A home reading check can show what to practise, but it cannot assign a reliable reading age or diagnose a difficulty. Reading speed alone does not establish comprehension, memory or intelligence.
Table of Contents
Observe several skills separately
| Skill | A useful observation |
|---|---|
| Sound knowledge | Recognizes correspondences already taught |
| Decoding | Blends familiar patterns in an unfamiliar word |
| Fluency | Reads an appropriate short passage with increasing ease |
| Vocabulary and comprehension | Explains a word and retells the passage meaning |
A worked informal example
If m, a, t and s have been taught, show mat and sat. Ask the child to read, build or explain a word. Then share a suitable short sentence or book and discuss what happened. Record the support needed; do not convert two words into a score or reading age.
Printable observation record
Print this checklist with your browser’s Print command, or copy it into your family notebook.
- ☐ Date and material used: ______
- ☐ Sounds or patterns already taught: ______
- ☐ Task completed independently: ______
- ☐ Help required: ______
- ☐ What the child understood: ______
- ☐ Question to ask the teacher: ______
Standardized tests need proper administration
The earlier page referred to the Burt Reading Test without adequately establishing the version, norms or appropriate administration. We have removed unsupported scoring implications. A qualified educator can choose an authorized assessment and interpret it in the learner’s context.
When to seek a fuller assessment
Discuss persistent difficulty, unusual distress or limited progress with the school. Ask how decoding and comprehension are assessed separately and what teaching support is recommended. This page supplies an observation activity, not a diagnostic instrument.
For the underlying teaching principles, see the What Works Clearinghouse foundational reading guide. Its recommendations address classroom instruction; the home examples below are illustrative adaptations, not a validated test or a guaranteed timetable.
