What do those reading levels mean?
The following list shows the reading level (average = 6.4, yes that's slightly above the 6th grade) of the books on the petition that contain a great deal of sex and profanity, as well as the reading level (average = 9.8) of the suggested replacements. Research from Metametrics produced a similar result.
The reading levels below are provided by a company called Renaissance Learning whose reading software has been used to encourage children to read more books in at least one school within the Blue Valley school system. The reading levels measure the "textual difficulty of a book and is determined by a readability formula" which is based on three measurements of vocabulary and other factors. Therefore, if a book has a readability level of 4.5, the text can be understood by readers with an average mid-fourth-grade reading ability. Click here to learn more about the readability formula, or download their White Paper.
The Renaissance on-line reading level search tool provides a short synopsis of the book as well as the reading level for the books your children are assigned.
The suggested replacements are not listed in any particular order. Click here to see a list of high quality books that Blue Valley is currently keeping OUT of the curriculum by refusing to choose them for their "approved" list.
| Petitioned Books | Grade Assigned | Reading Level (6.4 Avg) | Suggested Replacements | Reading Level (9.8 Avg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All the Pretty Horses | 11 | 4.9 | The Count of Monte Cristo | 8.8 |
| Animal Dreams | 12 | 5.7 | David Copperfield | 9.5 |
| The Awakening | 11 | 8.5 | Don Quixote | 13.2 |
| The Bean Trees | 10 | 5.6 | The Good Earth | 6.8 |
| Beloved | 12 | 6.0 | Ivanhoe | 12.9 |
| Black Boy | 11 | 7.4 | The Last of the Mohicans | 12.0 |
| Fallen Angels | 12 | 4.2 | The Mill on the Floss | 9.9 |
| Hot Zone | 12 | 7.3 | Moby Dick | 10.3 |
| I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings | 10 | 6.7 | The Narrative of Frederick Douglass | 7.9 |
| Lords of Discipline | 12 | 6.6 | One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich | 5.5 |
| One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | 11 | 6.2 | The Return of the Native | 10.5 |
| Song of Solomon | 11 | 5.0 | Robinson Crusoe | 12.3 |
| Stotan | 9 | 5.8 | Silas Marner | 9.7 |
| This Boy's Life | 12 | Not Rated | Treasure Island | 8.3 |
| Uncle Tom's Cabin | 9.3 | |||
| Other Blue Valley low quality, high profanity, and/or sexually provocative textbook choices: | ||||
| Bless Me Ultima | 9 | 5.4 | ||
| House On Mango Street | 9 | 4.5 | ||
| Boy's Life | 10 | 5.2 | ||
| Native Son | 12 | 6.1 | ||
| Rape Fantasies | 12 | Not Rated | ||
| Secret Life of Bees | 10 | 5.7 | ||