Reader Acceleration ( AR ) is software for K-12 schools to monitor reading practice. It was created by Renaissance Learning, Inc. There are two versions: the desktop version and the web-based version at Renaissance Place, the company's online portal.
Video Accelerated Reader
Destination
Accelerated Reader is designed to facilitate the growth of student reading through practice in educational settings by:
- Assess the level of student reading through the STAR (Standard Test for Reading Assessment) test
- The trading level generalization system uses the ATOS reading formula that includes average sentence length, average word length, vocabulary grade level, and number of words in the book
- Assess understanding using computer-based quizzes that test general knowledge in multiple-choice formats 3-20 questions
- Provide various reports for parents and teachers with detailed student progress.
Maps Accelerated Reader
Components
ATOS
ATOS is free to use the legibility formula, designed by Renaissance Learning, which is available on the Renaissance Learning website. Renaissance Learning claims that "ATOS" is the first formula to include statistics from actual student book reading (over 30,000 students, reading nearly 1,000,000 books), not just data based on short text sections. "
Books with quizzes in Accelerated Reader are analyzed during the quiz creation process and establish ATOS readability levels.
Quiz
The Accelerated Reader (AR) quiz is available in fiction and non-fiction books, textbooks, auxiliary materials, and magazines. Mostly in the form of reading exercise quizzes, although some of them are curriculum-based with many subjects.
Many of the company quizzes are available in an optional voice recording format for basic level books, where quiz questions and answers are read for students who take quizzes. This quiz is designed to help newly emerging English and (some) Spanish readers take quizzes without additional help.
The Renaissance version of Accelerated Reader also includes quizzes designed to train vocabulary. The quiz uses words from the book, and is taken after the book is read. Printable markers that display vocabulary words so that, when students read, they can refer to the marker for help. This quiz tracks the words learned.
Report
- Reports are generated on request to help students, teachers, and parents monitor student progress. Reports are available on student readings, comprehension, reading counts, diagnostic information, and other variables. Customizable reports available in the Renaissance Place edition can also report district-level information.
The TOPS Report (Opportunity to Praise Students) reports the quiz results after each quiz is taken. The Diagnostic Report identifies students who need intervention based on various factors. The Student Note Report is a complete record of the books students have read.
Research evaluation
- A number of studies have been conducted regarding the effectiveness of using Accelerated Reader in the classroom. The following two studies are reviewed by What Works Clearinghouse and are found to meet high standards for research.
Ross, Nunnery, and Goldfeder studied 1665 students and 76 teachers (grades K-8) from 12 schools in Memphis, Tennessee. Some teachers are randomly selected to use Reader Acceleration and others continue the regular curriculum without using the software. Students in the classroom with Accelerated Reader show advantages. Many teachers who use the software respond positively and show that they will continue to use the software.
- In another study, Nunnery, Ross, and McDonald assessed the achievement of reading students in grades 3-8. They assessed the effects of individual, class, and school factors that influence reading achievement. Those in the Acceleration Pustaka class still outperform the students in the control class. Students with learning disabilities in very high implementation classes do not suffer from their inadequacies as much as similar students in a low or non-existent implementation class.
More evaluation
In a controlled evaluation, Holmes and Brown found that two schools using the School Renaissance program achieved higher standardized test scores were statistically significant when compared to two comparison schools using only the Renaissance program in a limited way. Because so many schools in the United States use Accelerated Reader, it is difficult for the study's authors to find two schools in Georgia that have not yet used Accelerated Reader. The authors note:
- "In all nine comparisons involving standardized test scores in reading, language arts, and math, Renaissance schoolchildren outperform contrasting schoolchildren It can only be concluded that Renaissance programs are highly effective in improving performance this elementary student. "
In 2003, Samuels and Wu found that, after six months, third and fifth grade students using Accelerated Reader demonstrated twice the acquisition of reading comprehension as not using Accelerated Reader. The comparison student completes the book report, indicating that the delayed feedback through the book report is not as readily as the direct feedback provided by the Acceleration Reader. In another study, Samuels and Wu found students in Read Acceleration classes, after controlling the amount of time spent reading each day, outperformed the students in the control class.
Researcher Keith Topping completed a number of studies on Accelerated Reader that found software to be an effective assessment for deciding curriculum.
Reviews
The National Center on Student Advancement has reviewed Accelerated Reader, and found that it meets 5 of 7 development monitoring criteria. Accelerated Reader has also been reviewed by What Works Clearinghouse, Florida Reading Research Center, and State Education Commission. In October 2006, Accelerated Reader was selected as one of the best reading software packages to build vocabulary and reading comprehension of students by eSchool News readers.
In some cases, Renaissance Learning provides funding for research studies on the efficacy of the Reader Acceleration software system.
Criticism
Educators argue that the use of Accelerated Reader does not teach reading to comprehension; it only teaches reading to remember. The minimum number of Literacy Skills Quiz in Accelerated Reader claims to assess high-level thinking skills. Eight Literacy Skill Quizzes have ATOS 1.0-3.0 levels, which provide limited support for high-level thinking skills to develop the reader. Renaissance Place includes recognizing settings and understanding sequences as examples of high-level thinking. Turner and Parisian studies on the role of class literacy work are highly relevant. Their vignettes describe open versus closed duties can inform how we consider the Acceleration Reader. In this program, students usually take a final-book test called the Reading Quiz Exercise which consists of literal-recall questions that have only one answer. Turner and Paris will classify the quiz as "closed duty." Turner and Paris have finally concluded that open tasks support the growth of literacy in the future. This study encourages some educators not to use the Accelerated Reader quiz for fear students will begin to understand the purpose of reading as answering questions that remember literally and may lose the desire to read.
Florida Center for Reading Research, cites two studies that support the product noting both the lack of books available in the school library and the lack of assessment of "inferential or critical thinking skills" as software weaknesses. Their guides also note a number of software strengths, including their ability to motivate students and deliver immediate results on reading habits and student progress.
Renaissance Learning, product developer, has stated that the intended purpose is to assess whether a student has read a book, not to assess high-level thinking skills, to teach or replace the curriculum, to replace the teacher's role, or to give extrinsic rewards. Quiz Skills Literacy makes an effort to assess high-level thinking skills, although this is not the intended purpose of the program. Nevertheless, educators and defenders reading Jim Trelease describe the Accelerated Reader, along with Scholastic Reading Calculations!, As "reading incentive software" in an article exploring the pros and cons of two software packages. Similarly, Stephen D. Krashen, in a 2003 literature review, asserted that incentive reading is one aspect of Accelerated Reader. In this review, Krashen reiterated his previous research which states that reading for incentives does not create long-term readers. However, as mentioned above, Renaissance Learning does not promote the use of incentives, and software can be used without incentives.
Use of the program has been criticized for preventing children from reading from different levels of difficulty. For example, research from Scholastics shows that 39% of children between the ages of five and ten have read the Harry Potter novels, with 68% of students in that age range having an interest in reading or re-reading Harry Potter books. For example, the ATOS reading level of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is 5.5 (with an ATOS number corresponding to the grade level). This will show that students below the class range may not be able to read and understand the book. Because teachers, parents, and students use the degree of legibility to select books, this can make students reluctant to read books, because students are under pressure to earn Accelerated Readers points during the school year, even though students can take the test and earn points for books in each ATOS level.
Staircase chart
A progress chart is an idea to apply in the classroom and works well with the Read Acceleration program. Another name for this chart is a star chart or a sticker chart. They are a way for students to easily track goal reading and motivate students to read more for rewards. "[Webre] suggests creating and implementing progress charts in classroom settings for student reflection and self-evaluation, small daily success/achievement feats, active learning stimulation, student choice, and control."
References
External links
- Accelerated Reader web page
- ERIC - Education Resources Information Center
- National Center on Student Progress Monitor
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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