What's Inside Children's Books?
Accelerated Reader (AR) is a digital program that helps students and teachers manage and monitor independent reading practice in both English and Spanish.
Accelerated Reader is a part of Renaissance K-12 Educational Software Solutions & Learning Analytics, and 40% of US schools rely on Renaissance solutions. Their products are used in more than 100 countries across six continents.
There are currently over 200,000 books to choose from on Accelerated Reader's website. Students are directed to choose books based on their individual reading and interest levels. After reading a book, the student can take a short, multiple-choice quiz. The student will earn the maximum points listed in the description when achieving a perfect score and fewer points for scores 60%-90%. The teacher does not have to be familiar with the book and does not have to prepare discussion or test questions. Teachers can create their own quizzes for books that may not be in the AR system.
In the box below, Accelerated Reader provides information for Little House on the Prairie, a book by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Each book includes both an Interest Level (IL) and a Book Level (BL).
|
Interest Level (IL) |
|
|
Lower Grades (LG) |
Grades K-3 |
|
Middle Grades (MG) |
Grades 4-8 |
|
Middle Grades+ (MG+) |
Grades 6 and up |
|
Upper Grades (UG) |
Grades 9-12 |
ATOS Book Levels are reported using the ATOS readability formula and represent the difficulty of the text. ATOS takes into account the most important predictors of text complexity—average sentence length, average word length, and word difficulty level.
The book or reading level for Little House on the Prairie is 4.9 which means that a typical student in the fourth-grade, ninth-month should be able to read this book. A brief description and the number of points that can be earned are also included.
Clicking on the book cover generates a second screen with additional information about the book, including the page and word count, the publisher, awards, and topics/subtopics.
I have been charting book levels of the available books for 9th-12th grade interest levels, since 2013. The chart below reflects the current totals of both fiction and non-fiction books for LG, MG, MG+, and UG interest levels.
|
July 15, 2023 Comparison Chart Fiction and Non-Fiction, English Only (BY INTEREST LEVELS) |
||||||||
|
Grade Level |
FIC LG |
NF |
FIC MG |
NF |
FIC MG+ |
NF |
FIC UG |
NF UG |
|
1.0-1.9 |
7762 |
6077 |
82 |
22 |
0 |
0 |
48 |
9 |
|
2.0-2.9 |
15,028 |
8886 |
1915 |
352 |
94 |
2 |
270 |
11 |
|
3.0-3.9 |
15,208 |
11,323 |
5541 |
2470 |
387 |
11 |
1190 |
44 |
|
4.0-4.9 |
6859 |
10,895 |
13639 |
7234 |
1713 |
46 |
4976 |
139 |
|
5.0-5.9 |
1219 |
4556 |
9002 |
12,961 |
1681 |
108 |
5350 |
446 |
|
6.0-6.9 |
135 |
733 |
1694 |
11,454 |
454 |
189 |
2267 |
697 |
|
7.0-7.0 |
9 |
83 |
286 |
7722 |
47 |
235 |
659 |
1012 |
|
8.0-8.9 |
0 |
4 |
71 |
3437 |
9 |
194 |
193 |
1267 |
|
9.0-9.9 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
929 |
2 |
101 |
65 |
1319 |
|
10-10.9 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
171 |
0 |
15 |
26 |
712 |
|
11.0-11.9 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
21 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
200 |
|
12.0-12.9 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
42 |
|
13.0-13.9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
10 |
|
14.0-14.9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
15.0-15.9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Total # Books |
46220 |
42557 |
32260 |
46774 |
4387 |
901 |
15077 |
5910 |
|
1.0-8.9 |
46220 |
42557 |
32230 |
45652 |
4385 |
785 |
14953 |
3625 |
|
9.0-14.9 |
0 |
0 |
30 |
1122 |
2 |
116 |
124 |
2285 |
For readers interested in doing their own research or verifying mine, I will explain the steps to access the information, and how the totals were calculated.
1. Accelerated Reader has a bookfind option within its website. Click arbookfind.com.
2. Above the Search Box, you will see Quick Search, Advanced Search, and Collections:
3. Click on the Advanced Search. This will take you to the screen below.
4. Leave everything blank above the “Interest Level” box. Click arrow and enter Upper Grades (9th-12th). This describes the INTEREST LEVEL—not the READING LEVEL.
5. Enter 12.0 through 12.9 for the book level. This represents twelfth grade, zero month through twelfth grade, ninth month.
6. Go to Additional Criteria and select: Fiction Only and English Only. Click Search.
On July 17, 2023, there were 13 books listed. This means that, currently, there are 13 books written on a 12th grade reading level with a 9th-12th grade interest level. These books include Thackeray's Vanity Fair, Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
7. Now, repeat the same steps except enter 1.0-1.9 for the book level. Click Search.
On July 17, 2023, the number was 48! This means there are 13 books for 9th-12th grade interest levels written on a TWELFTH grade reading level, and 48 books for 9th-12th grade interest levels written on a FIRST-GRADE reading level.
The number of books written at high interest/low reading levels is increasing steadily. This means more and more students are unable to read at their grade level. Between 2013-2015 there were 10 books for 9th-12th grade interest levels written on a 1st grade reading level. In 2022 the number was 17. In July 2023 it is 48.
We need to carefully examine what we are seeing on this chart.
Why this sudden increase of books for Upper Grade students that are written on a first-grade reading level?
Why are there more fiction books for older children written on a first-grade reading level than on a 10th, 11th, or 12th? (See chart.)
Why are there 270 books for these Upper-Grade students written on a second-grade reading level?
The industry name for this category of books is Hi/Lo. Andrew Wooldridge, publisher at Orca Book Publishers, commented:
“We don’t use the term hi-lo because it has a bad connotation,” he says. “We call the books fiction for reluctant readers or struggling readers.” The unfortunate reputation or bias against books designated as hi-lo is that they are “dumbed-down books, or books for stupid kids,” says Wooldridge. Of course, no one wants to be a purveyor of those.
“We use controlled vocabulary and short, not-as-complex sentences,” says Keay [Steve Keay, president and CEO of Perfection Learning]. “We use short chapters and focus on short episodes in the plot.” Thies [Sue Thies, editorial director at Perfection Learning] points out that at Perfection Learning the books employ “a lot of dialogue” as well as shorter sentences.
Giving students "dumbed-down" books to read is masking their reading difficulties, and disguising the problem.These books may have shorter sentences, a controlled vocabulary, and a lot of dialogue, but they are also designed to entice children to want to read them. The easily-read books today are not there to develop reading confidence, but a particular ideology. How is this done?
In the teen arena, struggling readers are often seeking out books that depict characters in gritty, realistic circumstances and situations. Bullying, suicide, gangs, drug use, sexuality, and teen pregnancy are just some of the issues addressed in a growing number of hi-lo series for a YA audience.
These books are also used for those who are learning English as a Second Language (ESL):
Readers are more likely to try a book which is about a topic of great interest to them especially if it has features designed to make it easier to read.
The high interest is generated by subject matter that appeals to readers in a particular age range. The content is what readers would read on their own without any input from adults. Readers aged 10 to 13 are often interested in sports, adventure, animals, humor, mystery, magical or fairy tales, and natural disasters. Teen readers are often interested in tough, realistic circumstances like bullying, suicide, teen pregnancy, sexuality, and drug use. They also enjoy science fiction, fantasy, adventure, graphic novels, comics, and Manga, the Japanese version of comics. Hi-lo books are like any good book with a compelling story line and fascinating facts.
This is one of the books listed for 9th-12th graders written on a first-grade reading level:
Bi-Normal, by M.G. Higgins, is also for Upper Grade interest levels and is written on a second-grade, seventh-month reading level. Bi-sexuality is the theme. This book was published in 2013.
Tap Out, by Eric Devine, includes “pervasive profanity.” In this particular book, “pp” means:
|
PROFANITY (VARIATIONS OF THE LISTED WORDS) |
|
|
F-WORD |
896 |
|
SHIT |
411 |
|
DAMN |
32 |
|
BITCH |
41 |
|
BASTARD |
2 |
|
CUNT |
2 |
[Note: Tap Out is written on a third-grade reading level, but it is not designated as a Hi/Lo book. It is labeled as a "Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adults" by YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association. I will be covering books for Reluctant Readers in a future part of this series.]
“Pervasive profanity, sexual situations, and graphic violence (including sexual violence)” is included in this book written on a third-grade, seventh-month reading level for high school students. The author of this book is (or was) a high school English teacher.
Although only 40% of schools purchase Renaissance (Accelerated Reader) products, many teachers, librarians, and parents rely and trust the information provided on the arbookfind.com website and use it to guide children in selecting books.
In the upcoming parts of this series, I will be addressing book content, book descriptions, and the validity (or invalidity) of reading levels.
[Much of this material is covered in Between the Covers: What’s Inside a Children’s Book?]
Deborah DeGroff
Between the Covers: What’s Inside a Children’s Book?
