The Problem with AR

At one school I worked at, there was an established Accelerated Reader system in place.  Students were required to read books that were assigned a point value, and then pass a test to show their comprehension.  Points were awarded if the student passed the test.  If the student was unable to pass the test, they didn't get any points.  This was a problem because some students could pass the tests without having read the novel.  Other students couldn't pass the test, even if they did read it.  In my professional opinion, it's a terrible system. 
As a result of the Accelerated Reader program, students viewed reading as a punishment.  Parents were upset when their child didn't receive credit for this portion of the grade, as it was weighed at 30% of the grade.  If the student didn't do their independent reading, they didn't pass. 

I remember one student in particular that would be reading every time I saw her.  She didn't move fast, and she didn't always understand what she read.  When we did whole class reading, she hated reading aloud.  Although she was able to decode the words, her errors made it clear that she wasn't self-monitoring as she was going.  Still, she made the effort to try.

 This particular girl also liked to journal.  If I assigned a half a page journal entry, she'd turn in two pages.  I would find haiku poetry in the margins of her papers.  She was a model student in English class.  Yet, according to the rules of the school, because she was unable to pass AR tests, she should have failed each semester.

I couldn't let this happen, so I had her do an oral book report with me after each failed test.  In her oral book report, she would tell me who the characters were, where the setting was, and what the basic storyline was.  Then, she'd tell me her favorite parts.  She'd ask me questions about events that happened, and wanting to know more information.  This oral report became a conversation.

So, instead of putting kids in front of a computer and letting a computer decide if they really read the book, I believe teachers need to take the responsibility.  Teachers need to step back and talk to their students who fail a test, and understand what their level of understanding really is.

I made a mistake during my time at that school.  I went along with the established system, and even when I saw the flaws I didn't make any changes until the second semester.  Relying on a test score for 30% of the grade didn't work for me, and it didn't work for my student either.  I'm so glad that my current school doesn't require Accelerated Reader.