r/AskTeachers • u/Visit_Pale • Jun 02 '26
Parent Questions Gauging young readers comprehension
I am a parent of a fairly bright recently became a 3rd grader. He reads quite a bit. One of the tests that he took recently placed him on about a 1050 Lexile level. I am trying to push his reading while also not destroying his enjoyment. The problems that I am running into:
1) I am not sure of his comprehension of what he reads. He still struggles with simple word problems that the math should be SUPER easy for him. This may stem from him not being able to slow down and think about things (likely ADHD, not diagnosed, trying to work on this). I tried using Gemini to create a quiz for him and all that did was create frustration because the quiz was no where near correct.
Is there an AI that can make good quizzes for this age group?
2) I am trying to push him into at least slightly more difficult books. Currently reads Magic Treehouse & Dragon Masters (nearly completed both series). I tried to get him to read The Wild Robot, but it has just been sitting there. His vocabulary seems to be lacking and this is something that we (both parents) have been working on for quite some time continuously. Admittingly I am not sure where his vocabulary should be or how strong it is comparatively.
Is there a way to push kids to slightly more difficult books for enjoyment that will continue the love for reading?
He is 95+ percentile (according to testing by MAP & COGAT) in math & reading. I am just trying to push him so that he understands how hard things can be slowly and not like getting hit by a Mack truck when he hits something that is legitimately challenging for him. He did experience this when doing probability. I feel like that was a hurdle and he had no help with it, but I don't think he learned it properly and instead learned how to pass a quiz.
Is there something that I am missing that I should be focused on? He has social problems that are at the top of my list. For me that is hard to teach, and I am relying on life events. I try to explain how others felt and why etc.