What is Accelerated Reader? “It has made it easier to choose books that

are right for me” Daniel “It has given me more confidence in my

reading” Jack “I like reading books and then doing a quiz

on them” “I like the fact I can choose a book I am

interested in but it is also my level” “I like the fact that I get to quiz after reading

my book”

Accelerated Reader

What is it? Accelerated Reader is a customised reading

programme that meets the needs of individual students.

They take a STAR test, which is designed to respond to their answers and give an accurate reading level.

This means that pupils are reading books they CAN access at a level which is appropriate – it avoids situations when pupils are discouraged by books that are ‘too hard’

What is it? The books are ordered in these levels

and colour coded e.g. Orange, Pink etc and have levels on them

They have interest levels as well, so a pupils on Orange level can still read a Middle Years interest level

Why does it work?After reading each book the

pupils ‘quiz’ on a computer – they gain points and points mean prizes!

We will have inter House and Class competitions and prizes for people who reach their targets

Why does it work?It taps in to the more competitive element in many pupils

Pupils LIKE quizzingThey get instant feedbackThey succeed instantly

Why should we? “We’ve found that when students read books

at their appropriate level, they experience success and this encourages them to continue to want to read,” says school lead for Accelerated Reader, Michelle Heryet. “We’ve also found that the program helps all learners – from those with lower abilities through to our gifted and talented students. The new found enthusiasm for reading within lessons encourages everyone to get involved”.

It has been trialled here… It has been trialled with two booster

groups. The groups were very reluctant to read. In about 4 weeks 18 pupils, with VERY low literacy, have read over 61 books and over 143,307 words!!

One pupil in the group told me he was getting 3 AR books for his birthday!

Why should we? Improving reading levels helps ALL

SUBJECTS! The average reading age for GCSE papers is 15.

It is NFER and OFSTED Accredited All schools using the system report

significant improvement in Reading Levels

How can parents help? In school we have implemented ‘DROP AND

READ’ which is half an hour every day in which Year 7 pupils stop and read and/or quiz – regardless of which lesson it is. The teacher reads too, in order to model good practise and to ensure the pupils know this is a whole school initiative

At home you could help us by ensuring your little angel has their book in their bag – either in the morning or the night before

Just be interested. Ask about their quizzes and what they are reading.

Activation for you https://

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Couldn’t be easier – just log on

Accelerated Reader is intended to enable guided independent reading through the assessment information it generates, and teachers are encouraged to arrange frequent meetings with students to discuss their book selection, reading and quiz scores (Paul, 2003).

Guided independent reading practice has been shown to accelerate reading growth for all students, regardless of ability (Borman & Dowling, 2004; Holmes, Brown, & Algozzine, 2006; Nunnery & Ross, 2007; Nunnery, Ross, & Goldfedder, 2003; Nunnery, Ross, & McDonald, 2006; Paul, 2003; Samuels & Wu, 2003; Topping, Samuels, & Paul, 2007)

A SummaryWhat AR Is What AR Is NotIt is a progress-monitoring and personalised practice tool that can be used with any core reading curriculum or supplemental reading program.It supports direct, explicit, systematic reading instruction.Is not a core curriculum or supplemental reading program.Accelerated Reader enables guided independent reading practice, which has been shown to improve reading growth for all students The feedback provided by Accelerated Reader quizzes can inform and support direct, explicit reading instruction.

It does not take the place of a teacher or provide reading instruction. It assesses whether students have read books or selections of text, and indicates the extent to which they comprehended what they have read.It also tracks the amount of text read and comprehension scores over time, which can be used for target-setting and progress-monitoring purposes.Is not a general assessment of reading ability