AR is fairly simple to use. At the start of each school year, students take a norm-referenced test using Renaissance Learning’s STAR Reading software. The STAR Reading assessment provides data on each student’s performance relative to other students across the nation. Based on the STAR assessment, each child is assigned to a reading range referred to as his or her Zone of Proximal Development, or ZPD. The Zone of Proximal Development is a range of reading levels in which children should select books to read. By reading in their zone, children are assured of encountering healthy reading challenges through new vocabulary, sentence structure, grammar, etc., but yet they will not become frustrated with material that is too difficult for them.

After finishing a book, children go to a school computer and take a short comprehension quiz on that book. Quizzes range between five and twenty questions in length, depending on the length of the book. Each child’s goal is to achieve a score of 85% or higher, as Renaissance Learning’s research shows that to maximize reading growth, one of the most critical factors is maintaining an average of 85% or higher on comprehension quizzes.

Data is stored on Renaissance Place, Renaissance Learning’s hosted website platform. Because data is available over the internet, principals, teachers, and students can at any time easily access any or all of their results. Data can be assembled and viewed in countless ways, both on a short- and longer-term basis, through a number of reports. At the end of the school year, children will re-test on STAR Reading, so their improvement in reading ability over the course of the year can be tracked.

After much research, the Carmel Hill Fund Education Program's founder Bill Ruane selected AR as the tool his organization would use to achieve higher levels of reading among students in this project. Carmel Hill has no financial stake in Accelerated Reader or its parent company, Renaissance Learning, Inc.