Track Reading Comprehension Against Your Own Band — Free
Reading progress is usually assessed from the most recent session, which is why one bad evening feels like a decline and a good one feels like a breakthrough. Dated scores with a band turn both into a single line with real movement on it.
The proof surface
Free path: the tool computes locally in this browser with no key and no account. Where an AI step helps, any free chat assistant works — free tiers exist (Google AI Studio, Groq), but plans and limits change, so check the provider's own page. No third-party service is claimed here as verified: UNCONFIRMED — model has no browsing access this session.
Why the flat version breaks
A reading diary records what was read, not how well. Adding a score and a date to each session produces a ledger where the average, the range and the direction are visible — and where a dip can be matched against what changed that week.
How to use the reading comprehension ledger in four passes
Ten comprehension questions or a percentage from a set format — pick one and keep it. A ledger with two scoring methods in it cannot show a trend, only a change of method.
New material, a tired evening, a different room, reading aloud first. The note column is what turns a dip into an explanation, and explanations are what a teacher or a tutor can work with.
One session is noise. The ledger reports the average, the range and the direction across the whole log, which is the form of the evidence.
A floor set from current performance flags real dips; a floor set from a target flags everything and loses its meaning. Move it once the average has risen for several weeks.
SAMPLE DATA, NOT A VERIFIED CLAIM: the starter record is seven dated comprehension scores across a book change, with a dip on the unfamiliar vocabulary week. Replace these values with your own source before you rely on anything.
What breaks first
Scoring harder passages as a decline
Difficulty is the point of reading practice, so a harder text with a lower score is not a setback. Note the material in the same line and the ledger shows it as intended practice.
Counting sessions rather than scoring them
Reading more is easy to log and does not show comprehension. The score is the part that changes what anyone does next.
Treating a dip as a diagnosis
A dip in comprehension scores can come from tiredness, a cold, a new book or distraction. The ledger records what you observed; anything beyond that belongs to a qualified professional.
What you pay otherwise
| The usual route | What it leaves out | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| A literacy subscription | Monthly fee for passages that produce no record of progress | $8–$20 a month |
| A tutor hour | Paid session spent rebuilding a picture of the last month from memory | $30–$80 an hour |
| Judging from the last session | One bad evening read as a decline, and the wrong thing changed as a result | months of practice |
| This page + the free reading comprehension ledger | Computed in your tab, result on screen before you type anything | $0 |
Try the free reading comprehension ledger right here
Load the starter sessions and raise the band floor to 80 to see which weeks get flagged.
FIRST-LOAD · sample record filed
Take it into the free reading comprehension ledger
The companion app runs the same logic with a numbered intake, three starter records, a stateful share link, the one-time printable layer, and the local history shelf.
Open the free reading comprehension ledger →Keep the work if you will use it again
The full ledger: every session dated and scored, the band filter, the average, range and direction, unlimited re-runs.
The on-screen result is free and complete. The one-time layer adds a tangible file you keep and the saved history that comes with it.
Boundary: This records scores you assign in your own sessions; it is not a reading or educational assessment, it does not diagnose any difficulty, and it is not a substitute for a qualified teacher's evaluation. If a child's reading is a concern, speak to their school or an educational professional.