We have been vindicated

We spent almost the entire year in 1st grade arguing with Andrew's teacher about his reading level. At the beginning of the year, he was assessed to be reading at a grade level of 1.2. We knew he was reading higher than that, but were assured he would raise his level throughout the year.

Then came the rules.

If you haven't heard by now, Andrew is a stickler for rules. All rules must be obeyed. If there aren't enough rules, he's happy to make up some more. Playing any game with him is akin to playing some sort of Communist Party Calvinball.

His teacher suggested that the kids read each book up to 5 times to ensure that they comprehended it a were ready for a quiz. To Andrew's ears, that meant each book must be read exactly 5 times. We actually had several arguments with him about his readiness for quizzes even though he hadn't read his book a sufficient number of times (I don't think we ever won). Because he took so long to read each book and wasn't really interested in the ones made available, he wasn't moved along the way he needed to be and ended the year at grade 1.7. We knew he was reeding and enjoying more complex books at home, but the school wouldn't move him along.

We kept on doing what we had been and seriously upgraded his complexity over the summer; not only in what he is reading, but also in what we read (or refuse to read) to him. It seems to have paid off. This year he has been pre-assessed as reading at a 4th grade level and Is the only one in his class reading chapter books. He seems pretty excited about the books available to him this year and we are expecting much better from the school.

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On a side note, my computer's been dead for a couple weeks. I hope to order parts next week and have it up and running again soon thereafter. There won't be photos until then.