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Getting Started (For Parents)

Support Professional
  • Updated

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Welcome to CARS & STARS Online!

We believe in helping you involve and engage yourself in your child’s learning. Rather than wait until the evening, CARS & STARS Online allows you to keep up to date with day-to-day progress, while reducing strain on teachers, all from the comfort of your own home. Rather than having to wait for parent–teacher nights to get updates on your children’s work, CARS & STARS Online allows you to share a constant connection with your child’s progress throughout the program, maintaining a level of parental involvement that is unprecedented in other reading comprehension programs, and even the printed version of CARS and STARS!

The following is some useful information to help you get started. Follow the three steps below and you will be on the way to making your children's reading comprehension journey extraordinary. The program is built on the core idea that if you make learning interesting, enjoyable and rewarding, children will achieve more and retain their love of learning.

For more information on success stories, click here.

If you have any questions, please type your question in the search field which is located at the top of the page. If you can’t find your answer, please click here to submit a support ticket for further assistance.

Before getting started, you need to check that your computer or tablet meets CARS & STARS Online's system requirements. Accessing CARS & STARS Online may not work without meeting these system requirements. For more information, click here.

STEP 1:

You can create your Child account to begin assigning your child a Placement Test or Assessment.

Create a Child account

  1. Navigate to the main menu, and click on the Children section.
  2. Click on Add New Child Account.

You can either follow the instructions for

Create a 30-day Free Trial Child Account

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Child Details

Enter Account Type, First Name, Last Name, Year of Birth and Gender.
  1. There are two different Account Types that you can choose from: Subscription Account is for an annual subscription, and the Trial Account will be for a 30-day free trial.
  2. Under the Module section, we have conveniently pre-filled the available option(s) for a 30-day free trial account. You have the flexibility to choose between CARS & STARS or FOCUS Reading. Additionally, please note that you can select both options from the Module dropdown menu to create a single child account that includes both CARS & STARS and FOCUS reading materials.
  3. You can select an optional Profile Image.
  4. Click the Submit button.

Create a Paid Subscription Child Account

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This option allows you to add a new Child account.

Available Child Subscriptions

You will be able to see your remaining child subscriptions here.

Child Details

Enter Account Type, First Name, Last Name, Year of Birth and Gender.
  1. There are two different Account Types that you can choose from: Subscription Account is for an annual subscription, and the Trial Account will be for a 30-day free trial.
  2. For paid subscription account, under Subscription Type, choose CARS & STARS or FOCUS Reading or CARS & STARS + FOCUS READING subscription.
  3. You can select an optional Profile Image.
  4. Click the Submit button.

Once you have created all your children's accounts, you may proceed to downloading and printing out all the Child access cards. Your child can login with the access code that is on the child access card.

  1. Navigate to the main menu, and click on the Children section.
  2. Click on View Added Account.
  3. Click on Download Access Cards button.

If your child is given a student access card in school, you can link your Parent account to your Child account using the child's student access code. Otherwise, go straight to Step 2.

Optional: Link your Child's Student Account (Issued by the School)

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  1. Navigate to the main menu, and click on the Children section.
  2. Click on View Linked Accounts.
  3. You can click on Linked Student List.
  4. Click on the Link Student Account button.
  5. Fill in the Student Access Code (access code can be found on the student access card or parent letter issued by the school).
  6. Click on Search.
  7. Click on the Link Student Account button beside your child's details in the search result to link your child's account to your Parent account.
  8. Once your child's account is linked to your Parent account, you may click on your child's name to view the various student reports.

After you have successfully linked your child's CARS & STARS Online student account using the student access code issued by your child's school. You will have the ability to review and track your child’s progress in both tests and lessons using CARS & STARS Online Individual Reports. To learn more, click here.

STEP 2:

You're almost there.

Depending on your subscription and which module you want to start with, please click on either CARS & STARS or FOCUS Reading below.

CARS & STARS

Please note: This feature is not available for linked student accounts. If you would like to assign your children to a placement test or reading level, please refer to step 1 to create a child account.

A placement test is preset when a Child account is created.

NEW The Intelligent Placement option will intelligently allocate the beginning Placement level for the children based on their years of birth and any data from their previous reading levels (you do not need to manually direct your children to take a Placement Test).

Before your children take their Placement Test, if you know that your children have learning differences, you can change the initial placement level lower than the recommended one. For reviewing and changing the recommended Placement Level, click here.

Once your Child accounts have been created, your children can login and be immediately directed to the Placement Centre to have their reading comprehension assessed. Once your children have completed their Placement Tests, a correct CARS & STARS reading level will automatically be created for them. For Placement Test settings, click here.

Please note: Children in the same year level may have differing levels of comprehension and therefore be on different CARS & STARS levels within the family. Level AA correlates with Prep/Foundation, Level A correlates to Year 1 and Level H with Year 8 or higher.

If you are already aware of your child's reading level, you can manually assign them to a reading level by following the steps below. Otherwise go straight to Step 3.

Assign Reading Level

  1. Navigate to the main menu, and click on the Reading Level section.
  2. Click on View Reading Level List.
  3. Choose the Current Reading Level. As you have just added the child's details into the system, the default Current Reading Level would be Placement Test.

At this point, you can assign assessments to single or multiple children in a family.

Assign Reading Level to a single child

  1. You can assign an assessment for a single child by selecting the Child row and, under the Action column, clicking on the Manage Reading Level button.
  2. In the What Would You Like to Do? field, choose Assign Reading Level.
  3. Choose a single reading level from the Reading Level field.
  4. Click on the Submit button.

Assign Reading Level to more than one child

  1. You can assign a reading level to more than one child in the same reading level by selecting the checkbox next to the child’s image and clicking on the Mark button.
  2. Please ensure that you have the correct number of children selected.
  3. In the What Would You Like to Do? field, choose Assign Reading Level to the selected children.
  4. Choose a single reading level from the Reading Level field.
  5. Click on the Submit button.

Assign Reading Level to all the children in a family

  1. You can assign a reading level to all the children in the family by clicking on the View All button, if applicable, followed by the Select All button.
  2. Click on the Mark button.
  3. Please ensure that you have the correct number of children selected.
  4. In the What Would You Like to Do? field, choose Assign Reading Level to the selected children.
  5. Choose a single reading level from the Reading Level field.
  6. Click on the Submit button.

FOCUS Reading

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  1. Navigate to the main menu and click on FOCUS Reading, then View FOCUS Reading List.
  2. Choose the All option from the Current Reading Level field.
  3. Click the Submit button.

Assign Reading Level to a single child

  1. To assign a reading level to an individual child, move your cursor onto the child’s row and, under the Action column, click on the Manage Reading Level button.
  2. In the What Would You Like to Do? field, choose Assign Reading Level.
  3. Choose a reading level from the Reading Level field.
  4. Click on the Submit button.

STEP 3:

You are on the last step now.

Online Resources (Access Cards)

To allow your child to easily access the system you will have to locate or download your child's access card from the View Added Accounts page. Once you have downloaded and printed out your child's access card, please cut and paste it onto the child's workbook.

  1. You can download your child's access card by clicking on the Download Access Cards button.
  2. Locate your child's access code from the Access Code column.

For Child Login

  1. On your child's device, open the web browser. Go to https://app.carsandstars.com.au and click on Students to switch to the Child Login and enter your child's access code. Your child can login with their issued access code, printed on the child access card.
  2. Click the Login button.

For Reporting

To learn about Using CARS & STARS Online in Your Homes, click here

To view the full Parent account help section, click here

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