LM_NET: Library Media Networking
Shonda Brisco wrote:
> Most library professors that I know detest this type of testing because it
doesn't give the child the
> opportunity to do something other than choose a test answer from a list of
multiple choice answers.
I think this misses the point.... I have heard many people criticize AR,
but I think they don't really understand what it is. I was among those
people, until I came to a school that already had it. AR quizzes are the
accountability piece for the reading practice program that goes along with
it. By answering the multiple choice questions correctly, the teacher knows
they actually read the book. This allows the students to read things that
appeal to them without being limited to only those books the teacher has
read. This might not be as big an issue at the elementary level, but when
you get to the HS level with students reading anywhere between 2nd grade and
post-High School it's pretty much impossible to know a huge variety of books
well enough to judge whether or not they've read them. So then you're
limited to what you know, which probably doesn't provide a lot of reading
practice for those at the extremes of the spectrum because you don't know
many.... I believe that for HS, AR works best with our lower level readers.
I don't have a problem with a prescribed reading list for these students
because without it *they wouldn't be reading.* Students not reading at the
HS level are extremely bewildered and overwhelmed when they come into a HS
library. They haven't a clue what they'll be able to read. AR gives them
assistance in finding those books as well as providing the accountability
piece.
Also, AR is incorporated into our study skills and special ed English
classes. We don't use any prizes, they receive part of their grade based on
their reading. But I'm not sure what's wrong with bribing kids who
otherwise wouldn't be reading to do so. I watched AR turn some non-readers
into readers by giving them the practice to increase their reading level and
confidence in the ability to find something they are interested in at their
level. I wonder why someone didn't think of if sooner!
My two cents, early on a Monday! (Well, early out here on the West Coast!)
Julie
Julie Anderson, Librarian
Liberty High School, a National Blue Ribbon School
Renton, WA
(425) 837-4901 andersonj@issaquah.wednet.edu
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