AR is a computer program that helps teachers manage and monitor children’s independent reading practice. Your child chooses a book at his own level and reads it at his/her 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.

After the quiz is taken, you receive a TOPS Report from your child’s teacher. The report shows the quiz results, which reflect your child’s reading comprehension. The average score should be 85%. If your child consistently scores less, they may be choosing books beyond their reading level, or if they consistently score 100%, they may need to choose more challenging books.

What is the ATOS Book Level?

Book Levels are determined using the ATOS readability formula and represents the difficulty of the text. For example, a book level of 4.5 means the test could likely be read independently by a student whose reading skills are at the level of a typical fourth grader in the fifth month of school. You can find the ATOS level on the spine of MBS library books. Some book publishers are now printing reading levels on the back of books. You may see something like this: RL 5.0 (Reading Level 5th Grade) or Ages: 8-12, which indicates the reading level and appropriateness of that particular book.

What is Interest Level?

Accelerated Reader quizzes are divided into three interest levels: Lower Grades (LG), Middle Grades (MG), and Upper Grades (UG). The interest level reflects the judgment of the book’s publisher and the opinion of the professionals at Renaissance Learning (Accelerated Reader provider). You can find the interest level on the spine of MBS library books. As mentioned above, some book publishers are now printing the age of appropriateness on the back of their books. Mission Basilica School encourages parents to monitor the appropriateness of the books their children are reading.