AR Information

AR stands for Accelerated Reading. This is the reading program our school uses to monitor and track a student's progress in reading fluency and comprehension. This program is offered through a company called Renaissance Learning. After a student reads an AR book they can log on to their AR student account at school and take a computerized test. The test will consist of anywhere from five to ten questions about the book and their score will determine the amount of points received towards their goal. Your child's reading teacher sets their individual goal for each nine weeks. This program is used in grades 1st-5th. (AR testing typically does not begin until the second nine weeks of school for first grade students.)

AR Books

There are over 133,000 books in the AR system. Each AR book is assigned a quiz number and a point value. Each book is also classified with the appropriate reading level. For example:

"Clifford Makes a Splash"  -  Quiz #: 119053, Reading Level: 1.5, Point Value: .5

"Curious George Goes Camping" - Quiz #: 36642, Reading Level 2.9, Point Value: .5

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" - Quiz #: 113950, Reading Level 5.2, Point Value: 3

Many of the age appropriate books for your child are part of the AR system. However, not all books are included. If you are unsure about a book you can look it up to find out. You can search for it on www.arbookfind.com.

Our HVCS library and classrooms are full of AR books. We've made sure that our students always have access to a wide variety of titles. We even have books available for students in Before and Aftercare. We have made sure that students never have a problem accessing good AR books. We hope this alleviates any concerns you have about availability.

When do students test?

Students have many opportunities to take AR tests. Students often take tests in their classrooms, before and after school, during breaks, and also during library classes. A very important part of AR is teaching students responsibility in reaching a goal. For this reason, we strongly encourage parents to limit their involvement in test taking. We have made sure that staff members are on hand to help children log on and search for quizzes. It is never necessary for a parent to come in and help a student with AR testing. Our staff members are here to assist children and teach them how to begin testing independently.