A reading of 85% accuracy would be categorized as which level?

A reading of 85% accuracy would be categorized as which level?

• A. Instructional level
• B. Frustration level
• C. Independent level
• D. Proficient level

Answer: (B)

Understanding how well a reader handles a text relies on accuracy as a guide to text difficulty. Texts are categorized by how much support the reader needs to read with comprehension: independent level is where reading is fluent with little or no help, instructional level is where some guidance is needed, and frustration level is where the text is too hard and comprehension suffers. An 85% accuracy rate means the reader is decoding and tracking text with errors about one in every seven words. That falls below the typical 90% cutoff used to separate instructional from frustration levels. When accuracy is this low, the material is generally too challenging for the reader’s current skills, making reliable comprehension unlikely even with effort. So, this reading level is best described as frustration level.

Understanding how well a reader handles a text relies on accuracy as a guide to text difficulty. Texts are categorized by how much support the reader needs to read with comprehension: independent level is where reading is fluent with little or no help, instructional level is where some guidance is needed, and frustration level is where the text is too hard and comprehension suffers.

An 85% accuracy rate means the reader is decoding and tracking text with errors about one in every seven words. That falls below the typical 90% cutoff used to separate instructional from frustration levels. When accuracy is this low, the material is generally too challenging for the reader’s current skills, making reliable comprehension unlikely even with effort. So, this reading level is best described as frustration level.