How do reading levels and ZPDs work?

A ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) is a Lexile® range you set for a student: books hard enough to stretch them, but not too hard. It's optional. Until you set one, nothing changes for that student. To set ranges from a reading check rather than by hand, use the Level Check.

Where to see reading levels

On your class Home, under Understand readers, click Reading levels. That opens Reading Levels & ZPD.

At the top, each student sits at the middle Lexile® of the last 10 books they finished, against your grade's range, with how many are below, within and above it. A student needs 3 finished books with a Lexile to be placed. These are levels of books students chose, so read-alouds and easy favorites pull them down. Click a student to jump to their timeline.

Below that is a timeline for each student:

• Each dot is a book they read, placed at its Lexile level.
• The blue band is the recommended text complexity for your class's grade.
• The green band is the student's ZPD, once you set one.

Accelerated Reader (AR) levels

A book's page shows its AR book level and AR points under Lexile in At a glance, with a link to its AR quiz when it has one. A student's quiz log, and the PDF from Export PDF, has AR level and AR pts columns.

When a book isn't in Accelerated Reader, Bookroo estimates both and marks them with ~. The level is converted from the book's Lexile measure. The points use Renaissance's formula: (10 + AR book level) × words ÷ 100,000. On a book page, the ⓘ beside an estimate says how it was worked out. ZPDs still use Lexile.

What a ZPD changes

When a student records reading, the book is compared with their current ZPD.

Students see a badge on each book: In your ZPD, Below your ZPD, Above your ZPD · ask your teacher or Level unknown · ask your teacher. A book's level comes from its Lexile measure. If it has none, Bookroo estimates the level and marks it est.

The quiz password

Your class's Monitor Password is in Settings → Book Quizzes. Under Ask for it on, choose Every quiz, or Only books above a student's ZPD, or with no known level. With no password, no quiz asks for one, these books included. Reading Levels & ZPD shows which applies under Books above the ZPD. See A quiz won't start.

Setting a ZPD

• One student: click the range next to ZPD: (it says Not set at first), or click Reading level in the student's panel. Enter Lexile min, Lexile max and a Starting date, then click Add. Suggested ranges by grade fills in a typical range.
• Several students: click Manage ZPDs, tick the students, then click Set ZPD for….

A new range takes effect on its start date, and older ranges stay in the student's history. Changing a ZPD doesn't re-score reading that's already recorded. A ZPD set by a family is ignored while the student is in your class.