What+is+Accelerated+Reader?

1. ** What is Accelerated Reader? ** Accelerated Reader (AR) is reading software designed to make essential reading practice more effective for every student and personalize reading practice to each student’s current reading level. AR (and companion products such as Accelerated Math) is currently used in over 73,000 schools across the United States. In 1998 AR was piloted by BGA’s fifth grade, and the following school year began to be used extensively in grades 5-8 as well as in several grades at the lower school. 2. ** How does AR work? ** After choosing and reading a fiction or nonfiction book, the student answers questions about the book by taking a computerized reading practice quiz. These quizzes are multiple choice with 5, 10 or 20 questions depending on the book’s length and difficulty. After the last question is answered, the student receives immediate feedback about the quiz results. Students must correctly answer a certain number of questions to receive a percentage of points associated with the book. The AR program generates reports, used by the teacher, which provide information on a student’s reading comprehension, amount of reading, and other documentation. 3. ** How is a student’s reading level determined? ** Students initially take a computerized STAR reading test, which assesses their current reading level in less than ten minutes. A tool for the teacher, the STAR component is used to provide a student’s reading range and helps in determining the appropriate level of challenge for each student. In grades seven and eight, teachers also establish a minimum reading level in addition to having students take the STAR reading test (see individual grade level AR guidelines on this wiki). 4. ** How does AR fit into the reading culture of the middle school? ** AR was adopted by the middle school to help each student achieve his or her reading potential. Not only does it assess whether or not a child has read a book, it can be used to individualize reading goals for each student no matter their reading level. AR is used to stress the daily “habit” of reading. In addition, AR is used to inspire advanced students to read high levels of literature and to encourage reluctant readers by providing books on appropriate reading levels, moving them up the reading level ladder through success. Developing “world class” readers through AR gives us another tool to not only expose students to quality, age-appropriate literature in a variety of genres, but also provides an opportunity to increase achievement scores and create outstanding writers. As one BGA educator has said, “Just because you __can__ read doesn’t necessarily mean you __are__ a reader.” Our hope is that AR does indeed create lifelong readers of our students. 5. ** How has AR impacted the middle school library? ** Presently the library has approximately 15,000 volumes, for which the majority have AR quizzes. Moreover, library circulation reflects what we have seen since the implementation of AR in grades five through eight: our middle school students read and read! The first year of AR, in which only fifth grade participated, circulation of library books increased 50 percent. The following year, when AR was implemented for all grades in the middle school, circulation exploded, from 3790 items to 8523 items. Comparing the last non-AR year (1997-98) to the first all-school AR year (1999-2000), circulation more than tripled. At present, the middle school library circulates approximately 10,000 books and audiobooks each school year, and the lower school library, whose students also use AR, circulates over 14,000 books.