How Point Values of Books Are Determined in Accelerated Reader
In Accelerated Reader, point values of books are based on length (word count) and text difficulty (book level). For example, most picture books, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, are half-point books. Most short chapter books are worth 5 to 10 points. Longer, complex novels are worth considerably more points—Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina has a point value of 69. The formula used to determine Accelerated Reader point values is:
[(10 + Book Level) ÷ 10] x [Word Count ÷ 10,000] The raw value is rounded to the nearest whole number (except for the bottom of the scale, where the minimum number rounded to is 0.5). For example, Anna Karenina’s book level is 9.6 and the word count is 349,736. Thus the point value is calculated as [(10 + 9.6) ÷ 10] x [349,736 ÷ 10,000] = [1.96] x [34.9736] = 68.548256, which is rounded to 69 points.
Points Earned Are a Measure of Reading Practice
After a student takes a Reading Practice Quiz, she earns points based on the book’s point value and how well she did on the quiz. In this way, points are a measure of reading practice— a summary of quantity, quality, and difficulty. Reading Practice Quizzes have 5, 10, or 20 questions, depending on the length of the book. The cutoff for earning points on a 5- or 10-question quiz is 60 percent correct. The cutoff for a 20-question quiz is 70 percent.
For example, a student who takes a 5-question quiz on a book worth 1 point will earn:
1 point for 5 correct (100 percent)
0.8 point for 4 correct (80 percent)
0.6 point for 3 correct (60 percent)
0 points for 2 correct or fewer
A student who reads a longer book at a higher book level and takes a 10-question quiz on a book worth 5 points will earn:
5 points for 10 correct (100 percent)
4.5 points for 9 correct (90 percent)
4 points for 8 correct (80 percent)
3.5 points for 7 correct (70 percent)
3 points for 6 correct (60 percent)
0 points for 5 correct or fewer
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Accelerated Reader goal calculator. Set individual goals for students.
Teacher Resources
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