First grade Basics
So, your child is in first grade. Great! Be ready for leaps and bounds of progress this academic year. First grade is very different from kindergarten. While the specifics vary from school to school, some things stay the same throughout our school system: by the end of the year, your child will be expected to read at a level 16 DRA by the end of the year (don't know what that means? Don't worry! All will be explained.). Additionally, your child will be expected to write multiple sentences on various topics, and your child will be expected to answer multiple comprehension questions based on the stories they read. They will also be tested three times throughout the year on the DRA and PALS.
You may be wondering why your child has to take these kinds of tests at such a young age. There is plenty of research that shows that testing students increases their learning (Rawson & Dunlosky, 2012). Beyond that, there is research that shows that interim testing greatly increases final test scores and increases student learning (Lee & Ahn, 2018).
You may be wondering why your child has to take these kinds of tests at such a young age. There is plenty of research that shows that testing students increases their learning (Rawson & Dunlosky, 2012). Beyond that, there is research that shows that interim testing greatly increases final test scores and increases student learning (Lee & Ahn, 2018).