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Jan, Our K-8 school has used the AR program for 7 years now and we have had very good results with it. We have had some cheating. I would suggest very close monitoring of the students when they come into the library to take the tests, look over their shoulders every so often. Also try not to have students take the same tests at one time. When 6 members of a 7th grade class were caught cheating the teacher went in and deleated their passwords and they could not take a test unless she logged them in to the computer. Also, have the students keep a student log and monitor it closely. Make sure you see the child reading from that book every day. Use your good judgement to make sure the child did not read the book too fast. If children read a very long book in a very short time and do well on the test questions should arise. Don't let the students have the book in their lap during the test. Young kids try to look the answers up. I am the librarian in a K-8 school and haven't seen a lot of cheating. More often than not the most frequent problem at 7-8 level is the kids read the book too fast, trying to get points, and then they fail the test. We need to stress accuracy not points, which is something I need to get our 8th grade teacher to do. Hope this helps, Rachel Woodyer P>S> Let me know if I can help in any other way. The teachers have the ability to make test on books that are not in the library. We get together by department and we read 2 or 3 books each 9 weeks and make a test. This gives the student an opportunity to read other books that are more advanced. DanaIMS@aol.com Immokalee Middle Starting AR: By all means put AR on the network but limit where students can take tests. In the language arts rooms is the best option. The library is fine too. We use the student's lunch card/library card numbers for passwords. I would highly suggest implementing the monitor password right from the beginning and possibly disenabling the option of seeing missed questions at the end of the test. Reading logs can be helpful as long as teachers do consult individually with students frequently. Don't limit the reading level of books too much. Many wonderful books for 7-8 grade have 4-5 reading levels. Remember that reading choices should include fun reads to make reading an enjoyable past-time. AR incentives are good. You might run a store, you might have built-in rewards they get automatically for achieving certain point or reading levels. School contests are fun where the entire school works toward a goal. Emphasize that each student should have individualized goals based on their abilities rather than one-size fits all. By all means make sure your LA teachers and principal are behind AR 100% or it won't work. If you include AR for grades in anyway, make sure parents know exactly how it contributes to their grade. We use AR as part of the English grade, worth only 10-20% but we get more flack from parents over that than anything. Give students time to read in class. Have a wide variety of books available. IF I can think of other things, I'll let you know but most of all do what works for your school and don't be afraid to try a lot of different things until you find out what works for you. Remember AR is as effective as how you utilize the program. Leslie Starasta, Librarian Auburn Jr.High and High School Auburn, IL 62615 (217) 438-6817 <lstarast@roe51.k12.il.us I am AR coordinator at my school. HAve been for 4 years. I have discovered ALL the tricks by now. E-mail at home jdkilcup@uswest.net, if I can help in any way. Good luck. Debra Kilcup/Librarian Meadows Elementary School 836 Deerbrush Dr SE Olympia, Wa 98513 (360) 412-4695 FAX: (360) 412-4699 E-Mail: dkilcup1@mickey.esd113.wednet.edu Jan--I have coordinated/administered AR at my school since 1987, and, while it is true that some cheating can/does occur (as it would with any program with multiple humans involved), it is overall a very successful program. The success is entirely due to the way good teachers incorporates it within their curriculum. At my school (435+, grades 6-8), all the testing occurs in my library center on 4 computers with one exception--one 6th grade teacher who has used AR from the beginning has a computer in her room at her request. Other teachers did not want to have to supervise while they were trying to have class. All students need to have a permission slip filled out to test, with their name, name of book to be tested on, date, and the signature either of parent/guardian or a core teacher who is willing to state that they know the child read the book. (This theoretically helps students and parents/guardians communicate about what they are reading. Cynics will say parents/guardians sign blindly without question whatever is put before them. I tend to be an optimist.) When students come into the library, they sign up at at specific signup area to test on AR, and their names are called in the order they sign up to test at one of the 4 computers. Their form is checked for all relevant information, then they are allowed to test. I, as well as my student/adult aide, try to observe them to note any talking or other suspicious activities. Since 3 of the 4 computers are standing stations, students are to put any materials they have in their hands on the floor at their feet so no question of papers or writing. Same for the 1 seated station (to meet any handicapped/injured student's needs). If they are keeping a reading log for a teacher, they can retrieve it and a writing utensil only at the screen that shows how they scored for the test. I print out mid-term reports and end of grading period reports for each teacher/team involved in using AR (all students are entered), as well as input new students and passwords. As for passwords, students choose their own (after admonitions about security and using words that they will NOT forget) unless they are suspected or proven to be attempting to cheat. Then I assign a password that they do not know, and they must have me personally input it each time they wish to test. This happens only once every two years to one or two students usually. Of course, some cheating probably occurs that I do not catch, especially if students give others their passwords to take tests for them (which I have discovered in the past by comparing the dated signin sheets with tests taken). Even with the glitches that comes with working with middle school students, some of whom will spend 3 times the energy to cheat than it would take to read a book and test legitimately, the AR program works quite smoothly. Since one of the two elementary "feeder" schools has had AR for the last 5 years and the high school now is in its second year of AR, it is as much a part of the curriculum and accepted as such by parents/guardians and students as math. One thing I started years ago to answer parent/guardian questions or protests about the program was to create a Guest account so that they could take AR tests to experience the program. I have even had parents/guardians who read the same book as their child and tested to see how they compared. (This from a parent/guardian who wanted to model for a reluctant reader. It worked. Competition became fierce between two.) Hope this has helped rather than confused you on starting AR. If you have any further questions/concerns, feel free to contact me. Good luck!! Dr. Christine McIntosh Library Media Specialist School Technology Coordinator Bernheim Middle School 700 Audubon Drive Shepherdsville, KY 40165 Phone: 502-543-7614 Fax: 502-543-8295 cmcintosh@bullitt.k12.ky.us =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-= All postings to LM_NET are protected under copyright law. To quit LM_NET (or set-reset NOMAIL or DIGEST), send email to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST 4) SET LM_NET MAIL * Please allow for confirmation from Listserv For LM_NET Help & Archives see: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=