could be exchanged among classrooms as
children increased reading proficiency and needed additional levels for guided and
independent reading.
20 Volume 33, Number 2 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Spring/Summer 2005