Andrea,
Yes, that's true. ?Teachers just look at the reading level. ?For example, when
my daughters were in school, they had to accumulate
so many A.R. points every quarter. ?Say 10 points. ?Each book has a number of
points assigned to it based on length. ?Most
picture books are 0.5 to 1.0 points. ?Most novels are anywhere from 1.0 to 4.0
points. ?I think the Harry Potter books are something
like 8 points apiece. ?So if you are a second grader, and have to earn 10
points, that's essentially 20 picture books. ?:-)
Anyway, to earn those points, kids have to read books at their reading level.
?So if their reading level is 3.4, then usually it's a one
grade range, they can earn their points by reading books in the 2.8 to 3.8
range. ?Interest level has absolutely nothing to do with it.
And yes, it's problematic.
Judy
-----Original Message-----
From: Andrea Rapp <anrapp2...@yahoo.com>
To: kpeter3434 <kpeter3...@aol.com>; suzi48dubin
<suzi48du...@gmail.com>; cjanoff <cjan...@cox.net>; hasafran
<hasaf...@lists.osu.edu>
Sent: Thu, Jan 16, 2014 10:18 am
Subject: Re: [ha-Safran] Accelerated Reader
I've spoken with librarians at a couple of schools which use the program.
Teachers give students an AR reading level range, based on the child's
standardized test scores, from which to select books for AR testing and credit.
?AR does also indicates the "interest level" of the book, which may be quite
different from the reading level it assigns. ?My understanding is that teachers
look at the reading level, not the interest level, ?when determining the range
that students have to adhere to. ?If so, this would be quite problematic. ?
? ?Andrea
From: "kpeter3...@aol.com" <kpeter3...@aol.com>
To: anrapp2...@yahoo.com; suzi48du...@gmail.com; cjan...@cox.net;
hasaf...@lists.osu.edu
Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2014 10:48 AM
Subject: Re: [ha-Safran] Accelerated Reader
To all,
? ? ?I'm following this discussion with interest as I also use A.R. in my
synagogue's library as a means
of trying to improve circulation in our children's library.
? ? ?But I think there's a misconception here. A.R. does not assign books a
"grade" level, but a reading
level. ?With something like 3.9, the "3" indicates the grade, and the ".9"
indicates which month of the
semester they should be at this level (each 1/10 is a month's worth of
progress). ?So, assuming school?
starts in September and goes through May, September would be 3.0 and May
would be 3.9. ?So, for
example, assigning the book "Freefall" a 3.9 reading level just indicates
that the vocabulary, etc. is such
that a 3rd grader at the end of the school year should be able to read the
words.
? ? ?In general, I think A.R. books are leveled too low. ?I've rarely found
anything about a 6th grade reading
level. ?Even textbook type materials are generally a 7.0. ?For example, just
for fun I looked up "Huckleberry
Finn" which is leveled at 5.4, which based on vocabulary alone seems pretty
ridiculous to me.
? ? ?Content has nothing to do with how they assign reading levels, which of
course is one of the weaknesses
of the program. ?"Freefall" is of course inappropriate for a 3rd grader. ?And
many of our kids read much
higher than their grade level, so finding books at their appropriate reading
level but that are content appropriate
for their age is a whole 'nother enchilada.
? ? ?However, the website that I use to find a book's A.R. level
(www.arbookfind.com) DOES include who the target audience is for
a given book, using the codes LG (lower grades), MG (middle grades), UG
(upper grades). ?"Freefall" is assigned
a MG+. ?So I'm assuming this would indicate middle school and up, which seems
appropriate.
? ? ?There are certainly many disadvantages to the A.R. program. ?But it can
be a tool in the toolbox. ?For my own library, and since?
only the elementary schools in our school district use the A.R. program, I
only?put A.R. stickers on books that are appropriate for?
elementary aged readers. ?I don't put A.R. stickers on books?designed for
older kids (like "Freefall"). ?For one thing it seems demeaning?
for a 7th grader to check out a book?that technically is at a third grade
reading level.
? ? ?The biggest way the A.R. program has helped me in my job is as a tool to
help me select reading level appropriate books for
the Religious School classes. They have independent reading time and also
"book buddies". ?So if the 2nd grade teacher tells me at
9:00 a.m. on Sunday morning that they want to have free reading at 9:30 a.m.
I can pull a bunch of 2nd and 3rd grade reading level
books in about 5 minutes and not have to look through each book wondering if
a second grader could read it. ?Getting the teachers
to give me any kind of lead time pulling stuff for them is a whole other
conversation! ?:-)
? ? ?The other way I "use" A.R. is as projects for the madrichim (post B'nai
Mitzvah teachers' aides). ?They look up the book and put
the stickers on. ?And it's a bit subversive. ?If?they're working on putting
A.R. stickers on the books, half the time they stop to read them.
:-) ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Judy Petersen
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Library Director
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Congregation Har Shalom
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Fort Collins, CO
? ? ?
-----Original Message----- From: Andrea Rapp <anrapp2...@yahoo.com> To:
suzi48dubin <suzi48du...@gmail.com>; Norm Janoff <cjan...@cox.net>;
Hasafran <hasaf...@lists.osu.edu> Sent: Thu, Jan 16, 2014 8:11 am
Subject: Re: [ha-Safran] Accelerated Reader All, I do not "use"
Accelerated Reader.
I have reading incentive programs for our religious school kids in grades 1-6.
Some of these children use Accelerated Reader in their public or day schools
and want to take out ?books from our library for which they can get credit at
school. ? ?After several students expressed the wish to know this information,
I decided to identify AR books for them--as a service to them and as an
incentive to have them read these Jewish books. ?They are excited to know that
I will do this.
? ? I'm interested to see that others of you agree with me about the level
assignments AR uses, and I will not put a label on some of the books like
Freefall that say it's for 3rd graders. ?That's just absurd and I'm surprised
that the whatever formula is used to assign levels to such books hasn't been
improved. ?One would think that AR would have heard from teachers, after all
the years it's been in use. ?I will report back on how this works out, and
whether I decide to abandon the whole idea!
Andrea
From: suzi48dubin <suzi48du...@gmail.com> To: Norm Janoff
<cjan...@cox.net>; Andrea Rapp <anrapp2...@yahoo.com>; Hasafran
<hasaf...@lists.osu.edu> Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 11:38 PM
Subject: Re: [ha-Safran] Accelerated Reader
......And that is why I refuse to use AR. Their decisions on what grade
level is appropriate is just WRONG.
Suzie Dubin?
?
T-Mobile. America's First Nationwide 4G Network.------ Original message
------From:?Norm Janoff Date:?1/15/2014 4:33 PMTo:?Andrea
Rapp;Hasafran;Subject:Re: [ha-Safran] Accelerated Reader When I worked in the
public library we had this problem all the time. ?Accelerated Reader doesn't
seem to take into account the maturlity level of the topic or theme, but only
the word and syllable counts, vocabulary, etc. ?It's very frustrating. Carol
Janoff
Temple Chai
Phoenix, AZ Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2014 12:32:40 -0800From:
anrapp2003@yahoo.comTo: hasaf...@lists.osu.eduSubject: [ha-Safran] Accelerated
Reader I'm putting the labels on the books, looking up the assigned reading
levels that AR gives each book. ?Freefall, by Anna Levine, grade level 3.9?
?Ridiculous. ?I'd give it to kids in 6th or 7th grade at minimum. ?On the other
hand, The Peddler's Gift/Shnook the Peddler is 5th grade level.
???I am really surprised at the level assignments to so many titles. ?
Andrea Rapp
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