Facts & Questions for Parents
Accelerated Reader Program
1) How does the AR program work?
Accelerated Reader (AR) is a program used at all grade levels in the school
district to take earn points by testing on books they have read. Kindergarten
students achieving a total of 5 points will receive a Ready Reader Certification.
Students may use their points to purchase prizes from the Kindergarten AR store
and participate in a special treat at the end of the year.
2) Who will be allowed to participate in AR?
All students are allowed to participate. Progress is based on an individual basis,
and students read books at their own pace.
3) What can I do to support my child?
Your child should read a book that is on the AR list. Ask your child to read the
book to you 6 times before taking the quiz. Your child might have an AR log to
keep track of books read, amount of times read, and grades of tests.
4) How often can my child take an AR quiz?
As soon as your child has read the book 6 times, he/she will be able to test.
Based on the availability of the computers, it may take some time. Your student
should continue to read the same book until a computer is available for testing.
Practice makes perfect!
5) Can my child take these tests at home?
No. The school pays for a license to run the program and students only take the
tests at school between the hours of 7:30 am and 3:00 pm. The program is
designed to help the child learn to comprehend what is read; it is important for
the child to take the tests independently.
6) How do I know how well my child does on the tests?
At the end of the test, your child will get feedback on how many questions s/he
answered correctly. If there is an incorrect answer, the child sees the question,
the wrong answer, and the correct answer. I will provide information for you to
see how your child is doing.
7) Can I get a list of questions that my child missed from the
teacher?
No, teachers do not have access to this information once the child has completed
the test, but a list of generic comprehension questions will be sent home for
parents to ask their students.
8) If my child does not do well on a test, can my child take the test
again?
No. A child can only take a test on a given book one time.
9) How do I know what books are on the AR list?
Here is a website that can help you find books that are on the AR list:
arbookfind.com
10) How do I use this website?
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Click on the link above.
Click on “parent.”
Select the “Advanced Search” tab at the top.
If you have a specific title or author, type that in the appropriate place to
check and see if the book is on the AR list and what level it is.
If you want some book ideas, go to the middle of the box and select as
follows:
Interest Level: Lower Grades (LG K-3)
Then type in the level for the book list you would like to review in the space
marked “ATOS Book Level.”
The “code” for the level is .1 for each month of a
grade. For example, .5 is the 5th month of Kindergarten. 1.5 is the 5th month
of 1st grade. So if you wanted to see a list of AR books that ranged in level
between the 5th month of Kindergarten and the 5th month of 1st grade, you
would type in .5 through 1.5.
You can also select a topic of interest to narrow the list.
11) Where can I get AR books?
Some of the books you have at home are probably on the AR list. Students
will also be checking out AR books from the library.
13) What is a red dot book?
Red dot books are kindergarten level books ranging from 0.3 to 0.9.
Students should be able to read these books on their own.
14) Can parents read the book to the student?
Red dot books should be read by the student. If the student is not ready to
read books on their own, they may still be able to participate in the program by
practicing listening comprehension skills. It is recommended that parents read
second grade level picture books for listening comprehension.
15) Do you have any recommendations?
The most important thing is to find books that interest your child so they can
easily remember what is read. HOWEVER, I recommend using books that have an
auditory quiz. When you look at the books, look at “AR Quiz Types” and select
books that show “RV” (Recorded Voice). This means that the test questions are
read to the child. Since some of the vocabulary in the questions is higher than
what is in the story, using the recorded voice prevents them from getting stuck
on reading the question.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Kindergarten Teachers