On the Certifications tab of the Record Book, you can see your students' current certification targets (if any), and you can set new targets.
This tab is not available for classes that are using the badge target model for young students on the Student Targets tab. When you use that target model, students earn character badges instead of certifications.
Reader certification levels are milestones of your students' reading achievements. As your students read more independently, pass Reading Practice Quizzes, and earn points from those quizzes, they can earn certain reader certifications if you have set targets. (Certification targets are different from the Reading Practice targets, which include average percentage correct, reading range, and points targets.)
There are seven reader certifications that your students can earn that the program can automatically track, plus one additional certification (Honours Reader) that the program does not automatically monitor. When you set targets, you can choose a target that a student has already achieved, allowing the student to recertify at that level.
| Certification Level | Criteria | Recommended Number of Recertifications |
|---|---|---|
| Ready Reader | Accumulate 5 points on books read To, read With, and/or read Independently (TWI). | No more than 5 times |
| Independent Reader | Read at least 3 books Independently with a 1.2 or higher ATOS book level (or 160L Lexile®* measure) and earn 10 points on books at any level. Only books read Independently count toward the 3-book target, but books read To, With, or Independently count toward the points. | Do not recertify at this level |
| Rising Reader | Read 3 books Independently with a 1.6 or higher ATOS book level (or 250L Lexile® measure) and earn 10 points on books at any level. Only books read Independently count toward the 3-book target and points. | No more than 5 times |
| Super Reader | Read 3 books Independently with a 2.0 or higher ATOS book level (or 330L Lexile® measure) that are each worth at least 1 point. Only books read Independently count toward the 3-book target and points. | No more than 5 times |
| Advanced Reader | Read 3 books with a 3.0 or higher ATOS book level (or 510L Lexile® measure) that are each worth at least 2 points. Only books read Independently count toward the certification. | No more than 5 times |
| Star Reader | Read 3 books with a 4.0 or higher ATOS book level (or 660L Lexile® measure) that are each worth at least 4 points. Only books read Independently count toward the certification. | No more than 5 times |
| Classic Reader | Read 3 books with a 6.0 or higher ATOS book level (or 900L Lexile® measure) that are each worth at least 7 points. Only books read Independently count toward certification. | No more than 5 times |
| Honours Reader | Read books Independently from a special list of challenging literature (created by teachers and librarians), and accumulate 100 points from the quizzes. Teachers must track this certification manually using information in the software about books read and points earned; the software does not track this certification. TOPS Reports and the Student Performance Record Report can help teachers track this certification. | Not needed at this level |
How to Open the Record Book and Select the Targets
Who can do this with default permissions?
School Network Level Administrators, School Level Administrators, Teachers*
*Other users can view the certification targets, but they cannot change the targets.
To open the Accelerated Reader Record Book, on the Home page, select Accelerated Reader.
When you have opened the Accelerated Reader Record Book, select the Certifications tab.
Selecting the School and Class
At the top of the page, you will see a School drop-down list if you have access to more than one school and a Class drop-down list if you have access to more than one class. Use the drop-down list(s) to select the school and class whose information you want to view. You can view information for one class at a time. Note: The Marking Period drop-down list does not affect the Certifications tab; it is used for the Student Targets tab.
Once you have chosen the class you want to work with, notice the school year summary information that is shown at the top of the page. You will see your students' average book level, the number of books they have read this school year, the number of articles they have read, the percentage of non-fiction they have read, and the number of words they have learned (as shown through Vocabulary Quizzes).
Viewing Certification Targets
The Reading Certification Targets table for the class shows you:
- Each student's name
- The certification target set for each student (see the table above)
- The start date, which you choose when you set the target. (The date may be a specific date, the start of a specific marking period, or after the student achieved his or her previous target.)
- The achieved date (only shown when the student has achieved a target and does not yet have a new target)
- The status:
- In Progress: The target has started. Any Reading Practice Quizzes that the student passes will apply toward the target.
- Upcoming: The start date for the target is in the future, so the student has not started working toward the target.
- Achieved: The student has met the target and achieved the certification.
Setting Certification Targets
To set new certification targets for your students, follow these steps:
- Tick the students who need the same new certification target. (Students who have no target will be ticked by default.) If you want to set a different target for some students, repeat these steps with those students after you set the first target.
If you select students who already have a target, the new target that you set will replace the current target.
- Select Set Targets for Selected above the table.
- In the window that opens, use the drop-down list to select the type of target that you want to set.
- Select a Start Date option:
- After student's last certification: The target will start after the student achieved his or her previous target in this school year. If there is no previous target, the new target will start today.
-
Start of selected marking period: The target will start at the beginning of the marking period that you select from the drop-down list. Marking periods that have been added for your school and this school year are listed.
-
Selected date: Select the calendar and use it to choose the date when you want the target to start.
To go to the next or previous month in the calendar, use the arrows at the top of the window.
You can also select the month name (MAR 2023 in the example above) and then choose a different year and month. When you have found the month that you want, select a date; be sure to choose a date within the current school year and the class period.
- Select Save. The window will close, and you will see the new target(s) in the table.
If any of the students already has a certification target, you will be asked if you want to overwrite the existing target with the new target that you are setting. If you want to continue and overwrite the target, select Overwrite Targets. If not, select Cancel, tick only those students who do not already have a certification target, and repeat the steps above.
How Students See Their Certification Targets
To see their targets and achieved certifications, in Accelerated Reader, students select Progress on the top of the page. Then, they select the My Certifications tab. In the example below, the student has achieved the Super Reader certification; the student's current target is an Advanced Reader certification. The student can see what needs to be done to meet each target.
Other Tabs in the Record Book
To see the quizzes your students have taken, select the Latest Quiz tab.
To see or set your students' reading practice targets, select the Student Targets tab. (The tab name is Turn On Targets if you have not set student targets for this class yet.)
Going to Other Accelerated Reader Pages
At the top of the page, you will see links to other Accelerated Reader pages:
- Reports will take you to the Reports page and the Accelerated Reader / Reading Practice tab. For more about reports, see Accelerated Reader Reports.
- Manage Books & Quizzes will take you to the Manage Content page, where you can add teacher-made quizzes, manage books, or view information about reading practice quizzes, literacy skills quizzes, vocabulary practice quizzes, and article quizzes. You can also take sample quizzes.
- Reading Snapshots lets you create images or counters that share your students' progress on reading or reading targets.
* LEXILE®, the LEXILE® logo and POWERV® are trademarks of MetaMetrics, Inc., and are registered in the United States and abroad. Copyright © 2022 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved.