[MOSAIC] AR

[gina nunley]

First, thanks for the correction on The Library Card...it is Jerry Spinelli.

I have strong feelings about AR and they are not favorable.  As a sixth 
grade teacher I receive students who came from heavy AR schools and I would 
say 99% of them hated AR.  They found themselves limiting their book choices 
  to "make" their AR points, and they tired of the continual testing.  They 
never just read for the enjoyment, and they found teachers and librarians 
limiting their choices according to AR data.  And for anyone who has worked 
with reading and book levels you know there is no concrete system you can 
count on.  I often disagree with the way AR has leveled a book, or lexile, 
or the grade level number.  But that is OK because those systems aren't a 
standard in my room, rather a guideline, if that makes sense.   For AR 
schools and classrooms, their leveling system does become the standard.  You 
better really trust the system, and obviously I don't.


I have taken some of those AR tests and I don't believe they can give me any 
helpful data in assessing a student's comprehension proficiency.  They are 
"fact recall" heavy.

If you go to this website Stephen Krashen has an article on research on AR.

http://www.sdkrashen.com/articles/does_accelerated_reader_work/

Jim Trelease also notes research at

http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/whatsnu_ar.html#krashen

Trelease and Krashen are names I would trust.

I have used the STAR test to give me a jumping off point for further reading 
assessment  (such as QRI) but I would never never never use AR in my 
classroom.  One woman's opinion, Gina

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