Why “Getting to Grade Level” Isn’t the Goal…

And What We Focus On Instead

By Tamara Hirsch, Reading Specialist & Educational Therapist Founder, LA Ed Therapy

Tamara Hirsch is the founder of LA Ed Therapy, a reading-focused educational therapy practice supporting struggling readers through structured, evidence-based instruction.

One of the most common things parents say when they reach out to me is, “We just want him to get to grade level.”

That desire makes complete sense. “Grade level” feels concrete. It sounds like a clear finish line, something you reach and then feel reassured that everything is okay.

But here’s the reality. Grade level isn’t a skill. On its own, it doesn’t tell us what a child actually knows how to do as a reader. When grade level becomes the goal, we often miss what struggling readers truly need in order to make lasting progress.

Why “Grade Level” Isn’t Instructionally Helpful

A grade-level label doesn’t tell me whether a child can hear and work with individual sounds, decode unfamiliar words without guessing, understand how spelling patterns work, or spell what they can read. It also doesn’t tell me whether those skills will hold as words, sentences, and texts become more complex.

Reading isn’t one ability. It’s a system of interlocking skills. Those skills have to stay intact as the language load increases. When one piece is weak, everything else feels harder.

That’s why in my practice, I don’t chase grade level. I focus on building skills first, then making sure those skills can carry forward as reading demands grow.

A Common Example: When “Magic E” Is Flagged as the Problem

A very common starting point I hear from parents is, “My child’s teacher said he needs help with magic e.” Magic e, also called vowel-consonant-e syllables (like bike or cake), is very visible in school curricula. Because of that, it often feels like a clear marker of progress. But magic e only works if a child already understands what it’s changing and can continue to apply that understanding as words become longer or less familiar.

Before magic e can truly make sense, a reader needs strong mastery of closed syllables with short vowels (like cat or bat). That includes accurate short-vowel reading, blending and segmenting sounds without guessing, decoding words with blends and digraphs, holding multiple sounds in working memory, and spelling closed-syllable words consistently.

A child may be able to do these things at a basic level. That doesn’t mean the skill will hold when the language becomes more demanding. Skills are stress-tested by complexity.

This is why structured programs like the Wilson Reading System don’t just ask, “Can the child do this?” They ask, “Can the child still do this when the language load increases?”

When magic e is introduced later, students first read the short-vowel version of a word (cap), then clearly see how adding the final e changes the vowel (cape). They can apply that understanding across many words and contexts. This isn’t moving slowly. It’s making sure the skill actually transfers.

Why a Full, Structured Lesson Matters

For struggling readers, progress doesn’t come from exposure alone. It comes from systematic instruction, intentional repetition, and carefully increasing linguistic demand.

Reviewing skills a child already “knows” isn’t always exciting. Frankly, it’s exhausting. Learning to read with dyslexia, or with any diagnosable or undiagnosable reading difficulty, is hard work. It requires commitment over time, much like long-distance running, learning an instrument, or becoming fluent in a foreign language.

Students and parents often wonder why familiar concepts keep coming back, especially when a child has already shown success.

But that repetition is what makes skills automatic, flexible, and reliable, especially as reading becomes more complex. It’s what allows skills to hold as demands increase.

How Skills Are Built and Scaled Over Time

A structured reading lesson isn’t about checking boxes. It’s about strengthening skills, then gently increasing the challenge so those skills hold as the language gets harder.

In my practice, lessons typically follow the Wilson Reading System lesson structure, which is intentionally designed to build, reinforce, and stress-test reading skills in a systematic way. A typical lesson cycles through components such as:

• Quick sound drill To build rapid, automatic recall of sounds so students don’t have to think about individual sounds while decoding longer or more complex words

• Review and teach concepts for reading To explicitly reinforce previously taught phonics patterns and introduce new ones in a structured, cumulative way

• Word cards To develop instant, accurate recognition of high-frequency words so attention can stay on decoding and meaning

• Word list reading To assess accuracy, error patterns, and consistency when applying skills to unfamiliar words

• Sentence reading To check whether decoding skills transfer to connected text, where syntax and meaning place greater demands on the reader

• Quick drill in reverse for spelling To strengthen sound-to-symbol mapping by requiring students to retrieve sounds from memory

• Review and teach concepts for spelling To reinforce spelling rules and confirm understanding of word structure

• Written work and dictation To evaluate mastery, sequencing, and retention of skills

• Controlled text reading To allow students to practice new skills successfully at their current instructional level

• Listening comprehension and fluency work To support comprehension, vocabulary, and background knowledge through access to grade-level language

Each part of the lesson is intentional. As words get longer, sentences more complex, and texts denser, the same core skills are expected to hold. Nothing is random. Nothing is rushed.

Rethinking the Goal: Questions for Parents to Reflect On

Instead of asking, “How fast can my child get to grade level?” it can be more helpful to ask:

• Does my child’s reading fall apart when words get longer or less familiar?

• Do skills look solid in one situation but shaky in another?

• Does reading take a lot of effort, even when my child is trying hard?

• Does spelling feel much harder than reading?

• Have we seen progress before that didn’t seem to last?

If you answered “yes” to several of these, you’re not alone. It doesn’t mean your child isn’t capable. It often means the foundation needs strengthening.

The Real Measure of Success

Success isn’t a percentile or a score on a chart. Success is a child who can carry skills forward as reading gets harder, a child who can decode unfamiliar words, read with less effort, spell accurately, understand what they read, and feel capable rather than rushed. When reading is built from the inside out, systematically and intentionally, real progress follows. And most importantly, that progress lasts.