Accelerated reader 2013

1. What is Accelerated Reader?
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“It has made it easier to choose books that
are right for me” Daniel
“It has given me more confidence in my
reading” Jack
“I like reading books and then doing a quiz on
them”
“I like the fact I can choose a book I am
interested in but it is also my level”
“I like the fact that I get to quiz after reading
my book”

2. Accelerated
Reader

3. What is it?
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Accelerated Reader is a customised reading
programme that meets the needs of
individual students.
They take a STAR test, which is designed to
respond to their answers and give an
accurate reading level.
This means that pupils are reading books they
CAN access at a level which is appropriate –
it avoids situations when pupils are
discouraged by books that are „too hard‟

4. What is it?
 The
books are ordered in these levels and
colour coded e.g. Orange, Pink etc and
have levels on them
 They have interest levels as well, so a
pupils on Orange level can still read a
Middle Years interest level
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5. Why does it work?
After
reading each book the
pupils „quiz‟ on a computer –
they gain points and points
mean prizes!
We will have inter House and
Class competitions and prizes
for people who reach their
targets

6. Why does it work?
It
taps in to the more
competitive element in
many pupils
Pupils LIKE quizzing
They get instant feedback
They succeed instantly

7. Why should we?
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“We‟ve found that when students read books
at their appropriate level, they experience
success and this encourages them to
continue to want to read,” says school lead
for Accelerated Reader, Michelle Heryet.
“We‟ve also found that the program helps all
learners – from those with lower abilities
through to our gifted and talented students.
The new found enthusiasm for reading within
lessons encourages everyone to get
involved”.

8. It has been trialled here…
 It
has been trialled with two booster
groups. The groups were very reluctant to
read. In about 4 weeks 18 pupils, with
VERY low literacy, have read over 61
books and over 143,307 words!!
 One pupil in the group told me he was
getting 3 AR books for his birthday!

9. Why should we?
 Improving
reading levels helps ALL
SUBJECTS! The average reading age for
GCSE papers is 15.
 It is NFER and OFSTED Accredited
 All schools using the system report
significant improvement in Reading Levels

10. How can parents help?
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In school we have implemented „DROP AND
READ‟ which is half an hour every day in
which Year 7 pupils stop and read and/or quiz
– regardless of which lesson it is. The teacher
reads too, in order to model good practise
and to ensure the pupils know this is a whole
school initiative
At home you could help us by ensuring your
little angel has their book in their bag – either
in the morning or the night before
Just be interested. Ask about their quizzes and
what they are reading.

11. Activation for you
 https://ukhosted37.renlearn.co.uk/223664
0/HomeConnect/Login.aspx
 Couldn‟t
be easier – just log on

12. 
Accelerated Reader is intended to enable
guided independent reading through the
assessment information it generates, and
teachers are encouraged to arrange
frequent meetings with students to discuss
their book selection, reading and quiz scores
(Paul, 2003).
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Guided independent reading practice has
been shown to accelerate reading growth for
all students, regardless of ability (Borman & Dowling,
2004; Holmes, Brown, & Algozzine, 2006; Nunnery & Ross, 2007; Nunnery,
Ross, & Goldfedder, 2003; Nunnery, Ross, & McDonald, 2006; Paul, 2003;
Samuels & Wu, 2003; Topping, Samuels, & Paul, 2007)

13. A Summary
What AR Is What AR Is Not
It is a progress-monitoring and
personalised practice tool that can
be used with any core reading
curriculum or supplemental reading
program.
It supports direct, explicit,
systematic reading instruction.
Is not a core curriculum or
supplemental reading program.
Accelerated Reader enables guided
independent reading practice,
which has been shown to improve
reading growth for all students
The feedback provided by
Accelerated Reader quizzes can
inform and support direct, explicit
reading instruction.
It does not take the place of a
teacher or provide reading
instruction.
It assesses whether students have
read books or selections of text, and
indicates the extent to which they
comprehended what they have
read.
It also tracks the amount of text read
and comprehension scores over
time, which can be used for targetsetting
and progress-monitoring purposes.
Is not a general assessment of
reading ability