Re: AR vs SRC (formerly EB)

[Jana-Ruth Achbach <jachbach@JEFFCO.K12.CO.US>]

In all of the discussion about these two programs, the main difference sited is
the number of test questions and the ability of students to retest.  Let's just
clear the air here.  While AR does, indeed, have the same ten OR twenty
questions (some books have 10, some 20) per book title, the order of the answers
varies each time the test is taken.  So if students have the letter of the
answer to pass along to others, it will not always be correct for the version of
the test the student is taking.  Will savvy students share the questions?  Of
course they will, and probably do.  However, for most students, how much of that
and the correct answers they remember once they get in front of the computer and
are faced with the answer choices, is questionable, at best.  For the most part,
if the program is set up and run correctly, AND IF adults are heavily involved
in the entire process, the ability to cheat is very minimal.  The students MUST
read the books that are at the correct reading level for them in order to pass
the tests.

Finally,  AR DOES allow students to retest.  But here, again, adult intervention
is required.  We do not allow wholesale retesting because if the student is
reading at the suggested appropriate level, he should be able to pass the test.
If they are reading above level, they should not be able to pass the test and
should select a book at a more appropriate level for their next one.  That is
the beauty and purpose of the program....if students practice their reading with
books at an appropriate level, they will improve their reading skills.  The
ability to retest and retest only means they will eventually "get it right".
That isn't necessarily growth in reading skills.  If a student has read at the
correct level but has struggled with the book, there are a number of
interventions their mentor can employ to help them improve.  Retesting can be
one of them.

I hope this helps clear the air on this subject.

Jana-Ruth Achbach, LIS
Arvada High School
Arvada, CO   80004
jachbach@jeffco.k12.co.us


KAREN DEFRANK wrote:

> One of the outstanding differences between Electronic Bookshelf and AR is
> the number of questions available for each book's test.
> AR gives the same ten questions to each child.  This allows savvy kids to
> cheat (by sharing Q and A with others) and does not allow for any
> re-testing.  A child could read an entire book, fail the test, and have to
> start over with another book.  At the end
> EBS -and I am assuming SRC - have 30 questions for each book.  Each quiz has
> a randomly selected list of ten questions, and a child can take a re-test if
> needed.
> The information I received from Electronic Bookshelf said it was developed
> by teachers.  AR was developed by a book publisher.
>
> Karen DeFrank, LMS
> Dorothy L. Bullock Elementary School
> Glassboro, NJ  08028
> kdefrank@glassboro.k12.nj.us
>
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