The Multiple Benefits Of Accelerated Reading

By Marie Hamilton


Finding the best way to instill a love of books in children, is a challenge that many parents and teachers face. A student needs to become a fluent and independent reader. For over three decades, the Accelerated Reading program has been inciting youngsters to experience the joy of the written word, and giving adults a way to understand how to help them on that journey.

In 1984, this program was developed by a mother who was trying to find a way to encourage her children to not only read more, but to do it with increased proficiency. She came up with a method involving short quizzes that test a child's comprehension of what they have read. The results also provided a way for parents and teachers to understand in what area a particular student required more assistance.

The prime concept for the program is that children will choose books to read independently that are on their particular comprehension level. Upon completion, they take a quick computerized quiz, consisting of 5 to 10 questions, to assess just how well they understood the book. Their results are used to create a report which may be used determine the areas where that student may be struggling.

The program currently has an excess of 180,000 quizzes in their cache, with additional ones being uploaded regularly. The titles that are included in the list range from those suitable for kindergartners, all the way to high school, containing fiction, as well as nonfiction, and a variety of subject matter and genres. There are also tests to go along with various publications like text books or select magazines.

A child's comprehension level is determined through an interactive computerized test lasting approximately 10 minutes. Their responses will cause the system to adjust the difficulty level to find the point of comprehension, called the ZPD, or zone of proximal development. Students can be reassessed periodically.

The program tries to offer quizzes for books that are most likely to be found in school libraries, that receive favorable reviews, are by popular authors, are part of trending series, award winners, and recommendations from parents and teachers. Each one is given a ranking based upon its difficulty level and the number of words it contains. While not every title is included on the recommendation list, there is a conversion scale to help find a ranking.

AR does not have its own set of incentives, though many libraries, parents, and teachers, have developed their own rewards system. Studies have found that when children have a goal to reach, they tend to be more excited and diligent about working to achieve it. This results in them practicing and honing their skills, and becoming proficient readers, while also finding out which subjects, or genres they prefer to read independently.

Using the AR program gets kids enthusiastic about learning to read with better comprehension. The quizzes are beneficial to assessing which areas require special attention. The effort to earn points incites them to put in the effort to work towards their goal, whether for an incentive, or just to satisfy their curiosity or ambition, resulting in them becoming more proficient readers.




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