How Hong Kong parents can ensure their kids are advancing their reading skills
Don’t worry - children can still be making progress in their literacy even if they are declared to be ‘below year-level expectations’
At my last parent-teacher meeting, I was told my child is reading below year-level expectations. What does this mean?
Feedback sessions are a chance for your child’s teacher to tell you how well they have progressed during the year, but also how much your child is achieving – not learning – in relation to others.
A child should be making similar progress to their peers, so if a child started lower in the class, for any reason, they may well be reading below the norm in the class but still progressing well.
A child may have made significant progress but still be below year-level expectations. This is especially true if a child has entered a school where the medium of instruction is a second language that they are weak in. They may have learned the language but may not yet be able to apply the sound systems or character recognition adequately enough to read along with their peers.
Generally, as language develops, reading will come up to a level similar to others in the class. Some children with several languages spoken in their home will take a bit more time to develop their reading skills, but will compare with similarly aged children after a few years of primary school.