Accelerated Reader

What is Accerelated Reader?

Accelerated Reader is a computer program that helps teachers and librarians manage and monitor children’s independent reading practice. Your child picks a book at his own level and reads it at his own pace. When finished, your child takes a short quiz on the computer. (Passing the quiz is an indication that your child understood what was read.) Accelerated Reader gives children and teachers feedback based on the quiz results, which the teacher then uses to help your child set goals and direct ongoing reading practice.

Children using Accelerated Reader choose their own books to read, rather than having one assigned to them. This makes reading a much more enjoyable experience as they can choose books that are interesting to them.

Teachers help your child choose books at an appropriate readability level that are challenging without being frustrating, ensuring that your child can pass the quiz and experience success.

If your child does not do well on the quiz, the teacher or may help your child:

• Choose another book that is more appropriate.
• Ask more probing questions as your child reads and before your child takes a quiz.
• Pair your child with another student, or even have the book read to your child.

In most cases, children really enjoy taking the quizzes. Since they’re reading books at their reading and interest levels, they arelikely to be successful. This is satisfying for most children. Best of all, they learn and grow at their own pace.

From Year 3, after sitting a diagnostic ‘Star Reader Test’, your child will be given a ‘ZPD’ which stands for Zone of Proximal Development.  The ZPD is a guide to the range of books that are pitched at exactly the right level for your child – including an appropriate amount of stretch at the higher end of their ZPD. For example, your child may say that their reading range is 2.2-3.2. The ZPD is allocated by the programme and is based not only on your child’s word recognition but also their comprehension of a text. The ‘Star Reader Test’ is repeated at the beginning of each term so that teachers can monitor your child’s progress.

Once your child has their ZPD, they can choose a book within their level to read. Please try to support your child to re-read these books, or sections of them, to build up pace, fluency and understanding. Any conversations you can have with your child about their reading and understanding of what they have read will be extremely beneficial.

Reading targets

Every book, that has an AR Reading Practice Quiz, is given a points value. AR points are based on the length of the book (number of words). When your child has read a book, they are able to complete a quiz and this allows them to earn points. This ‘points target’ is personalised to your child and is linked to their reading ability. Your child may say they have a target of 7.2. This is the number of points they need to earn to reach their target.

We are encouraging children to read for 25 minutes a day. This can include reading to an adult, reading independently at home or during our ‘reading for pleasure’ sessions in school. The children are given time to take quizzes during the school day. However, they are also able to do this at home using the following link: