Why Choosing the Right Book is Important?

For Parents

These videos will help you understand why it's important to match the right book with a child's reading level.

Just Right Books - Matching Books with a Child's Reading Skill   

Finding the right book for your child   

What is Interest Level (IL)?

Interest level is based on a book's content including theme, characterization, and plot. The interest level attached to the book indicates age group appropriateness. Interest level designations reflect the judgment of the book's publisher and the professionals at Renaissance Learning. We group content appropriateness into these categories: LG = Lower Grades (K-3); MG = Middle Grades (4-8); MG+ = Upper Middle Grades (6 and up); and UG = Upper Grades (9-12). Most MG+ books are marketed as YA (Young Adult) for Interest Level. However, the final decision as to whether the content of a specific book is appropriate for a particular student is the responsibility of school librarians, teachers, and parents.

What is ATOS Book Level or Reading Level (RL)?

ATOS Book Levels are reported using the ATOS readability formula and represent the difficulty of the text. For example, a book level of 4.5 means the text could likely be read independently by a student whose reading skills are at the level of a typical fourth grader during the fifth month of school. (Of course the content may or may not be appropriate for a fourth grader which is why we also use Interest Levels.).

What is a Lexile® measure?

A Lexile measure represents the complexity of a text, such as a book or article. Lexile measures are expressed as numeric measures followed by an “L” (for example, 850L), and are placed on the Lexile scale. The Lexile scale is a developmental scale for measuring reader ability and text complexity, ranging from below 200L for beginning readers and beginning-reader materials to above 1600L for advanced readers and materials. Values displayed as Lexile® measures that are not followed by an “L” are estimates of Lexile text measures based on a study conducted by MetaMetrics® using ATOS Book Levels and are not certified Lexile measures.

What is DRA?

DRA stands for Developmental Reading Assessment. Teachers in grades K-2 assess students using a DRA several times during the course of the school year. A DRA consists of a child reading an unseen text on his/her independent reading level. Running records are similar to DRAs and are given on a formative basis to inform instruction. Running records may be on a seen or unseen text.  The DRA and running record assess for: oral reading (ability to call the words on the page), fluency (speed & expression or intonation), retelling/comprehension (ability to share or retell the story to a friend who has never seen/heard/read the text).

What is Fountas and Pinnell? Fountas & Pinnell reading levels (commonly referred to as "Fountas & Pinnell") are a system of reading levels developed by Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell to support their guided reading method.[1] Reading text is classified according to various parameters, such as word count, number of different words, number of high-frequency words, sentence length, sentence complexity, word repetitions, illustration support, etc. While classification is guided by these parameters, syllable type, an important consideration in beginning reading, is not considered as part of the leveling system. Small books containing a combination of text and illustrations are then provided to educators for each level