Reader Certifications – Accelerated Reader

Reader certification levels are the 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've set certification goals.

Certification goals are different from the Reading Practice goals for grades 3 and up (percent correct, average book level, and points). Certification goals are not available to students using the goal model for grades K-2; in that model, students earn tokens and badges instead of certifications.

A certification goal must be set for students in order for the software to track the students' progress toward the certification and award it automatically.

You can see your students' certification goals in the Accelerated Reader Record Book on the Certifications tab. The Certification Levels Report allows you to view the certifications that your students have achieved. Customizable, printable certificates are available through the Certificates for Student Achievement Report. You can use these certificates to recognize your students' achievements.

There are seven reader certifications that your students can earn that the program can automatically track, plus one additional certification (Honors Reader) that the program does not automatically monitor:

Certification Level	Criteria	Recommended Number of Recertifications
Ready Reader	Accumulate 5 points on books read To, read With, and/or read Independently.	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 goal, 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 goal 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 goal 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
Honors 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