I know this topic has already made the rounds, but our high school is considering AR for our struggling/reluctant high school freshmen and sophomores. I would appreciate any input from those who have had experience with this, either as teachers or parents. I want to pass along to the committee more than just my humble opinion. Thanks in advance! 

Response:  You'll probably find a multitude of pro and con responses in our archives. AR seems to be an emotional issue with people strongly in favor or strongly opposed. I am among those who have seen positive results from using AR. Special ed classes use AR as well. Standardized test results in reading have increased here since we started using the AR program. I have have some parents first thrilled that their kids are reading, then complaining that they can't get them to stop. I do NOT use it to limit the students' reading, however, as some aspects of the program suggest. (in some schools you can only get credit for books at your "level.") of course, AR is not responsible for all this. We have daily silent reading in class. The teachers model, reading and taking tests along with the students. Students set their own goals for AR, but I encourage them to aim higher each grading period by reading longer or more often or by selecting more challenging books. We use reader response journals, etc. carrying an AR book everywhere has become standard practice. We use the basal text as a resource, not a bible, selecting a few whole class readings to illustrate a particular point or to serve as a jumping off place for a theme discussion.

Response:  Every year I ask my students two questions about Accelerated Reader: 

1. How many of you have ever honestly read a book and still flunked the quiz? 
Every year at least a third of my students raise their hands.

2. How many of you have ever NOT read all of a book and have done just fine on the quiz?
Every year more than half of my students raise their hands.

I use that little survey as an introduction to why we won't be using that program, even though other members of the department rely on it. 

Response:  Hi, just my thoughts as a 5-6 grade teacher. We used AR for several years, and I enjoyed it with my class as an extra incentive to read. I had many who loved to take the tests, and it also built confidence in the students on the lower level reading ability. While I was there, I guess I was the force that kept it going, and used it a part of the grade. Due to funding, I think they scratched it this year, and heard that from a couple of other schools as well. I think it is a loss. I am on the Accelerated Reading list on Yahoo, and if you would like comments from HS or MS teachers who are using it, let me know and I can ask them to email you with the pros and cons for your level. There are almost 2,000 teachers on the list. So it must be working for a lot of teachers!

Response:  I'm one of those people who is strongly against AR and its clones. I think these programs send very questionable messages about reading, schooling, and the nature of successful literacy development. Most schools that have seemingly found success with AR have been schools that did not have a flexible reading program that respected student choice prior to going with AR. Many teachers in AR schools are quick to say that they don't use the multiple choice questions as the sole assessment. Others say they rarely use the quizzes or they leave it to students to decide whether or not to take the tests and rack up points.

But the very presence of those quizzes sends a message about reading assessment that is highly problematic and one that we have been trying to get out of classrooms for a long time. It's way too easy to assume that a student has successfully constructed meaning from a book because he or she can pass the test. Or, we assume that because a student can't pass the test, the student hasn't constructed meaning. We also assume that the readability levels on the backs of books are more meaningful and accurate than they really are. These levels are arrived at by a mathematical formula that does not take into consideration a student's prior knowledge or even the complexity of concepts in the text. It's simply a based on a scale that looks at sentence length or word length.

And then there is the whole ethical issue. Should we make assumptions about a child's reading based on these multiple choice quizzes and reading formulas? What does that say about us as a profession? That we have ignored decades of research on reading? Sure AR makes for simple management, but so what? Are we privileging ease of management over a meaningful and ethical reading program? And this doesn't even take into consideration the extrinsic reward aspect of AR. We don't want students reading books because they can win prizes or candy. We want them to read books because they love the worlds that books can take them to. The argument generally is that the rewards entice students into the world of books, that first you have to hook them, and then they will read on their own. But it doesn't work that way. And in the mean time we have created a generation of students who expect a goodie before they will try something. We prime them to be unethical. 

Stephen Krashen, among others, points out again and again that if you make books available, if you immerse them in a world of text, they will read. All your school has to do is buy the books. Don't buy the gimmicky program that seduces teachers and students into thinking meaning can be measured in a quiz or that points are more important than books. Spend the money on the books. And encourage teachers to adopt a reading workshop approach. Stock your classrooms with zillions of books on zillions of topics. Kids will read them.

April 2003

Everyone seems to be down on AR. It seems to me that AR was designed for the reluctant reader, not the good readers. Kids need some motivation-why can't it be these points or whatever. Once students learn to read well, they'll move on. 

Response:  I'm not a reader like most of you—I don't read novels that much. I like the short stuff. My hyperactivity prevents me from even thinking I'll read another 400-page book. I guess I like the outdoors more. I hope you enjoy the following story about how I got hooked on reading. When I was young, years ago, I would get a bag of Oreos (the double row kind) and sit with milk or coke and read. When I ate all the cookies and drank everything, I'll stop reading. Eventually, I wanted to read a little more to see what happened next. Besides, often my stomach would hurt! Anyway, stop laughing, I started reading without all the cookies, etc. I came to like the Hardy Boys and, eventually, Catcher in the Rye. If the cookie works, let it work for that student. Select exciting stories that make them want to read. And, yes, I let the kids eat and read in my class. Most of my 12-16 year-old students are on 2nd grad reading level. Just thinking out loud. Thanks for listening. I feel better now. 

Response:  This is a good point everyone seems to be ignoring. It definitely is not for the motivated readers. For nonreaders, it has done wonders at my school. That's all I can say. AR offers many classics students would never be exposed to if they weren't "watered down". They also have many series for teenagers that can't stay on the shelf, they're that popular! The minute one child returns it, another student picks it up. They have an average reading level of 3.6. No one can deny these kinds of results. They're reading, that's what matters. If people are against the tests, then have the students make up their own! Talkies also seem to be ignoring the fact that AR is not designed to be the only instructional device in the classroom! It's about 30% of my colleague's reading program. If a teacher's relying on primarily AR (or ANY program for that matter), something's wrong with that teacher, not AR. 

Response:  I know I have sounded down on AR when I have posted on the subject; but I am not really down on AR, just the way some teachers use it. The two main things I noticed about your message concerning the boy who really took off on reading were the fact that he had time to read in school and that he was writing in a reading response journal and getting feedback. I've seen this happen with some very reluctant readers who came into 8th grade hating to read. I take a very flexible approach to AR, making up tests for books we don't have tests for, letting kids make up tests, reader response journals, etc. I think the main ingredients for progress are choice and time to read in school. Most of the teachers I've encountered only give about 20-30 min. per week for in-school reading, and they absolutely won't let a student read a book if the school does not have a test for it. In addition, the AR grade counted as a major test grade each grading period. I've worked very hard to change the mindset of my fellow teachers, and made some progress this year due to a new headmaster. It's not the AR program I have a problem with; it's the way it has been incorrectly used by so many. 

May 1999

Does AR help students with reading problems or is it just a way for some teachers to assign reading and eliminate extra work for themselves? 

Response:  Boy, will I be interested in responses to this... There are several discussion in the archives about Accelerated Reader. My own point of view is that a good SSR program can do a lot to help kids get enthused about reading and to provide practice. AR software, other than providing a record-keeping system, doesn't do squat. The tests are MC, literal recall questions--a completely superficial approach to reading comprehension, let alone any consideration of higher order thinking skills. The tests cost the company pennies to produce (that's the idea and the driving force behind AR). Don't be fooled, by the way, by any of Terry Paul's self-published "research" from their corporate-sponsored "Institute for Academic Excellence." I did some consulting for educational software firms for a time; Advantage Learning Systems is one I lost all respect for inside of six months. Paul has no academic credentials. He's a CEO who used to manage a power company. (Not everyone on this list will agree with me.) 

Response:  As one of the few people who uses, and likes, Accelerated Reader, let me say that it does not eliminate work for the teacher. I conference with each student daily, and ask higher level thinking skills. I use literature circles with all of my language arts classes, so sue me because the books I choose happen to be on the Accelerated Reader list. (g) This is a district-wide program, the parents like it, the students are reading more than ever, test scores are up, and the negatives can be ignored, or worked around. 

January 1999