Accelerated Reader Program AR: love/hate it & why?

[annlaura]

I know I've read a few threads on this, and I remember seeing widely varying opinions. My laptop is on the fritz, and for some reason I can't search the boards on my nook. So forgive me for asking again. But maybe I'll get new opinions and experiences too. Do you think it is a horrible program, useful in its place, or wonderful, and why? Thanks in advance!

[MinivanMom]

I hate Accelerated Reader! The fact that it's widely used in our local elementary schools just kills me. Whenever I'm having a tough homeschool day with the little ones and I'm tempted to think of how easy my days would be if the big kids were in school, I think of AR and keep plugging away at homeschooling. I know that sounds dramatic, but that is honestly how I feel.

 

Of course my views are strongly colored by my time as a public school teacher ;). I saw AR regularly used as a substitute for real reading instruction in the classroom. I saw librarians who refused to allow children to read any non-AR books or to allow children to read books that were either above or below their AR level. Many teachers based students' grades on how many AR points they earned in the semester, so I saw children choose books based on the number of AR points they would earn, rather than whether they were interested in the book.

 

It's more than that, though. Children should be able to check out books for fun and should be able to read for pleasure. How else will they learn to love books and reading? I just think there's something intrinsically wrong with a system where every book is followed by a test. Then reading becomes just another way to measure, sort, and grade.

 

Now, I'm sure there are some schools out there that are using Accelerated Reader in a much more reasonable way. I'm sure there are some children who retain a love of reading despite the misuse of AR. At the end of the day, though, Accelerated Reader isn't a way to teach reading to struggling readers or a way to encourage a love of reading in good readers. It's just tests, tests, and more tests.

 

As a homeschooler, I could see why some might want to occasionally take an AR test to help pinpoint their child's reading level. :001_smile: That is very different from implementing the Accelerated Reader Program as a whole. I personally don't feel like I need AR tests. I listen to my children read everyday and we discuss the books together. I know what grade level books they're reading, how fluently they read, and how well they are comprehending the story. I don't need a test and a percentage.

[LibrarianMom]

How people feel about AR varies depending on how their particular school uses it. I can speak about AR from both the viewpoint as a former school librarian who administered the program and now as a parent whose children use AR.

 

As a school librarian (Jr-Sr. High) I really liked the program because it encouraged students to read a variety of books they might not normally read. Granted, they sometime chose books simply because this book has a lot of points and I want to reach my goal quickly or this book is easy and I just need a few more points to reach my goal. I recall one young lady who struggled with school who read Jane Eyre, passed the test, and told me how much she loved the book. Without AR she never would have cracked a book open period. I recall another young man who also struggled with school who struggled to finish a book and we were able to celebrate when he finished the book and received 100% on the test. However, I also knew excellent honor students (and their parents) who absolutely hated AR and complained it took too much time away from work, sports, other classes, etc. After leaving that position, I did have a young lady who had graduated and went on to college tell me she appreciated AR because it prepared her for the reading load in college.

 

At our school, the teachers had a number of points each student needed to earn each quarter as part of their grade and students were not restricted to a specific reading level. Of course, being a Jr.-Sr. High school we had books ranging from The Firm (5th grade reading level) to Pride and Prejudice (12th grade) and everything in between. At the elementary school in our district however, students were required to read books at a certain level. This was frustrating because a student who was a good reader wasn't able to select good books they would enjoy reading because they were not hard enough. Frequently, entering 7th graders breathed a sigh of relief because they could read and take a test on a book that had previously been forbidden to them but that was "age level" appropriate.

 

Now, I am a parent of children who attend a public school that uses AR. My oldest is a good reader. When she first began taking AR tests, her teacher required they had to read 1st grade level books until they reached a certain number of points. This was devastating to my daughter as these books were quite insipid and below her. After she met that criteria, she happily moved on to reading other books and now has free reign to pick whatever she'd like to read. My younger is in K and hasn't started AR yet. It will be interesting to see what happens.

 

At the younger grades, it doesn't seem that AR tests are tied to student grades. They also do not have required reading levels as far as I can tell. I am concerned as I have been told that a teacher of a later grade bases their entire reading class grade on AR. This is bothersome and I am glad to say that as a school board member that is something we are encouraging to have changed. I would say my current other "beef" with the AR program is that our particular school doesn't have as many books and tests as I would like them to, but they are working on building their collection each year. AR does have the option where schools can purchase access to all of the AR tests ever written but that access is currently beyond the price range of our small district.

 

Sorry to be so long-winded.

[MeaganS]

I speak from a student's perspective, but I LOVED AR. It was my favorite thing about Elementary School. That was probably because I held the record for the most points in my school when I was a kid. Every 9 weeks, every kid who earned more than 50 points got to go to an ice cream Sunday party. At the end of the year, every kids who had 200 points go to go to a theme park during school one day. It was awesome. I read so many books I wouldn't have otherwise because of it. I don't really know why everyone hates it.

 

ETA: We weren't required to do it at all. It was sort of an extracurricular thing we could do during our library hour and we only got good things because of it. We also weren't required to read certain grade-levels or anything.

Edited April 11, 2011 by MeaganS

[5LittleMonkeys]

When my dc were in ps they ended up hating reading because of the way the school implemented the AR program. If a student didn't reach their AR goal they were chatised and told they weren't trying hard enough and recess was witheld so they could work on getting caught up on their tests. There were books my girls might have really enjoyed but they wouldn't read books that weren't on the stupid list. They didn't actually enjoy any of the books they read becaue they just rushed through them so they could take the test and move onto the next book.

 

I ended up researching the AR program to find out about it and was surprised to find out that it is a purchased program. The school made it out like it was part of the curriculum. I read tons and tons of testimonials on several different sites of parents and teachers saying that they disliked the program becuase of the way their school was implementing it. There were a few who said they liked it but in those cases the program was used as a voluntary one; not mandatory. Dc who wished to participate could but if they didn't reach their goals there was no negative consequences at all.

 

I think it's a shame that so many schools misuse this program. Used properly I could see it being a useful tool for getting dc who don't read to do so, but it took my voracious readers and turned them into dc who hated reading. It's been over two years and I'm just now getting them back to reading for pleasure.

[annlaura]

Thank you for your replies! :)