Here are the hits on pros and cons of AR as requested by SO MANY!
Hit #1
Pros:
1) You are able to monitor students reading progress by seeing what books
they read.
2) It gives you a tangible way of saying that you are working on student's
reading habits.
Cons:
1) You are not able to monitor the students TRUE reading habits if you do
not have AR quizzes for all books. Plus, not all books are AR books. New
books may take a while to become AR books, which means that students may
forget to take the quiz later on, or take it but not remember the book all
the way.
2) If you do not have Renaissance Enterprise, you are sort of forcing your
kids to read certain books (the ones you have quizzes for). Some kids might
see this as a message to Not read any books that are not AR. This can cause
them to miss out on a lot of good books!
3) The teachers need to keep up with enforcing AR or else it will become
more of a chore for both the students and the teachers. A "good AR teacher"
will monitor her student's progress to make sure he/she is reading books and
keeping up with their points, so that they will not be shocked to see that
they need 24 points the last week of school in order to pass that AR
assignment! A "bad AR teacher" leaves his/her student's on their own, and
when AR grade time comes, allows them to read a bunch of low level books
(that are below their reading level) just to give them points.
4) There is much debate about whether or not your students should be able to
read outside of their reading levels. I recently attended a PDA in which I
heard very compelling arguments about why student SHOULD be able to read
outside of their assigned reading levels (which are determined by taking a
computerized reading test, another questionable practice!). For example,
the book "Milkweed" is very good and is actually a deep topic, but it has an
AR level of under 5.0. The topics, however, are suitable for a more mature
reader. If a student is constricted to their AR level and it is over 5,
then they might never be able to read that book and actually understand it!
You are supposed to read in your "range" because it helps you bring up your
reading level. I've also heard that reading, at any AR level, can improve
one's reading range. But, I also have kids who try to take advantage of
that and check out Dr Seuss (and not for enjoyment), when they are at a much
higher level.
Okay, that is enough ranting for now! I think that if AR is done right
(which unfortunately it is not being done here, right now) it can be made
into a good thing. We are also having problems getting positive
re-enforcements out to the kids. Our candy treats have been nixed and our
dance is not being approved. Make sure that if you do it, you are able to
have an ACTIVE committee that can help you manage teacher involvement.
Hit #2
I have experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly of AR as a parent and as
a library professional.
As a parent, I liked the fact that I had a tangible report to tell me
whether my children were comprehending the books they were reading. I did
not like the fact that my children did not want to read books if the school
did not have an AR test for it - there were some great books they would have
enjoyed reading, but they wouldn't/couldn't because they had to accumulate a
certain number of AR points within a certain period of time.
As a library worker, I like very little about the program.
(1) It takes a great deal of time to administer the program, including
purchasing and downloading tests, labelling books, keeping current the lists
of AR tests (must update every time we get new tests), adding/deleting
students who enroll/unenroll at our school, deleting tests students take in
error, resolving cheating issues, etc.
(2) I find that students are reluctant to read books for which we do not own
AR tests because teachers have AR requirements in their classrooms. For
example, one of our teachers does not allow students to check out books that
are not AR. If a student wants to read a book that is not AR, the teacher
will not permit it!
(3) Students become hyper-competitive with one another, which may be fine
for students who are good readers, but can be demoralizing for students who
have difficulties with reading. More difficult books give students more
points, and students who are unable to read more difficult books are
"losers" in the race for high point totals.
The only thing that I like about the program is that it can be a motivator
for some children. I know some children who became enthusiastic readers
when the program has a "rewards" component provided by teachers or PTA.
Some children are motivated by the chance to earn a treat or a privilege if
they read books and do well on tests.
If a school has a healthy budget, there is a relatively new option for AR
that allows schools to have access to every AR test made for a yearly fee.
This fee is based on the number of students enrolled at the school. If a
school can afford this option, then virtually every book becomes an AR book,
and the problem mentioned in #2 above disappears.
On balance, I believe the AR program has more "minuses" than "plusses," and
if our PTA parents (and some teachers) were not so invested in the program,
the media specialist and I would discontinue it in a heartbeat!
Hit # 3
Funny, I just posted this to CALIB 2 minutes ago.
When I was at a school with AR, I thought it did help the K-2 students,
however I still think they should have free choice. Some schools let kids
get other books, some don't. The students in grade 3-6, I spent more time
deleting tests they cheated on. See below how I just clicked and passed 92%.
I have very strong feelings against any program that quizzes the kids on the
books they are supposed to enjoy.
However, if a child likes reading and quizzes(many small children do), there
is always book adventure free on the internet. Kathy
Here is my post to CALIB-
You have it right!! In the past 15+ years, I have watched my district and
many others sink a small fortune into a reading program that quizzes the
students on books as they change levels(I don't think I can name companies
on the listserv). This company and the book companies have made a fortune
from this program. This program doesn't seem to have tangible proof of
increasing students reading ability. Students must choose books from certain
levels to move up instead of choosing books for pleasure of reading.
Students probably do read better in K-2 while using the program, bur soon
learn how to "work"(cheat) the program. It seems to squelch the desire to
read. Kids should have the right to choose books of their choice. I believe
the push to this quizzing after reading came after districts were told they
must have interventions in place. I am fortunate that I was able to convince
my staff and administration that we are much better off purchasing more
books for our library and encouraging the kids to read books of their
choice. Our middle school of 850 students has a circulation of over 300
books a day!! How did I convince my staff and administration? I showed them
over 100 of these book quizzes that I took without reading the question or
answer. I just clicked. I passed 92%. Scary, huh? What interventions do we
have? Book clubs, book talks, book reviews, reading contests, class
challenges, after school reading instruction from a teacher not a test. Sure
works for us. Our students win and our library wins. Parents support our
library by donating time and books. They have spread the word in the
community. I am so glad we have free choice in what we purchase for our
library. Now, if we can get an LMT here, we would be close to perfect.
I am a library/media technician in a middle school that would love to have
an LMT here. I do believe that California will have them in the near future
in every school.
Hit #4
Pros:
1. Teachers know that the students really got information out of the books.
2. Will encourage students to read the AR books if nothing else.
Cons:
1. Students don't want to read books that aren't AR books.
2. You limit your selection of books to books that have AR tests. - I
run 15 school libraries, I only have one school running AR. I do feel a
necessity to buy AR books for that school library to meet the student's
and teacher's needs.
There are pluses and minuses with this program as with every program out
there. I am impressed that you asking for both as that will help a lot
in the decision making.
Jane S. Mayott, Middle School Librarian
Fredericksburg Christian Schools
2231 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Fredericksburg, VA, USA 22401
<mailto:mayottj@fcschools.org> mayottj@fcschools.org, 540-373-5357, Fax
540-899-6211
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