Our high school English department dropped the AR program a few years
ago. Although I was not directly involved in the program beyond
having the titles on the library shelves, I was critical of the
program for the same reasons stated in the article and the posts.
Did someone mention students sharing the questions/answers with other
students? Also, for it to really be effective especially at the high
school level, you need a good record keeping system of what tests
students have previously taken. If not, students simply select the
same book (s) and take the same test (s) they took the previous year
and/or when they were in middle school or different school.
Finally, without any success, I even tried to get teachers to both
customize/improve existing tests and, more importantly, create tests
for those good books not on the AR list. I even suggested the
district could establish an "AR Stipend Fund" and pay a teacher $50-75
per test. The program would be improved and teachers could make some
extra money on weekends and especially during summer vacation.
Robert Hicks, Librarian
Arkansas City High School
Arkansas City, KS 67005
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