Present the child with a book from which she will read aloud. Inform her that she is going to read aloud a portion of the text. Explain to her that while she is reading, you are going to be taking notes, but encourage her that she should not be distracted or discouraged by these notes.
Set a stopwatch when the child begins reading. When the child stops reading the selected portion of the text, stop the watch. The time indicated on the stopwatch will be used to determine the child's reading rate and fluency.
Record any substitutions, omissions, insertions or self-corrections the child makes while reading. For example, if the child mispronounces a word, make a note of the mispronounced word and include a description of how the child pronounced the word.
Ask a series of 1-5 questions that relate to the text once the child is finished reading. Record the responses the child supplies. These questions will be used to determine the child's reading comprehension.
Determine the child's accuracy. Subtract the number of errors the child made while reading from the number of words on the page. If the child read 95 percent or more of the words accurately, the book is on the child's independent reading level. If the child read 90 to 95 percent of the words accurately, the book is on the child's instructional reading level. If the child read below 90 percent of the words accurately, the book is on the child's frustration reading level.
Calculate the child's reading rate. Multiple the number of words the child read by the number of seconds it took the child to read the words, and divide the product by 60. The number equals the child's reading rate, or rate of fluency. If the child reads less than 81 words per minute (WPM), his reading rate is on a first-grade level. If the child reads 82-108 WPM, he is reading on a second-grade level. If the child reads 109-130 WPM, he is reading on a third-grade level. If the child reads 131-147 WPM, he is reading on a fourth-grade level.
Analyze the child's reading comprehension. If the child answered 0-1 questions incorrectly, the passage is at the child's independent comprehension level. If the child answered 1-4 questions incorrectly, the text is at her instructional comprehension level. If the child answered 5 or more questions incorrectly, the text is at her frustration level.
Determine the child's reading level. The level at which the child can accurately read at an instructional level, can answer comprehension questions at an instructional level and reads at an average speed indicates her grade level. If the three elements vary, her reading level is an average of the three.