Accelerated Reader

[Mammaz]

Does anyone else's school use this program? I don't understand it and our teacher is less than helpful. My grandson reads above his grade level at home (yes he has been tested outside of school) but doesn't do we'll on the test. I've asked his teacher why and what we can do to help but he doesn't seem interested in helping. This is a private school with a class of Only 15 children.
We are to the point of asking to change teachers.

 

[cassandrap83]

The AR program encourages kids to read by awarding them 'points' for each book they read and pass with an 80% or higher. Most tests have only 5 questions, so if they miss just one question - it's an 80%.

The tests measure comprehension.

At our school, once they reach a certain point level, they can earn rewards. (lunch with the principal, homework pass, etc.)

 

[BobbieD]

I am not familiar with the program but in regards to reading well at home (do you mean on his own or out loud to family? I am trying to gather how you determined his reading abilities at home) and not doing well on the test..does he bring the scored tests home? Can you view them online (our reading program is all online so I can pull up the entire test and see what he saw and what he picked)? Once you see his tests it should give you insight into his issues..could be he is skimming and not comprehending or he isn't taking time to read the questions or simply test anxiety.

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

Why are you talking to the teacher instead of his parents? Not to be nosy, but I get it if you are the child's guardian, if you are not maybe the teacher just doesn't feel it's proper to have a discussion about the child with anyone other than his parents?

 

[brmom]

AR tests are very different than the usual comprehension tests that parents are used to seeing. The questions are very specific for details rather than broad ideas. I had my older son tutored by a teacher that I worked with who taughtatba different school. She used a sample test and the book and showed him what type of details to look for. He was one of the top readers after that. Also, many of the kids we see are choosing books worth a lot of points to get the requirements out of the way quickly.Itusually works better at first to choose lower point value books to get started. Google arbookfind for the website to find point values for books. Check with your local Library Children's room for more help! We get lots of questions about books.

 

[IMissEd]

One thing the teacher suggested for my son was to do the review at the end of the test. Apparently, he was taking the AR test and checking his score and exiting. He started to do the review at the end which lets you see what you missed and what the correct answer was.

Another thing, we were told the kids could read to a parent, a parent read to a child, a child read alone, or whatever combo they preferred. My son started doing better when he read alone.

Good luck, I don't really care for AR. Some of the stories (especially at a younger age) were so silly that it was hard to remember what happened. I don't think a five question test is a good indicator of comprehension either. JMO

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

They use AR reading at my son's school and also at the school my wife teaches at.

DS's school gives the students a quarterly points "goal". Usually it's way too low for him, so he ends up trying to compete to get the highest point total in his class.

Like other posters have said, it's all about comprehension.

 

[Hollywoodhaha]

I HATED AR when I was in school. None of the ones interested me at the time other than Lemony Snicket books and Harry Potter. It would make me angry because I would read lots but never the AR books!

I did help others in 6th grade and took the Harry Potter AR test for them to get big points out of the way..

 

[Schmeck]

I HATED AR when I was in school. None of the ones interested me at the time other than Lemony Snicket books and Harry Potter. It would make me angry because I would read lots but never the AR books!

I did help others in 6th grade and took the Harry Potter AR test for them to get big points out of the way..

You did what?

 

[Tinijocaro]

It is possible for a child to read above grade level but still have difficulty with comprehension. That could be why your dgs has trouble with the AR tests. It tests comprehension.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Yep - AR attempts to test comprehension - in the form of remembering the material after reading it. The outside test your grandson scored highly on probably tested fluency - ability to read the material smoothly. Some kids are good at one and not the other. You can "test" his comprehension yourself by reading him a book and asking him questions about it, or watching something on TV with him and asking him to summarize it. If he can't do that, then it likely is comprehension he needs to work on, but if he's he's fine in those other situations, it could be something as simple as him not being comfortable testing on the computer, or just that he's just reading too fast, in an attempt to score points quickly, and missing the details.

 

[rabell]

It is possible for a child to read above grade level but still have difficulty with comprehension. That could be why your dgs has trouble with the AR tests. It tests comprehension.

I am mot an expert by any means. all i know is personal experience. When I was a child I was an early reader. I was reading on a fifth grade level in the first grade and was always accelerated at reading ability. But, I did terrible on reading comprehension tests. It made it difficult to study all throughout college. As an adult it is still an issue for me. I would suggest getting a little extra help with the comprehension. I know I wish I would have had it. Good luck.

 

[Mammaz]

Why are you talking to the teacher instead of his parents? Not to be nosy, but I get it if you are the child's guardian, if you are not maybe the teacher just doesn't feel it's proper to have a discussion about the child with anyone other than his parents?

He lives with me so all communication is with me and the school is aware.

 

[Mammaz]

He reads out loud to me and we talk about each book. He always gets the concepts of each book. I'm going to school and have a look at the testing program. . Thanks everyone for your feedback!

 

[chiefmickeymouse]

My daughter is in an English class where 80% of her grade is AR points. Luckily she doesn't have a problem passing the tests, but it seems wrong to me that there is so much weight put on that one thing. It's grade 7. Usually she reads one long books worth a lot of points to get it out of the way.

 

[rileyroosmom]

My daughter used this program in elementary school. I was concerned about her scores because she was in the gifted program and was reading books well above her grade level, yet scored poorly on some tests. The teacher explained to me that the tests asks very specific questions and my daughter read like an adult, meaning as adults we tend to skim parts of text and don't read for specifics yet we comprehend what we read. An example that she used was in the story the characters got in a car and drove away. The test question asked, "what color was the car the characters drove away in?" She, as well as most adults, knew there was a car, but the specific color isn't remembered.

Hope that example helps and it makes sense. I stopped worrying about the tests and as long as she read and enjoyed it, that's all that mattered.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

My kids' school uses AR. I like how they do it because it is just a part of the reading curriculum. The kids have to set an individual points goal and the teacher wants them to get 90% accuracy. They also have individual levels based on the STAR Reading test. This means the kids can't read too far above or below their individual reading level.

This is how the school measures outside reading. They are still reading and discussing other things with the teacher. As others have said, the tests only measures comprehension so I would not want to see it being the primary means of teaching reading.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Just know that not everybody likes the AR program.
While the premise sounds positive, there can be a lot of negatives.
How it is being implemented, I think, can also make a difference.
My son, who could read just fine, also needed assistance with this program.
I can remember a lot of negative chatter online.

 

[Wishing on a star]

.....
Hope that example helps and it makes sense. I stopped worrying about the tests and as long as she read and enjoyed it, that's all that mattered.

Yes, that has been one complaint.
This can def. take any joy out of reading, and just turn it into 'pressure' for the student.

 

[Mammaz]

Thanks everyone. He took a test today and missed one question that was very specific and silly. Why was the swamp monster slinky? The answer was that he smelled! Wow! Grandson tried to figure out why he smell...he lived in a swamp.

Now I have a better understanding of how the questions are worded and why the questions asks. Thanks!