An Analysis of Teacher Judgments of Reading Level

Abstract

Eighty-four elementary school techers estimated the grade level equivalents of reading paragraphs to determine whether skill in making such judgments existed, and whether there were significant differences between the level of judgments of teachers in urban and suburban schools. The results indicated that skill in making accurate judgments varies widely, and that teachers in urban schools make significantly higher estimations of grade level equivalents than suburban teachers. This urban-suburban difference was interpreted as indicating that techers in urban schools may have a lower achievement standard than teachers in suburban schools. The results of the study indicate further research is needed to determine whether the levels of judgment reflect teacher expectations, and whether these operate as self-fulfilling prophecies by moderating the level of a teacher’s reading instruction and thereby the achievement of the students.