Accelerated Reader is a supplemental program at CTA-Goodman; it is not a reading program that teaches reading.  AR is a way to motivate children to read for practice, so they improve at reading and understanding.  We use AR from 2nd - 6th grades.  Personal goals are developed with the children, in consideration of their reading rate and reading level.  Students take a STAR assessment to identify their ZPD--Zone of Proximal Development. This means the range of reading at which it appears they are most successful independently.  AR is not at the student's instructional level, which is typically higher, but rather it is at their independent level.  Their independent level is the level at which they are able to read and understand without teaching or coaching. 
 
It is important to note that the goal in AR is to achieve and maintain an average of 85% or better on quizzes. Averaging 85-- 90% indicates that the student understands the key points of the book, and it motivates the student to read more. Research has shown that 30-minutes of daily reading practice and an average of 90% and higher on AR quizzes produces the most significant gains in reading achievement.
 
Accelerated Reader, a self-paced computerized program for checking comprehension, is also available once children are able to read on their own at approximately the end of first grade level.
  

AR Links:

Click here to view the AR Bookfinder, which finds the approximate reading level for a specific book.
 
Click here to visit the AR/Renaissance Home Connect website, to view students' comprehension levels and progress towards meeting an AR goal.

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