Accelerated reading scheme. Seems to be making dd anxious around reading

[turtleshells]

My dds school goes on and on about accelerated reading scheme. It's one big competition in our year about who's read what.

The AR scheme quizzes are once a week at dd school. Dd will read through several books a week and by the time the quiz is there she forgets about the first one and fails the test. Another thing that happens is she has started to read bigger books and the quizzes are longer, her school aim for 100% and anything less than 80% is deemed a fail and she has to redo it but the questions are quite precise and she can't always remember each detail in the longer books.

She has now taken to reading only one book a week very slowly and so anxious that if she doesn't know enough she will skip the quiz that week and continue to read the same book over again until she knows it well enough to get the 100% on the quiz.

I'm wondering if I should say anything or just leave dd to her own little plans. It's more I don't want her to associate anxiety and quizzes with reading which seems to be where this is leading. What is the point of it? Does it actually work? My dd seems to read fine it's just the quizzes she doesn't always get 100% on.

I'm not convinced there is such a correlation between extensive reading and reading ability. DD3 had parents evening last term and the AR TA said 'DD3 is right at the top of the scale with her reading, she must read a lot.' I said 'No, actually, she hates reading and never reads for pleasure.' She's just lucky that she's got a good memory.

DD2 can't be doing with 'rewards'. Even when she was little, she'd just shove stickers in her bag while other kids would proudly wear theirs.

Hi @turtleshells which year is your DD in? I only have experience of Accelerated Reader in secondary, & going against the grain to other responses, I do think it can be a useful tool in checking comprehension rather than technical ability to read. AR is multiple choice so if you have read a book recently it should jog your memory of what happened. In terms of doing quizzes maybe you can help your daughter by showing her how to rule out multiple choice answers that she knows to be completely wrong and then recall between the two remaining possibilities (if she's at primary the plot is unlikely to be too complex to recall)
When she gets to secondary she's going to have to use memory recall a lot more across subjects for tests so it's actually useful that she starts to work on this skill, especially if it doesn't come naturally to her.

When you read with your DD before you start a new chapter ask a few questions about what had just happened, this might need a prompt to start with e.g. Can you remember where Katie was when we last read? No, ok she was at the library, can you remember why she had gone there? etc.. You can do the same with TV series you are watching.

Do tell her teacher she's stressed by the process /results though as they won't want that.

@turtleshells I'm a bit confused because she seems to be able to read the books so when she fails another quiz I'm not sure if this means she couldn't read the book or what it means as she read it to me seemingly ok

She may be reading the words fine but the quiz results reflect her understanding and recall of what she's read.

[quote RumblyMumbly]**@turtleshells I'm a bit confused because she seems to be able to read the books so when she fails another quiz I'm not sure if this means she couldn't read the book or what it means as she read it to me seemingly ok

She may be reading the words fine but the quiz results reflect her understanding and recall of what she's read.[/quote]
I don’t agree with your last: the quiz results reflect her skill at doing quizzes; it’s A method of demonstrating understanding, not THE method.

It sounds to me like it's set up wrongly for her age. They don't have a hugely developed memory and these kinds of learning to read books don't tend to have memorable storylines. If she's in reception or year one and having to do a quiz about a story she read days ago of course she won't remember the points of it she should be given the option to do the quiz straight after finishing the book.

Ar at our school my dd is allowed the book with her when she quizes, i get it they want to reward the kids for reading but it causes issues for some child like you op i feel children should read to enjoy not to feel like they have to be perfect. The only time my dd has had to reread a book is when she got 0 right x

@MrsWooster point taken. However as the OP has said I have emailed the teacher and they have said that other dc manage so it must be my dc and perhaps they should choose easier books next time

So either the OP dd needs help doing quizzes or with her comprehension skills or both.

It would really help to know how old she is. Surely in reception /KS1 many children wouldn't be able to read multiple choice questions? By KS2 especially by Yr6 most children would be able to manage the technique of a multiple choice quiz.

It's definitely worth contacting the school to see if they can at least do the quiz at home as soon as they've finished the book. I think it's really hard to get 100% on the quizzes if it's been a few days since she's finished the book but it doesn't mean that she couldn't explain what had happened in the story I'm sure.

My son has been doing the AR quizzes since year 2. He's in year 3 now and reading books that according to AR are around 20,000 words long for 'pleasure' but reading only a few chapters each night might mean it takes 5 days to finish. By then he can re-cap the story and tell me what he thought was funny etc... but trying to remember what the first thing the character put in their shopping basket was at the beginning of the story isn't always so easy! Most of the questions are fine but some of them are about the tiniest thing that there's no way you'd really remember a few days later. He now chooses short reading scheme books for the quizzes which he can read in one go and are normally around 2-3000 words instead... He can read any book he wants though and it doesn't stop him taking the quiz so he could even chose a level 1 book and still do the quiz. They're also not meant to have the book with them when they do the quiz.

I administer a lot of the AR in my school, and did so in my previous school as well.
My experience is that the children who are reading longer and more challenging books for their own enjoyment don't need to be doing the AR quizzes. If they do, they normally score very highly, 90%+.
If I know that children are reading regularly from choice, then I'm not really bothered whether they do the tests or not. If for example, the child tests with a reading of 14 and they are only 8 or 9, then I really don't need to be chasing them up.
But it's a really useful tool for tracking the reading of the less enthusiastic, or less able readers.
I do agree that it is sometimes more like a memory test, and if I feel that an individual child is struggling because of a poor working memory, then I might let them test with the book in front of them. This tests other skills, like being able to scan, search and retrieve information from a text quickly, and so I don't consider it "cheating", although not everyone will agree with me.
It is very important to test within 24 hours of finishing a book - the results are noticeably worse if there is a long gap between finishing and testing. The school should be providing the opportunity to do the quizzes more frequently. They could have a few laptops in the classroom so that quizzes can be done at the beginning of the day, or whenever there is a bit of free time. Or they could enable the children to do the quizzes from home, maybe as part of their regular homework. 10 minutes once a week is not good enough, it doesn't signal that they are prioritising reading, or enjoyment of it.
I'm assuming you know that children can read their own books and do an AR quiz- most modern paperbacks are on the AR system. If your child is reading several books a week, they don't have to do a test on all them. The teacher should understand that AR is a tool, to help support and assess the children's reading ability. It is not something to be rigidly enforced.
Are you aware that the actual assessment is done on Star Reader, ( a branch of AR) which is a comprehension test not based on a specific book?
I suspect many schools have staff who are not trained and are inexperienced in dealing with AR, hence some inflexible attitudes from them.
I'm happy to help if you have more questions- I'm actually quite a fan of the programme provided it's delivered in an appropriate way - and "one size fits all" is not an appropriate approach.

"accelerated reader" is a bit of a misnomer - it's basically just a package of comprehension questions. It is a pity whenever anything puts a child off reading though.

Are you sure she's really understanding what she's reading? If she's reading and reading but struggling with these quizzes, I wonder whether this is something that needs highlighting? Have you spoken to the teacher?

@turtleshells I completely agree with @DelphiniumBlue and I think in your child's school they are not using it correctly.

I am just a volunteer but helped to implement the AR system in the primary school. The positives are, it forces children to actually read and finish books rather than pretending to read. It has been proven not only in the school I volunteer in but others within the cluster to improve literacy skills. It pushes them to try new books rather than Rainbow Fairies or Beast Quest series. There is nothing wrong with either of these series of books, children reading is a great thing. The negatives are that depending on the level and the number of books the school has can limit what they can read.

In the school I am in, AR is every day for 30 minutes. Basically the children read for 30 minutes a day. The children are tested the second they finish a book and cannot get another book until they have sat the test. They also have their book next to them This tests other skills, like being able to scan, search and retrieve information from a text quickly, definitely!

Every week a child is listened to reading either by the teacher or the LSA or me. We ask them questions, anything from tell me what has happened so far to why do you think Tom is sad? What does this word mean? We are looking for comprehension and understanding of what they are reading not just reading ability. Also they sometimes hate a book but I see this as a positive, now they know what they don't like.

The children are encouraged to read all kinds of books from all levels at home, or magazines, comic strips anything to improve literacy skills but in school for that 30 minutes they read the books on the AR scheme.

What year is your child and are you happy to say which level?

OP - I am totally with you on this!

DDs school introduced AR with great fanfare. I didn’t even go to the intro meeting as I could see it was a pile of pants.
Other mums jumped in with gusto.

My DS (15 now and loves reading) was just leaving the school then. I know exactly how he’d play AR;
Read books very very sloooooowly. Read only those at the bottom of his ZPD (hate that with a passion!) and never do well at the quizzes. Then never move up and be made to work harder. Lazy sod! And read whatever he liked at home.

DD is more of a people pleaser and wants to do well. So she tries, wants the higher end of her ZPD, reads other books at home. By the time the quiz can’t be out off any longer she’s forgotten bits so doesn’t do well and doesn’t move up.
The school librarian won’t let her choose books she actually wants to read because they’re either above her ZPD or not on AR a in the first place (🧐🤨).

Meanwhile school celebrates those who’ve read a million words or whatever crap they come up with as if that’s the point of it all.

I’ve reassured her that she has less than a year to go and then no one will be telling her what she can or can’t read, meanwhile she can read whatever she wants at home.

The whole effing point is to enjoy reading for the love of reading.

But I’ve battled with school enough, refused to make DC write a review on every book when that was a thing, and so on.

If she was younger I’d have to battle this one but I’m just exhausted with the nonsense and moan to DH!

I’ve told her to play the system as DS would’ve done. And take her own book in from home if there’s likely to be a reading session.

It’s all bullocks!

Bollocks! So peed off with it I can’t even swear type properly!

And, why should a child have to finish a book if they don’t like it? I don’t. I reached about 25 before I realised life was too short to plough on through something I hated. Just because you start does not mean you have to finish. Learn what you don’t like and move on.

It’s some form of torture to force a child to complete a book they aren’t enjoying just because the scheme says so, and then quiz on it, and probably fail.
DDs school they don’t let you look at the book during the quiz either.

We are allowed to do some quizzes from home but
‘The school reserves the right to withdraw this permission if abused’ wtf?

My ds was like this a few years ago and to me the quizes were just memory as opposed to understanding / enjoying the book it almost became a competition with parents as well as in my dd gets 100% all the time on 4 books a week etc
I spoke to school and we agreed ds didn't have to do the quizes if he did't want as long as we listened to him and if he felt like doing one he could, it really put him off reading , whilst it was great for others it wasn't for him .

Also they allowed my ds to pick any book he wanted not just from his section ( he was older and on a high level anyway ,) but reading needs to also be enjoyable so if nothing he wanted at his level he could pick below or even go above

I think the biggest thing is not all things fit all kids so whilst some may excel at ar for others it has the opposite and put both mine off reading and now at 16 & 18 they never pick up a book, just maybe one day someone might realise that one size does not fit all and develop a more flexible curriculum

I am so angry on your DD behalf that they aren't even use the scheme properly for start - test after book with text in hand, no time pressure

Many of SEN issues such as dyspraxia mean DC have a poor working memory so something like that could mean a child loves reading and understands it yet constantly is crap at the tests.

I would rise this higher in the school and consider if it's actually the right school for her long term?

My DS (15 now and loves reading) was just leaving the school then. I know exactly how he’d play AR;
Read books very very sloooooowly. Read only those at the bottom of his ZPD (hate that with a passion!) and never do well at the quizzes. Then never move up and be made to work harder. Lazy sod!

Yeah, they can't do that. A report is produced that shows how many books they have read and there is intervention if they keep failing the tests. So although they many think they can scam the system, when it is used correctly as a teaching tool there would be questions asked as to why they did well in literacy lessons but poorly on AR. Plus they are on a level like 3.4 and after 3 books passing the tests they move to 3.5 so you can't just read 3.1 forever. Usually the children who struggle to move up reading levels are those with SEND and they are supported.

It also feeds into just general comprehension work of finding information in a passage or book, anything from SATs to Geography or History at secondary school. Reading and then scan reading to pull information from text is used all the time. AR helps with that skill.

why should a child have to finish a book if they don’t like it? why make children do PE? Why force them to learn about Vikings or drawing fruit? Reading is important, yes they can read whatever they want at home however in school there are books they read as part of literacy lessons such as Oranges in No Man's Land or Ottoline and the Yellow Cat.

This sounds like a special kind of hell for children.
So sorry to OP and other posters that are struggling with AR scheme.

@HelstonaireMonty so do you honestly think one system fits all ? Whilst its great for some kids many of us have said how it put ours off reading. , how is that correct ?
Sometimes the questions where like what colour door was it john knocked on and would be real minor detail
Reading is also about enjoyment and imagination is it not ?

I’m not talking about a class reader that the whole class is working on, obvs they should read that and do the class work.

This about books they choose from the school library for ‘fun’ reading. Learning that a book style isn’t for you is also a valuable skill I feel.

And it’s a zone of PD not a number, so DD as given a range, say 3.4-5.1. So they can choose the lower end.

And intervention is a lovely word, but if the kid is stubborn, you can’t MAKE them read. And they can play the system, getting just enough marks, taking just enough tests, etc. To keep the teacher off their backs. I know as I’ve seen it in action.

Also, if they are adventurous and try an unusual book and don’t enjoy it but are forced to stick with it to the end, they won’t ever choose bravely again.

I cannot imagine the likes of Judith Kerr, Julia Donaldson, Tolkien, even David Walliams (not my fave) would think that children benefit from the AR stick to find love in reading.

Can you imagine them sat there writing a book thinking, oh this will be great in the AR scheme?

I’m a bit worried about a PP saying they use it in secondary, I really hope not in whoever DD goes, DS definitely hasn’t mentioned it at his.

@worriedatthemoment it is just in school hours, no one is dictating what they do reading wise outside of school. It is the same as when we ask them comprehension in literacy lessons which includes full books, poetry etc. How is making them read books in school putting them off reading at home? No one is asking them to read the AR books outside of school, well, not in the school I am in.

We have children on lower levels than the books they are reading at home, many children read Tom Gates or David Walliams or Beast Quest series. You cannot read these in order using the AR scheme, firstly does the school even have the books? Secondly what level are they? They jump all over.

The whole one size fits all argument could be made about school as a whole. There are many aspects of the school day that children dislike, maths is one of them and the other? Hymn practise! So do we stop teaching maths? AR is part of the literacy scheme. Once they get beyond Chip and Biff there was a reading time in school but no checks were being done to see if children were actually reading. Some children had the same 40 page book for an entire year.

It has proven to increase literacy levels which were measurable. It does depend on how the school uses it. We have "magpie" boards on the class wall, children write exciting new words on there taken from books that can be used by all the children in their writing. So those on higher levels are helping those on lower levels.

When I was a child we consumed library books by the dozen as there were 3 tv channels and the children's tv bit was very short. Today when books are competing against the internet, gaming, YouTube and on demand tv of course there are children that say they don't want to read.

Some secondaries use them but to be honest it sounds as if they all just cheat. Apparently the answers to books are online or they swap with a mate, they listen to audio books, answer quizzes on books they read in primary. Plus it is hard to motivate a 13yr old with the promise of a bookmark or whatever. I think because they all do the bare minimum there isn't the same competition issue though as no one is winning lots of points, they just figure out how much they need to do to keep the teacher off their backs.

No one is asking them to read the AR books outside of school, well, not in the school I am in.

That is where your school differs from the experience of my dc. They don't have much reading time at school so it is all based on stuff read at home. My dc was much happier reading history encyclopaedia than reading something to tick a box on AR.

@HelstonaireMonty no mine had to read at home as there books and taking the tests they found too much and it became very competitive fo always get 100% and yes I do think the way things are taught should not be a one way fits all, not saying reading books shouldn't be done or maths etc but saying that for some kids a certain approach may not be best for them and like my sons school did with him the end they let him deviate from it as it was impacting his reading , both of mine are and were advanced readerS