The Librarian vs. the Accelerated Reader Program

You want to keep the Librarians – get rid of the Accelerated Reader Program.

In our home we enjoy reading. We take our children on regular trips to the bookstore and books are often gifts from family members. However, for the little one, recently, reading is not enjoyable – it is a chore – it is the Accelerated Reader Program.

When we tried to read books that we picked out from the bookstore and enjoyed, we ran up against books that are required reading for the Accelerated Reader Program. If a child reads what is required by Accelerated Reader and does the other reading that is required from a Reading class, in addition to their other homework and an extra curricular – there is no time to read books just for the love of reading a book.

As a matter of fact, my little one's class has had a huge end of the year push to read Accelerated Reader books (a goal which she met two weeks ago). She is now burnt out on reading - I have not given her one more thing to read; I have not encouraged her to spend time in her cozy, little reading corner; and she has not sat in it voluntarily. She needs a break from reading for right now.

So you ask, "how can District 150 do away with Librarians?" Here's how... teachers are suggesting what children should read to get their points. Teachers have many of the Accelerated Reader books in their classroom. Teachers are running interventions and encouraging reading in groups – not Librarians. Once the children read the books, a teacher's aide will oversee administration of the Accelerated Reader testing in the Library (or the classroom) – not the Librarian.

Again, after reading the required Accelerated Reader Books and getting the necessary points within a specific period, there is little time for checking any book out of the Library, let alone reading a personal favorite that Grandma may have given you.

To their credit, Accelerated Reader has now published their list and children who can afford books, can purchase many of the books (which may be more to their liking) from Barnes and Noble. As a result, our Summer reading list will more than likely include the books worth the most points from the Accelerated Reader list.

Accelerated Reader may help children who do not have books in their home/or who will not read unless forced, other than that – it is a hindrance to a family who wants to instill the joy of reading a book just because you can.

Problem is - Accelerated Reader is effective in that it encourages reading and gives children time in school to do so. The District's AYP for reading is 61.7%, I would be willing to bet that Accelerated Reader is helping to make that possible. Today's students have very little time that they can spend in school Libraries. Library times average about 30 minutes per week. In this scenario, the Librarians are not the saving grace for readers who may fall through the cracks - the teachers are.

What is the Accelerated Reader Program?
The Accelerated Reader program is a computerized program that tests reading comprehension. Students select books on their reading level, read independently or with a buddy, and take an independent comprehension test on the computer. Each book is worth a certain number of points based on its length and reading level. Students get a percentage of these points based on how many of the test questions they get right. The program tracks their progress over the course of the school year.

For info on long term effects of Accelerated Reader go here…