Yeah, there are at least two companies out there (that publishers have to PAY to get their books ranked with) that have established these random "levels" for reading. I usually want to throw it in parent's faces that Diary of a Wimpy Kid is on the same Lexile Level as an adult James Patterson novel. It's some crazy words per page per kind of word blah blah. They recently said in an interview it was never meant to go beyond the reading teachers as a tool to help them work with students. But the teachers told the parents and now the parents get OBSESSED with levels.

Luckily, I love my job and take pride in it so I will just do what every good reading teacher/Librarian is supposed to do - I talk to the kid. I show them books, ask what they have read, talk about their interests and can usually get them excited about reading 2-3 different books that range from right on their comfort level to a step up.

I have noticed it has been a little less this year and usually it is either 2nd-3rd grader parents who want their kids to move on from the "easy" books or high school parents who want their kids reading "challenging" books...but then get upset when I start suggesting things because now they need to quiz me on content.