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When I was in elementary school they used it. I was a big reader before AR and when they introduced the program I had a goal of 50 points. I think I got 257 points by just taking tests on my favorite series. As others have said, the book selection is limited to the actual disks that the school chooses. Typically the amount of content can range from 500GB to 1TB, which isn't nearly enough to cover all the literature out there. Thus, many obscure classics are missing.
Another disadvantage is that since the program is based around comprehension, non-fiction reading is nonexistent, placing readers that are not interested in fiction at a disadvantage.
AR is good at forcing kids to read (is that even "good"!?) but if you force someone to do something, that makes them dislike is more. Renaissance Learning is laughing their way to the bank and has even stated that "[the program's] purpose is not to foster a love of reading but to figure out if a student has read a book"
The lowest costing version of the program costs around $10,000 for just one school., imagine how much it costs for a whole district!
When I was in elementary school they used it. I was a big reader before AR and when they introduced the program I had a goal of 50 points. I think I got 257 points by just taking tests on my favorite series. As others have said, the book selection is limited to the actual disks that the school chooses. Typically the amount of content can range from 500GB to 1TB, which isn't nearly enough to cover all the literature out there. Thus, many obscure classics are missing.
Another disadvantage is that since the program is based around comprehension, non-fiction reading is nonexistent, placing readers that are not interested in fiction at a disadvantage.
AR is good at forcing kids to read (is that even "good"!?) but if you force someone to do something, that makes them dislike is more. Renaissance Learning is laughing their way to the bank and has even stated that "[the program's] purpose is not to foster a love of reading but to figure out if a student has read a book"
The lowest costing version of the program costs around $10,000 for just one school., imagine how much it costs for a whole district!
It's all online now, and pretty much every book in our school library had a test to go with it.
When I was growing up SRA reading lab was in in every classroom. Short reading of various types - on cards with questions on the back. Does anywhere still use this? I think it was very helpful in learning to read a variety of types of material (fiction, nonfiction, poetry etc). This was used in conjunction with other reading and language arts....It gave everyone at every level the experience of reading all of these - without being "stuck" reading something you hated for weeks on end.
I had that in school. I remember the colors. But it was done completely different.
It was self paced and not done all the time and I don't remember being held to a hard number.
We just had the SRA box in our English class.
I had that in school. I remember the colors. But it was done completely different.
It was self paced and not done all the time and I don't remember being held to a hard number.
We just had the SRA box in our English class.
I think AR replaced SRA.
Yes, it was self paced. It was also not the only reading program...we still had other things as well but the SRA was always there when you had a few spare minutes. We had it in our elementary classrooms and I seem to remember having them in jr. High as well...since a semester of Reading was a required class each year -separate from English.
It's all online now, and pretty much every book in our school library had a test to go with it.
The costs are still astronomical because Renaissance has a monopoly on their hands due to the reputation they have built up. And the company bases the tests around the content of the school's library, using a complex algorithm. They certainly make their program appetizing to get schools to hand over an arm and a leg for the online subscription. And you also have to pay for training, maintenance, etc. so it doesn't really stop there.
The costs are still astronomical because Renaissance has a monopoly on their hands due to the reputation they have built up. And the company bases the tests around the content of the school's library, using a complex algorithm. They certainly make their program appetizing to get schools to hand over an arm and a leg for the online subscription. And you also have to pay for training, maintenance, etc. so it doesn't really stop there.
Like I said we won't have it next year due to the cost our district dropped it. I'm not sure what if anything will replace it. In my room is was basically something for the students to do when they finished their work early. We had a class poster where they got to graph their progress. I converted their points total to a percentage of their goal, so no one would know who had to earn how many points.
Like I said we won't have it next year due to the cost our district dropped it. I'm not sure what if anything will replace it. In my room is was basically something for the students to do when they finished their work early. We had a class poster where they got to graph their progress. I converted their points total to a percentage of their goal, so no one would know who had to earn how many points.
Time to "think outside the box".
May I suggest word search puzzles, comic books, magazines (all age appropriate and content appropriate).
I tried crosswords but the 6th and 7th graders didn't cozy up to them.."too hard" they said.
Or maybe there is something out there similar to what the old SRA program was with short stories/questions that the student graded themselves when done. It was a box of the reading material along with the answer cards. Almost everything today though is computer based and subscription based.
My students all have a folder full of content related word searches and cursive practice sheets to keep busy too. I use a program where I can type a sentence, and it will make it into a cursive practice sheet. I usually do it with content vocabulary and key phrases. The kids love them, but I teach 3rd grade.
I'm just wondering what the school will do "school wide" to replace AR.
I have no problem with the way my son's school uses it. Never does it count for a grade, it's all for fun. There is a rewards party for those who choose to participate in AR and meets the goal set for the party. No one is required to even participate.
The AR test system includes pretty much every single book these days. It's not confined to just the school library.
My son has always excelled at reading, so getting him to read has never been a big deal nor a worry. Year before last he did not care one bit about AR. Then he saw the party they had and decided he wasn't going to miss this past year! haha
So he made it a point to take the tests, which was the only thing extra he had to do. He ended the year with the highest score in the school (well over 400 pts) and got to go to 2 different parties just because he decided to take the tests.
He was rewarded for something he does on a normal basis and thought that was cool....and along the way he probably read a few more books than usual. However he did not get backlash when he did NOT participate the year before.
I have no problem with the way my son's school uses it. Never does it count for a grade, it's all for fun. There is a rewards party for those who choose to participate in AR and meets the goal set for the party. No one is required to even participate.
The AR test system includes pretty much every single book these days. It's not confined to just the school library.
My son has always excelled at reading, so getting him to read has never been a big deal nor a worry. Year before last he did not care one bit about AR. Then he saw the party they had and decided he wasn't going to miss this past year! haha
So he made it a point to take the tests, which was the only thing extra he had to do. He ended the year with the highest score in the school (well over 400 pts) and got to go to 2 different parties just because he decided to take the tests.
He was rewarded for something he does on a normal basis and thought that was cool....and along the way he probably read a few more books than usual. However he did not get backlash when he did NOT participate the year before.
Too bad it's not run like that in other schools.
What you describe I could get onboard with.
What I've seen are quotas and "hurry up and get your points done by XX/XX".
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It was also not the only reading program...we still had other things as well but the SRA was always there when you had a few spare minutes. We had it in our elementary classrooms and I seem to remember having them in jr. High as well...since a semester of Reading was a required class each year -separate from English.
