This is a great article by Barbara Dewey regarding Waldorf and learning to read.  The Waldorf grade level is based upon development, not academic skill level.  This is why if you have a first grader who can read well, you do NOT jump into second grade material.  Second grade material is designed to speak to children who are seven and a half or eight, just as third grade material is designed for those children going through the nine-year-old change.

Please take a few minutes to read this article:

http://waldorf2.intercast-media.com/2008/06/post_1.html

Just a few thoughts from my little corner of the world.