AR is a computer program that helps teachers and librarians manage and monitor children’s independent reading practice. Your child picks a book at his/her own level and reads it at his/her own pace. When finished, your child takes a short quiz on the computer. (Passing the quiz is an indication that your child understood what was read.) AR gives children, teachers, and librarians feedback based on the quiz results, which the teacher then uses to help your child set goals and direct ongoing reading practice. Children using AR choose their own books to read, rather than having one assigned to them. This makes reading a much more enjoyable experience as they can choose books that are interesting to them.
How Accelerated Reader Is Used
There’s a process behind how each child uses the program in school. Here are the five steps typically involved:
- Teachers determine each student’s reading level. The program provides a multiple-choice assessment that takes kids about 15 minutes on a computer. Teachers can also use results from other assessments or their own judgment. Reading level is based on typical grade-level skills.
- Each student is assigned to a specific range of books on the program’s BookFinder list. Books in that range will be challenging for the student but not too hard to read. This concept is called a zone of proximal development (ZPD). In AR, it’s used to guide book selection.
- Each book in the school library is labelled and colour coded to included the ZPD. Students choose a book that’s in their ZPD. A teacher or librarian may help with selecting books. AR recommends that kids spend about 30 minutes in school each day reading their books independently.
- After finishing a book, the student takes a short, multiple-choice online quiz. It checks if the student has read the book and understands it. Kids usually take their quizzes in the classroom or library during the designated reading time.
- Students usually stay at the same ZPD and reading level for a set time. That’s usually a marking period. At the end of that time, students take a 20-minute reading assessment. It’s used to adjust the books that each student can select. A teacher may raise or lower a child’s ZPD for the next time period.
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