Recommended Reading: Leveled Reading
ALA's Resources on Guided or Leveled Reading
Both ALA’s American Association of School Librarians (AASL, a division of ALA) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) have registered concerns in using such programs, pointing out the limitations and presumptions inherent in them, in determining what children of a certain age "should" read. Perhaps the most well-known of these programs for "leveled books" and "guided reading" are Accelerated Reader by Renaissance Learning and the Lexile Framework for Reading.
- AASL Position Statement on labeling books with reading levelsThe position statement adopted by the American Association of School Librarians (a division of ALA) in 2011.
- ALA QA on labeling and rating systemsQuestions and answers from the American Library Assocation about labeling and rating systems of books in libraries.
- ALSCblog post on leveling and librariesA blog post written by a former librarian at the New York Public Library.
- Labeling Systems: An interpretation of the Library Bill of RightsAdopted in 2015 by the ALA Council.
- Rating Systems: An interpretation of the Library Bill of RightsAdopted in 2015 by the ALA Council.
- Understanding Leveling Systemsa handout from the ALA Annual Conference in 2013
Additional Resources for Understanding Guided Reading
School Library Journal, April 2006 "Labelling and Rating Systems: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights from ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom" (excerpt)
''I would like to organize sections of the library using reading level designations, such as those supplied by Accelerated Reader. Is this okay?''
While knowing the reading level of a book can assist library users, organizing a library via these labels can pose a psychological barrier for users who do not know their reading level. Many will feel that they should not utilize those resources. Users who do know their reading level may feel compelled to only select resources from their reading level. This will result in users not utilizing the full scope of the library collection.
- Accelerated Reading from SLMRA PDF of an article published in 2005 in School Library Media Research journal that provides an overview of research findings and papers regarding Accelerated Reader.
- Common Core v. the false promise of leveled literacy programsWritten by Kathleen Porter-Magee, a Bernard Lee Schwartz Policy Fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.
- Leveling and Labeling: An Interview with Pat ScalesWritten by a retired middle/high school librarian, and who has been actively involved in the Intellectual Freedom Committee of ALA.
- National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)The Council promotes the development of literacy, the use of language to construct personal and public worlds and to achieve full participation in society, through the learning and teaching of English and the related arts and sciences of language.
- School Library Journal articles on guided readingA search listing of SLJ articles on both the advantages and disadvantages of the programs.
Guided Reading programs
- Accelerated ReaderAR is a computer program that helps teachers and librarians manage and monitor children’s independent reading practice.
- Lexile Framework for ReadingA way to match readers with text using a proprietary scale that measures the level of challenge.
- Fountas & Pinnell Leveled BooksDeveloped by Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell and uses a detailed alphabetic system to rate books within a grade level
- Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA)DRA is a kit of leveled books and standardized achievement tests put together and sold by the educational company, Pearson.
Comparison Charts for Leveled or Guided Reading Programs
- Leveled for Successcompares Guided Reading, Reading Recovery, DRA, Lexile and Grade levels
- Reading level conversion chartcompares Developmental Category, Grade Level, Guided Reading (numeric and alphabetic) and Lexile
- Reading Grade-Level Comparison Chartcompares Grade Level, Guided Reading, Basal, Degrees of Reading Power, Reading Recovery, DRA and Lexile