I don't see the problem of only school library books being tested (actually the book doesn't have to be checked out from the library, all that is required that the school owns the test for the book). If a child isn't reading other books it sounds like the parents fault for not making other books available.
My daughter is the "Most Accomplished AR Student" in 4th grade this year. She has read many books from our home library and the public library that she couldn't test on (many of them on dinosaurs [img]smile.gif[/img] ). The reason she has so many AR points is becasue when she does read an AR book it is at the top of her STAR Level and offers 9-15 AR points. She doesn't just read to get points. She reads because she loves to read.
If a child is reading to "just get points", it is probably likely that they wouldn't be reading at all if not for the points.
As an aside, in my opinion the biggest contributer to getting kids to read in the last 50 years is the "Harry Potter" series of books. It isn't the method in which you test them, but the material that they get to read.
Mommyofgoobers - Congrats on that degree! One more great teacher in the world!
Having moved from a non-AR school to an AR school, and having gifted kids - I can tell you that my kids have just checked out books from the library that they have already read so that they can win candy and toys. Yee hah!
I am not a big fan of the AR program for many of the reasons listed by Mommy, but also because the book has to be a library book and has to be checked out from the library. In my humble opinion, we are limiting our childrens reading when we do things like that. (For example - if my children own and read a book, or borrow it from the public library - it doesn't count because they didn't check it out of the school library for a week.)
OK I can't not reply to this message I have very strong feelings about AR. My kids' school uses both AR and AM. I just completed my BA in elementary education and my research project for my last reading class was on AR. AR has NO independent research that supports its success. You can find many articles from biased (articles by people working for Renaissance company). The program teaches kids to read for external rewards instead of internel rewards. It may make good readers feel good about themselves, but it definately makes stuggling readers feel bad about themselves. It also only tests for literal recall not any higher order thinking. Students may enjoy the program for awhile but tend to "burn out" easily. It also stresses quantity not quality. Students tend to read quickly to gain alot of points, but miss many of the deeper meanings and "meat" of the literature, remember all the questions are simple recall. Sorry the post as so long. I tend to ramble about this program. I could list about a dozen more negative aspects of the program.
Mommy
Sounds similiar to SRA's which we had when I was little. You read a certain color story and answered content questions with a colored pencil. Thanks for the explanation.
We have the AR & AM programs at our school. I have mixed feelings about them both.
AR - Great program that encourages kids to read. The problem is that many will only read books that have AR tests...or won't read a book because it's above or below their assigned level. Schools only have a small portion of the tests available. As kids get older and point values get harder to obtain, they start "dummying" down on STAR tests so they can read easier books. So while it is a good program, there needs to be other reading programs in place to encourage reading all types of books.
AM - Thought I was going to love this, but turns out I really dislike it. Although some will say it's great for those kids who want to go ahead of the class, it includes no samples or examples for a child to learn new terms. At least if they go ahead in a book, there are samples shown to learn it. The only reason I like it in elementary school is because it teaches the kids how to use the program before they get in middle school, where it's used quite a bit.
AR means Accelerated Reader
AM means Accelerated Math
In simple terms, the AR program at our school is books that have computer tests that gives points on how well the content was understood. Each AR book is giving an AR level (ex. a 3.5 means 5th month of 3rd grade reading level) and an AR point. The points are the ones you collect for reading and taking the tests. Most early readers books are 0.5, beginner chapter books are usually 1.0, the 1st Harry Potter book was something like 12.
A child will take a STAR test at the beginning of the year (and periodically during the year) to decide there AR level (ex. 3.2 to 4.9) and then can only check out and test on books in that level. After reading they use the computer to take a multiple choice test on the book. Make a 100 and you get the total AR point value, make between 60 and 100 and you get a percentage of the AR point value. Make less than 60 and you get 0 points.
Students are given an AR goal which is kept on a chart with all the other students in the class. The curent AR points are updated every week. Usually once your goal is reached you are given some reward from as simple as being allowed to check out any book you want without having to test on it or an ice cream social for the class. Or as seen above, a limo ride.
