General Product Questions
Web Subscriptions
Server based Perpetual Licenses
SRC! Quizzes
Ordering Scholastic Reading Counts!
Product Fulfillment/Shipment
Program Implementation Questions
GENERAL PRODUCT QUESTIONS
Web Subscriptions
Is Scholastic Reading Counts! available through the Web?
In August, 2011, Scholastic Reading Counts! will be available through web subscriptions. For schools and
districts SRC! will be available though browsers without having to self-hosting the program software. This
method of delivery is ideal for large district, and for district with older infrastructure or in mid size and
smaller district trying to maintain capital cost s of their technology program.
Will the server-based version that I use still be available?
Yes, the server based version of SRC! remain available. There are no plans to phase out the server version
for our existing users. If you elect not to move to web subscription model, you continue with SRC! as you
always have.
How do I purchase SRC! in Web Subscriptions?
There are few steps to take, the first is contact a Scholastic Representative at 800-387-1437 to begin the
Technical Audit process. A Scholastic Field Engineer will contact you about concerns regarding about
your infrastructure ensuring that your district has the bandwidth and the capacity to access SRC! through
the Web. Once those recommendations are made, a Scholastic Online administrator will contact your
Technical Director to set up an account. From there the purchase order is submitted and access will be
begin on the agreed upon access date.
How long does my Web Subscription last?
The term of the SRC! web subscription is one year. However, at any time, you add more student
licenses in minimal increments of 50. On your renewal date, you will move forward with prorated
costs for the new licenses into the next year. You can decide to purchase fewer licenses in the
subsequent year.
If I discontinue SRC! in Web Subscriptions, what happened to my
data?
We will contact you a few months before your subscription ends. If you chose not to continue with SRC!
you should export your data prior to last day of your subscription.
Is my data secure?
Scholastic recognizes the absolute need to maintain security with student data. Specific questions regarding
data should be directed to a Scholastic Online Administrator and or a Scholastic Field Engineer.
What is included in my SRC! Web Subscriptions are purchased?
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Student access to Scholastic Reading Counts! Software (student access times and dates can
be controllable by the district/school)
Teacher’s access to Scholastic Achievement Manager from any location
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Automatic monthly updates to quiz collections ( no need to install)
Automatic Technical Updates including point releases and patches
Access to Technical support via phone, web chat or email
GETTING STARTED KIT for each site
Providing schools with user names and passwords, and the program links are the responsibility to the
technology administrator in charge of the implementation.
What is the cost of SRC! Web Subscriptions?
Getting Started
Fee
$350 per site
Student
Licenses
$5.50 per
student per
year
Minimum
50 licenses
Additional
items
Additional
Getting Started
Guides
available for
$55.00
TERM
One year with
expiration date
aligning with
first purchase
date.
I access Scholastic Reading Counts! through Scholastic Web
Hosting, how is this affected?
Scholastic Web hosting is a service for purchases of perpetual licenses. At any time a school or a district
can end Scholastic web hosting and install server software on their own servers for student and teacher
access. Scholastic web hosting for SRC includes Quiz access fee , and Scholastic upload quizzes
automatically as part of that services. If a school/district discontinues with Web hosting , they would need
to purchase the SRC! Access fee to continue receiving quizzes. The new Web subscription model does
not affect Web hosting users.
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I prefer to purchase Scholastic Reading Counts!® in a server
version, what does that purchase include?
Your Scholastic Reading Counts! order, will consists of:
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Program Software
Complete Quiz Disc
Administrator's Kit with Software
Welcome Packages at each site
Student Licenses ( perpetual licenses)
Student Access Fee
Product Maintenance and Support Plan
How much does Scholastic Reading Counts! server version cost?
Effective August 31, 2011, Scholastic Reading Counts! will feature the one price for all students.
Enrollment
Perpetual Licenses
(minimum 50
licenses)
Student Access
Fee
Product support
plan
All
$6.50
$2.00
$350 per site per year
What is the Student Access Fee?
With new student licenses, Scholastic Reading Counts! will sell quiz renewal on an annual basis, meaning
that with a renewal fee of $2.00 per student license, schools receive all new quizzes on an ongoing, monthly
basis. Quizzes do not ship to school in December or July. However these are available through email at
Scholastic Customer Services 877-268-6871.
Is there any other way to receive quizzes than on a disc though the
main.
Yes! There is a new utility in SAM v1.9 or higher called SAM Connect. SAM Connect is a conduit that
uses the Internet to connect every SAM server deployed in a district to one central server at
Scholastic. Essentially, SAM Connect is the pipe that enables a variety of activities to take
place over the internet, even if a district is hosting the software locally. For SRC! we can push out
quizzes to school servers each month.
How do I receive quizzes through SAM Connect?
First all SRC! licenses in your district (except those associated with READ180 and System 44)
need to have an active Access Fee Plan. When all licenses are associated with an Access Fee,
then the district is considered “on model” and eligible for SAM Connect updates. Next, the district
access SAM Connect Registration Manager, which connects local servers with the SAM
Server at Scholastic.
What is the SAM Connect Registration Manager?
The SAM Connect Registration Manager is the first utility that gets used when a district installs
SAM Connect. This utility registers the district’s local SAM Server(s) with the central SAM server
at Scholastic and lets the central SAM server know what Scholastic applications (READ 180, SRI,
SRC!, ReadAbout, FasttMath, etc.) are installed on the district’s local SAM Server.
What other utilities launch with SAM Connect?
Once SAM Connect is installed at a district and connected to Scholastic, Scholastic will be able to
enable several utilities that will add value for districts, reduce costs for districts and for Scholastic,
and improve our ability to provide service, such as technical updates.
What are the hardware specifications to run Scholastic Reading
Counts!?
Technical requirements, including hardware specifications, are shown on the Scholastic Reading Counts!
Technical Support page. To go directly to the technical support page, click here.
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SRC! Quizzes
How many titles are in the Scholastic Reading Counts! quiz
library?
Currently, we have more than 54,000 titles in our library, and we are constantly developing new quizzes! We
invite you to visit our new Book Expert Online where you can view our entire listing of quizzes and their
associated book title. Each year Scholastic Reading Counts! develops quizzes to more than 2800 children’s
fiction and nonfiction titles that are expected to endure in value
Is it true that Scholastic Reading Counts! only quizzes Scholastic
titles?
Absolutely not! Scholastic Reading Counts! quizzes books from more than 500 publishers including
prominent trade house such as Macmillan, Penguin, and Random House; specialty publishers such as Orca
Books and Holiday House; and Library Publishers such as Lerner, Raintree-Heinemann, and Capstone
Press. Because Scholastic often publishes reprints of the best children’s literature, many important titles
may be available through Scholastic divisions such as Book Club and Book Fairs.
Are any quizzes in the Spanish language?
Yes! SRC has a broad collection of quizzes in the Spanish. These quizzes correspond to popular
titles in English to help ELL students transition to reading in English.
Does Scholastic Reading Counts! write quizzes for basal readers?
At one time Scholastic wrote quizzes for certain basal series. Recently, we have focused quiz production on
titles that support the program’s core mission of developing independent reading skills. Supporting
instructional texts - many of which have their own publisher provided assessment - in a teacher supported
learning environment might not provide the accurate independent reading score that Scholastic Reading
Counts! was designed to provide
Can I write my own quizzes in Scholastic Reading Counts!?
Yes! Teachers can write new quizzes in SRC! and you the ability to export and share your own quizzes
among other teachers. There is an unlimited amount of quizzes that teachers can write in SRC!
How much storage does a quiz take?
The individual quiz files that get loaded into SAM or SMS are called .qiz files. They are anywhere from 1 KB
to 10 KB. Individually, they are tiny files.
Can teachers restrict quizzes? For example if a book was to be
read as part of the curriculum could the teacher not let students
read it as a part of SRC!?
Yes, this can be done on the individual, group, or grade level.
The quiz is too difficult for a K-2 student to take on their own.
Some Scholastic Reading Counts! quizzes require in-class adaptation for most successful use, including
reading the quiz aloud or permitting the student to use the book. It would be an impossible task to review
and revise every K-2 quiz that we have. We suggest that teachers read quiz questions aloud for lower grade
levels as we continue to work on this issue.
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What is a Product Support Plan?
Product Support and Technical Maintenance Plans are vital components for the Scholastic Achievement
Manager (SAM) suite of products (READ 180™, ReadAbout™, Scholastic Reading Inventory™, Scholastic
Reading Counts!®, System 44™, Scholastic Phonics Inventory™ and FASTT Math™. In addition to
unlimited Technical Support, point release and version updates are part of the plan. These will be shipped
twice a year with feature enhancements for SAM and its related programs.
SAM requires that all versions for all products be the in same release and the way to obtain these releases
is through the Product Support and Maintenance Plans. For more information about technical issues and to
view Scholastic Reading Counts! Technical FAQs, visit the Technical Support Page.
What are point releases?
Point releases are scheduled and periodic updates to Scholastic’s technology program. Some
enhancements include feature improvements for users and others are platform-based technology
improvements. Rather than issue major new releases that demand a large conversion, Scholastic has
elected to build out enhancements and features on a more periodic basis.
These small scheduled releases are timed to work better with the school calendar and are easier for
teachers to master as they extend the existing program and keep users familiar with a fewer number of
changes as they occur. We believe that smaller, more incremental steps over the course of the products’ life
works better in learning communities than large sweeping changes that occur every four or five years.
What about bugs and known errors?
Patches for bugs and known errors are on the Technical Support page as free software updates.
How much do Product Support Plans cost?
There are a number of plans that are based on the number of sites and programs used. Effective September
1, 2012, the Basic Plan, which would suit the needs of Assessment products like SRI and Scholastic
Reading Counts!, is $350 per site, per product.
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ORDERING SCHOLASTIC READING COUNTS!
How can I order Scholastic Reading Counts!?
You can purchase Scholastic Reading Counts! by calling your Scholastic Sales Representative at 1-800387-1437. You may also request more information by clicking here
ORDERING SRC!
My school owns Accelerated Reader and we want to move to
Scholastic Reading Counts!
Good move! With its foundation in the Lexile Framework® for Reading and the deep bank of items that
support most quizzes, Scholastic Reading Counts! is always the best choice for busy educators. To trade up
to the Student License model, Scholastic offers discounted initial licenses at $3.50 per student. This onetime-only offer entitles your school to all currently published quizzes. Call 1-800-387-1437 for details.
My school owns READ 180, how can I expand Scholastic Reading
Counts!?
Schools that purchase READ 180 can expand Scholastic Reading Counts! school wide by purchasing
student licenses for $3.50 per non-READ 180 student for 90 days after initial purchase.
The Student Access Fee is applied to only non-READ 180 students for new quizzes, which are delivered
monthly. One of the benefits of READ 180 is that the Student Access Fee is waived.
We have just purchased System 44, how does that work with
Scholastic Reading Counts!?
Schools that purchase System 44 receive program specific quizzes. They can expand Scholastic Reading
Counts! to non-System 44 students for $3.50 per student in a special offer.
The Student License provides access to 48,000+ quizzes. The Student Access Fee is applied to only nonSystem 44 students for new quizzes which are delivered monthly. One of the benefits of System 44 is that
the Student Access Fee is waived.
I would like to exchange my perpetual SRC! license for subscription
licenses? I am a hosting user who wants to switch?
We have a plan for that! If you have recently purchased SRC! you can exchange the license at no
additional cost in the first year. If you are a longstanding user, you can move over to the subscription plan
at 50% of the cost of Web subscriptions fee for the first year or $2.75 and the start up fee will waived.
Please contact your Scholastic sales rep at 800-387-1437.
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Can I order Award and Incentive items for Scholastic Reading
Counts!?
Yes, several Scholastic Reading Counts! Award and Incentive items are available. Click here to order in the
Teacher Store Online.
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How can I view a list of titles that have been recently added to the
Scholastic Reading Counts! library?
You can view all titles on the Scholastic Reading Counts! Product Support site by clicking here. Other useful
materials including Educator's Guides are available to you. New titles are also posted on our Book Expert
Online. Click on "Search Books and Quizzes Titles" from the Toolbar. This will take you to the Search Title
Page. Use the Date search to quickly locate titles added in recent months. Please visit us often to browse
our new titles!
PRODUCT FULFILLMENT/SHIPMENT
What method of shipment is used for my Scholastic Reading
Counts! order?
All Scholastic Reading Counts! items are shipped to you via UPS ground. If your address contains a P.O.
Box, we will ship the order via USPS. UPS does NOT deliver to P.O. Boxes. We do not recommend P.O.
Box shipments as we have no way of tracking the order.
Will my order arrive in one single shipment?
All software and Scholastic Reading Counts! Rewards and Incentives will arrive in one shipment. The
number of cartons you receive is dependent on the size of your order.
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How long will it take to receive my entire order?
All currently available software and incentives in your order will be delivered to you within 7-10 business
days of the date of your order. Book orders will be sent to you under separate covers and may have multiple
shipments. Each box will contain its own packing list. Any backordered items that become available within
45 days of your original order will be delivered to you within 60 days of your original order.
What if I want to have an order sent overnight?
Assessment products do not offer overnight shipment. We offer rush shipping, which will reduce delivery
from 7-10 days to 3-5 days.
May I provide an alternate Ship To address for any backordered
items?
Yes, you can contact a Customer Service representative to provide an alternate address for any
backordered items. Please email us at ReadingCounts@scholastic.com or call us at 1-877-COUNTS-1. If
you need to update your Ship To address for your next order, please contact Customer Service at 1-877COUNTS-1.
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IMPLEMENTATION QUESTIONS
How do I get started?
In the Scholastic Reading Counts! Welcome Kit, librarians, teachers and administrators will have a special
guide that helps with implementation. The Teacher’s Guide included with the program shows how to access
and create reports and work with Scholastic Reading Counts!
What is a Lexile®?
A Lexile measure is a unit for measuring text difficulty based on the variables of syntax and semantic
difficulty. Semantic difficulty refers to the level of familiarity or frequency of the text’s vocabulary and syntax
refers to the level of difficulty in terms of sentence length. The Lexile scale is a developmental scale for
reading that ranges from below 200L for beginning-reader level to 1700L for advanced level.
Do states require reports in Lexiles? How many Lexile States are
there?
Quite a few states show reading achievement by Lexile measures. Overall there are 21 states that do. Many
more states use Lexiles among other measures to demonstrate reading skills. The Lexile states are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
Arizona
California
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Illinois
Kansas
Kentucky
Minnesota
Missouri
Nevada
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Oregon
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia
Wyoming
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Are Lexiles corresponded to grade levels?
Lexiles represent a range of proficiency that relate to grade level expectations.
Performance standard proficiency bands for SRI, in Lexiles, by grade.
Grade
Below Basic
Basic
Proficient
Advanced
1
-
99 and Below
100 to 299
401 and Above
2
99 and Below
100 to 299
300 to 600
601 and Above
3
249 and Below
250 to 499
500 to 800
801 and Above
4
349 and Below
350 to 599
600 to 900
901 and Above
5
449 and Below
450 to 699
700 to 1000
1001 and Above
6
499 and Below
500 to 799
800 to 1050
1051 and Above
7
549 and Below
550 to 849
850 to 1100
1101 and Above
8
599 and Below
600 to 899
900 to 1150
1151 and Above
9
649 and Below
650 to 999
1000 to 1200
1201 and Above
10
699 and Below
700 to 1024
1025 to 1250
1251 and Above
11
799 and Below
800 to 1049
1050 to 1300
1301 and Above
Note: The original standards for Grade 2 were revised by Scholastic Inc. (December 1999) and are
presented above. The original standards for Grades 9, 10, and 11 were revised by Scholastic Inc. (January
2000) and are presented above.
Why doesn’t a book have a Lexile?
There are some texts that are not given Lexiles, including graphic novels, reference books, and wordless
books.
Some titles are listed with a special code, what does that code
mean?
The following designations are used in conjunction with the Lexile measure of a text to indicate special
characteristics of the text. This information can be used to target texts in special situations.

Illustrated Glossary (IG). A text designated as “IG” consists of independent pieces of text such
as in the glossary of a book. These independent pieces may be interchanged without affecting the flow
of the text. “IG” texts typically contain some or all of the following characteristics:
o
The definitions of words (using such indicators as “or” or a dash) or their pronunciations
are contained directly in the text.
o
Technical vocabulary is printed in a contrasting type (e.g., bold, italic).
o
Each topic is presented on one to two pages, with titles and/or captions for each
paragraph.
o
Illustrations are incorporated into the text.
o
Texts designated as “IG” are good resources when conducting research on an
unfamiliar topic.
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Non-Conforming Text (NC). A text designated as “NC” consists of semantic difficulty
(vocabulary) and semantic complexity (sentence length) that is inconsistent with the developmental
appropriateness of the text. Typically these texts are written at a higher level than would be suggested
by the content and the format of the text. Texts designated as “NC” are useful when matching
advanced readers with text at an appropriate developmental level.
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Beginning Reading (BR). A text designated as “BR” is any text that has a Lexile measure of
zero of below. The measure is shown only as “BR” without the zero or negative number appearing.
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Non-Prose (NP). A text designated as “NP” is any book whose content is at least 50%
nonstandard prose. Some examples are poems, plays, songs, and books with incorrect or no
punctuation.
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Adult-Directed (AD). A text designated as “AD” is one designed to be read to or with readers.
The following guidelines should be used when examining an “AD” text:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Text Placement
Sentence Length
Font Size and Placement
Basic Word Usage
Illustration Context
Book Size
Texts designated as “AD” are useful when reading to a group and can be used to improve listening
comprehension skills (e.g., making predictions, engaging in discussion, identifying meaning, and
acquiring vocabulary).
The colors bands are not adjustable but refer to the expected grade level of the test. The other content on
the labels (Lexile level, GRL, points) can be selected and incorporated on the label.
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What is a Guided Reading Level?
Guided Reading is an instructional approach that involves a teacher working with a small group of students
who demonstrate similar reading behaviors and can all read similar levels of texts. A Guided Reading Level
(GRL) for a book in English is a measure ranging from A (the simplest texts) to Z (the most difficult). A GRL
takes into account several factors in assessing a text’s difficulty, such as accessibility of topic, complexity of
story structure, and spacing. Some books, especially for higher grades, are not recommended for Guided
Reading and have a GRL of “NR” which stands for Not Recommended.
Who determines the Lexiles, GRLs and Reading Levels for
Scholastic Reading Counts! titles?
Lexiles are a proprietary score for books (and readers), performed under contract from Scholastic, by
MetaMetrics: www.lexile.com. Guided Reading Levels (GRLs) are based on a system developed by Gay Su
Pinnell and Irene Fountas. While they do have legal control over the specific scores, Scholastic Reading
Counts! editors - educators and librarians - have assigned the GRLs in a manner consistent with their
guidelines. Additionally, Scholastic Reading Counts! recently replaced thousands of GRLs in its database to
make them consistent with the scores in the Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Book List, K-8, from Heinemann.
Reading levels are assigned by SRC! editors, taking into account both readability and content.
Why do a book’s Lexile level and GRL not agree on grade level?
The reason for differences between Lexile levels and GRLs is that they measure slightly different things. A
Lexile is a unit for measuring text difficulty, focusing on the two variables of semantic difficulty and syntax.
GRLs take other factors into consideration, such as complexity of story structure, spacing, and conceptual
elements. If a book has advanced vocabulary but little text and story structure, it may have a very high Lexile
and a low GRL.
What Does Scholastic Reading Counts! use multiple leveling
systems?
Most teachers and librarian will not rely on ONE scoring system to assign books to a specific child or young
adult. Each score measures different elements and, along with a book’s description (i.e. the
blurb/annotation) and its tags (especially any sensitivity issues), helps to create a complete picture of the
value of the book (and quiz) in various situations (curriculum, enjoyment, independent reading, shared
reading, etc).
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What determines the number of points a book has?
Points are determined by a combination of word count and interest level.
Why aren’t points related to Lexiles?
Lexile levels do not determine points. Points are determined by a combination of word count and interest
level.
Scholastic Reading Counts! has a scale of 1-100 to determine point value of the title. The points are
determined by an editor-managed algorithm based on the number of words of the text and interest level of
the text. The median point of the scale falls in the lower end of the bell curve - as length of a book tends to
drive up the points assigned and few books on the lower level are voluminous.
While most titles fall in lower range of the scale - a few books, such as Abraham Lincoln: the Prairie
Years by Carl Sandburg carries 81 points. This book has 435,314 words with a HS interest level.
To illustrate, the above title Lexiles at 1140L; another book by Carl Sandburg entitled Abe Lincoln Grows
Up carries 10 points. It has a middle school interest level and has less than 1/10th of the words - 35,702 but
has a 1260L.
Points are a reward for effort and provide other validations that may resonate with students who may require
extrinsic motivation. These can be readers at any level. However students who do not progress with reading
development as quickly as they like may welcome this supplement. Teachers can use this point
system when frustration is an issue.
What do I do if I see an error in the quiz? What if the content of the
quiz does not match the books?
Please send your quiz concerns to Scholastic Reading Counts! Customer Service. Email us at
ReadingCounts@scholastic.com or call us at 1-877-COUNTS-1. In order to best answer your query, the
following information is most useful:





What is the quiz number, book title, author, ISBN, copyright date? Other additional info is also
helpful, such as if the book seems to be an adapted, edited, condensed, or abridged version or if it is a
certain volume in a series.
Do all the quiz questions appear wrong or just one?
If just one or a few questions seem wrong, which ones and how? State the question (not just the
question number) and list all distractors.
If all the questions appear to be wrong, then either the customer has the wrong version of the
book, or the problem is due to a technical error
Your query will then be passed along to technical services and SRC! editorial
The quiz complaint will be researched and a new, corrected quiz will be automatically provided to all
customers on their monthly quiz updates.
What is a “movie-proofed” quiz?
A “movie-proofed” quiz is a rewritten quiz for books upon which a new first run movie has been released.
The purpose of the movie proofed quiz is to focus on items and topics in the book that are not present in the
movie. This prevents students from viewing the movie instead of reading the books. For older books/films,
we have to take them under consideration. After they are written, movie proofed quizzes will be included in
all monthly quiz releases. These quizzes will replace the previous version of the quiz.
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How does Scholastic Reading Counts! select titles? Can
publishers submit books to you for inclusion in your program?
Scholastic Reading Counts! selects books on the basis of reviews in library and education journals,
curriculum support, and wide reader interest. For publishers wishing to be considered for our program,
please send two copies of two representative children's or young adult books to: Stephen Jones, Scholastic
Readings Counts!, 524 Broadway 1129B, New York, New York 10012.
What if I would like to see a certain book quizzed?
Scholastic Reading Counts! produces robust quizzes that support titles that are of high quality and are quite
varied in reading level and interest. Most of the books supported are K-8 and Hi-Lo titles because this is the
customer demand. If there are in-print titles and series you would like to see quizzes for, please feel free to
suggest them.
In our selection of titles, Scholastic Reading Counts! gives precedence to those that attract favorable critical
attention. One book in a trilogy or series may have received a starred review or an award, and this may be
why we have included it in our program and not others. Also, on occasion a few books in a series are done
but the series is discontinued due to lack of sales. If we are missing the first title in a trilogy or series, please
point it out to us and if the book is not out of print we can develop a quiz for it.
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