Accelerated Reader facts for kids

Accelerated Reader (AR) is a special computer program made by a company called Renaissance Learning. It helps students practice reading and understand what they read. The program works for books in both English and Spanish.

When students read books, they take quizzes on the computer. These quizzes check if they understood the story or information. As students read more and pass quizzes, they earn points. Accelerated Reader helps teachers set reading goals for each student based on their reading level. This way, everyone can find books that are "just right" for them.

How Accelerated Reader Works

ATOS: Finding Your Reading Level

ATOS is a special way that Renaissance Learning measures how easy or hard a book is to read. Think of it like a reading level score for books.

Every book that has an Accelerated Reader quiz gets an ATOS score. This score helps the program figure out how many points a book is worth. It also helps you choose books that are a good fit for your reading skills.

Taking Quizzes

Accelerated Reader has quizzes for many different kinds of books. You can find quizzes for fiction stories, non-fiction books, textbooks, and even magazines. Most quizzes check your reading understanding. Some quizzes also focus on different school subjects.

For younger readers, or those learning English or Spanish, some quizzes have a special feature. The questions and answers can be read aloud to them. This helps make sure everyone can take the quizzes easily.

The program also has quizzes to help you learn new words. These vocabulary quizzes use words from the books you read. You can even print bookmarks with the new words to help you remember them while you read. The quizzes keep track of all the words you learn!

Checking Your Progress with Reports

Accelerated Reader creates reports that show how you are doing. Teachers, students, and parents can look at these reports. They show how much you've read, how well you understand books, and other helpful information.

One report, called the TOPS Report, shows your quiz results right after you finish. Other reports can help teachers see if a student needs extra help with reading. There's also a Student Record Report that lists all the books you've read.

Why Accelerated Reader Helps

Many studies have looked at how well Accelerated Reader works in schools. Here are some of the things they found:

In one study in Memphis, Tennessee, students who used Accelerated Reader often improved their reading skills. This study included many students and teachers from different schools.

Another study looked at students in grades 3 through 8. It found that students using Accelerated Reader usually did better in reading than those who didn't. Even students with learning disabilities showed good progress when they used the program a lot.

Other research also showed positive results. For example, a study in Georgia found that schools using the program had higher test scores in reading, language arts, and math. Researchers noted that the program seemed very effective for elementary students.

In 2003, a study found that students using Accelerated Reader for six months made twice the progress in reading understanding compared to students who didn't use it. This suggests that getting quick feedback from AR quizzes is more helpful than waiting for feedback from things like book reports.

Things to Think About

While Accelerated Reader is very helpful, some people have different ideas about it.

The company that makes AR says its main goal is to check if students have read a book. It's not meant to replace teachers or teach advanced thinking skills. However, some educators see AR as a way to encourage reading.

Some people wonder if reading just for points makes students long-term readers. They suggest that reading for fun, not just for rewards, is more important for loving books.

Another point is about the types of questions on the quizzes. Many quizzes ask "literal-recall" questions. This means they ask about facts directly from the book. Some experts believe that quizzes should also ask questions that make students think more deeply, like making guesses or understanding hidden meanings.

Also, some worry that using reading levels too strictly might stop kids from trying books that are a bit harder or easier. For example, a book like Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone has an ATOS level of 5.5. This means it's usually for students in the middle of 5th grade. If a younger student wants to read it, they might be discouraged if they feel pressure to only read books at their exact level to earn points. However, students can still take quizzes and earn points for books at any ATOS level.