Download District Guidelines for Accelerated Reader (AR) “Suggestions for

District Guidelines for Accelerated Reader (AR)
“Suggestions for Success”
STAR Reading test should be administrated and a Goal Setting Chart should be completed for each student
before a student begins in Accelerated Reader. A student’s goal should be determined by how much time is
spent on daily reading in school. Reading for homework does not count when determining a student’s goal.
• AR is NOT a reading program; it is built on the premise that practice strengthens performance.
• ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) is determined after administering the STAR Reading test.
• A student should have the opportunity to take a quiz within 36 hours of completing a book.
The purpose of a quiz is to provide closure to the task of reading a book. The quiz also provides feedback to the
student and teacher while encouraging increased reading practice.
The TOPS Report (The Opportunity to Praise Students) should be printed immediately after taking a quiz. This
is not necessary if your school is running AR Enterprise.
The Diagnostic Report (formerly the AT-Risk Report) and the Student Record Report should be printed for
continued monitoring, evaluation and intervention.
Recommended Number of
The goal per marking period should be different for each child
Books Available Per Student
based on the child’s ZPD and the goal setting chart.
AR encourages and tracks individual and independent reading.
Reading Level
AR Books Per
Intervene and diagnose when students consistently score below
Student
79%. Students should fail very few tests.
K-1
10
Encourage students who are consistently earning 93+% to
2
8
challenge themselves with longer books or books with higher
3–5
5
reading levels.
6–8
4
Read and take quizzes yourself!
9 – 12
2
Reader's choice is important. Ample books and quizzes should be
available. (See Book Chart to the right.)
Grading and AR
The district does not advise linking AR to grades especially at the elementary level. However, there are some
issues to consider if a teacher/school decides to apply grades to AR:
If a school chooses to apply a grade to AR, it may not represent more than 10% of the student’s reading grade for
a marking period and the above and below outlined practices must be followed.
Teachers need to design a grading system that will encourage--not discourage--every student to practice reading.
In keeping with this philosophy, every student should have an equal opportunity to earn an "A".
AR quizzes are NOT achievement tests. Scores on AR quizzes are NOT to be used like grades on traditional
tests. An average AR score of 85% means that the student is reading satisfactorily in his zone (ZPD). It is not
the same as an 85% on a traditional test.
If you must give grades for AR work, Renaissance Learning suggests you use the following guidelines:
• Do base a student’s grade on the amount of progress made toward personalized goals. Don’t give the
highest grades to the highest point earners, which would unfairly penalize struggling readers.
• Don’t grade students unless you are actively monitoring their work. Students who are scoring low on
quizzes or accumulating few points usually need guidance.
• Do build your library and quiz collection before instituting a grading policy. Don’t inadvertently turn
students off to reading by forcing them to read books they aren’t interested in simply to earn a grade.
• Do make your library accessible so that students have ample opportunity to find books quickly and
easily.
• If a number of teachers are using AR, do decide on a grading formula together.
Revised on 10/02/12 Much of the information in this document was taken from Getting Results with Accelerated Reader:
Easily Manage Daily Reading Practice for All Students by Renaissance Learning.
Point Goals for Emergent and Beginning Readers
The goal setting chart is intended for independent readers. For students not yet reading on their own or just
beginning to read, it is recommended by Renaissance Learning that a more generalized goal of one point per
week for 35 minutes of daily in-school practice with books read to or with them.
Adjusting Point Goals for ELLs and Others
Just like book level ranges, point goals are not set in stone. Sometimes students work hard and yet struggle to
meet a point goal. They may be absent a lot. Or they may be English language learners who read more slowly
than average. It’s okay to lower a point goal. Use your best judgment, and set a goal that is realistic, motivating,
and achievable.
Point Goals for High-Ability Readers
Some of your students may have a grade-equivalent score that is considerably higher than their grade in school.
For example, you may have a sixth-grader with a GE of 12.0. If you followed the guidelines on the Goal-Setting
Chart exactly, that student’s point goal would be 37.5 points for 30 minutes of daily in-school reading during a
nine-week marking period. This goal is too high. Renaissance Learning has found that the content of the long,
complicated, high-point books that would enable a student to earn this many points is often too mature for
younger students, even though they are capable of decoding the words. In addition, for students reading far
above grade level, quantity of reading practice isn’t as important as maintaining and broadening interest in
reading. For these reasons, when you work with high –ability readers, Renaissance Learning recommends that
you set point goals that are more in line with their grade in school or perhaps a little higher. For example, think
of a sixth-grader with a GE of 12.0 as reading solidly “on grade level” or 6.0. Looking at the Goal-Setting Chart,
you’ll see that the recommended point goal for a GE of 6.0 for 30 minutes of daily in-school reading during a
nine-week marking period is 19.5. This is a goal the student can easily achieve without feeling pressured.
The principles of Reading Renaissance state that:
 students need monitored reading practice time at school;
 student practice is decided by predetermined individualized reading goals according to their personal
ZPD’s; and
 students need immediate, accurate information feedback through monitoring, instruction, motivation and
intervention.
Any school interested in implementing the practices of Reading Renaissance should contact the Library Science
Specialist (521-7181) for details on available workshops or setting up a workshop for your school. There is also
on-line training available @ http://www.renlearn.com/ar.
Revised on 10/02/12 Much of the information in this document was taken from Getting Results with Accelerated Reader:
Easily Manage Daily Reading Practice for All Students by Renaissance Learning