Accelerated Reader

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The Accelerated Reader:
Reading Theory in Practice

The essential role of the Accelerated Reader Program is to motivate students to acquire practice in literature based reading. It encourages a child to read more books, and to read books at or above his/her present reading level. The program does not attempt to teach basic reading skills; nor, on the other hand does it try to assess the development of higher order thinking skills. It simply created a motivational environment in which students read as much as possible, and by fostering increased reading practice, leads to improved reading ability as a natural consequence.

The Accelerated Reader Program functions very simply. Students select a book to read from a recommended book list. The AR System assigns a point value to each book, based on the number of words in the book and its reading level.

Once a student reads a chosen book, he or she goes to the computer and takes a test on the book he or she has read. Tests of primary-grade students consist of five or ten questions. Tests of middle school students consist of ten or twenty questions. The questions will cover important facts in the book. The computer scores the test, awards the student points based on the test results, and keeps a complete record of results. The student must score at least 60% on the test to earn any points. This assures that students have indeed read the book. Also, password controls and other security measures serve as a safe guard against cheating.

It is extremely important that each child read in their correct ZPD. This request is for the following reasons:

1. AR research shows that individual reading progress is significant only when a child reads in their ZPD.
2. This is our chance to provide each child an opportunity to achieve their maximum growth in reading.
3. Since we recognize all students publicly we need guidelines that apply equally to all students.
4. Points will only be recognized if the child is reading books in their correct ZPD.