Using a Free Reading Level Test Can Help You Help Your Child!

Do you need a reading level test to know your child’s reading level, his decoding skills level, reading fluency and reading comprehension?

Using these free online reading level tests for kids can help you assess your child’s current reading level.  Below, I’ll break down the types of reading test types you may want to use.

You can use these reading tests for kids as a screening for the possible presence of dyslexia in your child, a reading grade-level placement test, or to assess your child’s current level of reading fluency. Just pick the free reading test(s) that will provide with the information you are seeking.

Assessing your child’s reading level may provide you with information to determine the type of reading help your child may need and determine how far behind your child may be.

Know Your Reading Level Test Options for Best Results

If you find your child is far behind, you will want to seek a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation to determine the root cause of your child’s reading difficulties. Having an evaluation will help you provide the best reading program to meet your child’s needs.

Reading skill involves reading decoding, fluency, and comprehension. You’ll need to decide which aspect of reading concerns you. Select an appropriate reading test based upon your child’s individual needs.

Reading decoding is the ability to understand or decipher the sounds each letter or combination of letters represents in a word. This is the first, and most basic, skill a child needs to be able to read. It is the core problem area for children with dyslexia.

Free Reading Level Test at K5 Learning

For an overall snapshot of your child’s reading abilities, there is a Free Reading Level Test at K5 Learning (includes a math assessment too). This test will provide you with your child’s current  grade level in the following areas:

• Phonemic Awareness – individual sounds within the spoken language
• Phonics – understanding letters and sounds in the written word
• Sight Words – high frequency words
• Vocabulary – the meanings of words in context
• Reading Comprehension – understanding what is read
• Math Numbers and Operations – adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, fractions
• Measurement Concepts – time, money, measuring
• Geometry – characteristics and properties of geometric shapes.

I like the K5 Reading and Math Assessment because it gives you a visual bar with your child’s performance level. It also gives the “Mastery Range,” so you can easily see what level of performance your child has within his or her current performance level.

Additionally, this assessment also gives you your child’s “Placement Level,” which is ideal for knowing exactly where to START working with your child.

The K5 Reading assessment is free, but you do have to sign up for an account to use the assessment. At the time I’m writing this, NO credit card info is required and there are no obligations for the free trial.  Your first 14 days are free, so you can even try out their lessons to see if your child likes them.

You may need to use a reading decoding test

Free Reading Level Test at Reading Success Lab

If you suspect your child has dyslexia, you may want to begin with a free online reading test for dyslexia available through the **Reading Success Lab. “The Reading Success Lab’s Free tool is a quick assessment that indicates whether a basic reading decoding problem might be present.” Since an inability to decode words is at the heart of true dyslexia, it is very important to understand issues which may be involved in poor reading abilities if your child shows signs of dyslexia.

Sound Reading Free Reading Level Test

The Sound Reading program has research backing it, which shows it’s an effective instructional program for reading.  They offer a free reading test that your child can take to determine his current reading skill level.  Given this free test is related to the Sound Reading program, of course they’d love it if you’d buy their program, but you’ll want to check out a variety of program options prior to choosing a program.

Lexercise Dyslexia Screener

If you would like an informal, free, online reading test without having to register, you may find the **”Lexercise Dyslexia Screener” helpful. This test is only a screening test. It is best for gauging how well, or if, your child is progressing in reading. You can also use it to determine if your child is indeed reading at or near grade-level. The Lexercise Dyslexia Screener is “Lexercise offers two free options for screening for signs of dyslexia. Our dyslexia test for kids assesses the fundamentals of a child’s reading skills rather than focusing on their symptoms, making it a more accurate assessment for children of all ages. However, the quick symptoms quiz can serve as a reference guide for parents—especially when your child is not with you to take the complete dyslexia test.”

Sharpen’s Early Advantage Assessment (Not Free)

Another PAID, but good online reading test for kids is “Sharpen’s Early Advantage Assessment” and it’s available through Sharpen’s Early Advantage Assessment page. It’s one of the earliest comprehensive reading risk assessments available, born out of over 20 years of research. “A groundbreaking set of research-backed assessments that combines your child’s early language and literacy development with family history to allow you to assess and monitor your child’s reading skills and risk for reading struggles from age 2 until the start of Grade 3.” By using this reading test, you’ll know which skills require direct instruction and which ones your child has already mastered. This is an excellent reading test to use to get a solid snapshot of your child’s reading abilities.

If your child can decode words fairly well, you may want to determine what grade-level your child currently reads at, whether he reads fluently, or whether his comprehension is good. You can check these higher-level reading skills of your child’s by picking a free reading test from the list below. These Free Reading Test options are great for grade-level placement or screening for reading disabilities. They may or may not provide you the specific information you are seeking.

• Sonlight Curriculum’s Reading Assessments
• Reading Rockets Tests
• Macmillan Readers Level Test
• Reading Competency Test of The National Right to Read Foundation
• Savvy Reading Test – You have to create an account though!
• Red Cat Reading Assessment Online

The second component of reading skill is called “Reading Fluency”

Reading fluency is a demonstrated ability to read smoothly in a rhythmic, and expressive manner. If your child is reading fluently, he will be able to read through a passage without stopping for more than a second to decode words. Your child will generally read the passage as if he were a smooth talker. A child may falter briefly every few paragraphs and still read fluently. It is the degree and frequency of hesitations that determine if a child reads fluently.

For children with reading decoding difficulties, reading smoothly with understanding can be a significant issue. When you have your child practice Reading Fluently, it will be helpful to measure your child’s fluency level.

A great free Reading Level Test to use is DIBELS. The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) is a set of standardized, individually administered measures of reading development. The Reading Test provides short (one minute) fluency measures. Use them regularly to monitor the development of pre-reading and early reading skills. You can use the DIBELS Reading Test when you begin working on fluency and at regular intervals to measure progress. The University of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning offers the DIBELS assessment.

The third type of Reading Level Test is “Reading Comprehension”.

There is a comprehension Reading Level Test available for free at:**Pearson Longman, which is a textbook publisher. There are Reading Tests for grades 1-8, and each grade level has multiple reading tests to choose from. These are actually test-prep reading tests, but you can use them to see what level your child is reading within.

If you used a Reading Level Test to determine your child’s reading level and found your child has significant issues with reading decoding, reading fluency, or reading comprehension, I HIGHLY recommend seeking a comprehensive evaluation for learning disabilities, like dyslexia.  If your child has dyslexia, he will need special help to learn how to read well.

You may also wish to check out our information on Reading Fluency, Reading Comprehension, and Vocabulary since these aspects of reading skill can have a significant influence on Reading ability as well. Our information on Speed Reading may be of interest once your child reads fluently beyond a third grade level.

Best Wishes in helping your child learn to read well!