Balancing Accelerated Reading with Readers Choices in one Classroom

In November of 2010, the journal Language Arts published the insights of Mariana Souto-Manning as she, along with her class of second graders found balance and acceptance of the AR program used in their school.

It is important to note that in the era of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) every student should read at or above grade level by the end of third grade.  Hence, funding for schools is tied to students’ test performance.  One way to test students regularly is to encourage school wide reading, such as the Accelerated Reading (AR) program.  AR is a computer software program that makes reading assignments based on multiple-choice tests.  It limits students reading choices and disregards teachers expertise.  Implementing AR in kindergarten and grades one and two is meant to be a form of early intervention.  The goal is to accelerate literacy in the early years in an attempt to erase perceived deficiencies that some children bring with them as they enter into school.  

Schools that use the AR program assign points to students based on their rate of accuracy (test scores) in combination with the level of book read.  Accumulated points can be turned in for tangible rewards.  

Problems with AR are that, as noted above, it includes a lack of choice in book selection.  It also disregards readers background knowledge and interests, and does not encourage collective reading and/or discussions.   

Unfortunately, with the adoption of NCLB, children’s learning is constantly being monitored by their teachers.  This leaves little room for a teacher to creatively teach or for students to “play” as a form of learning. 

Ms. Souto-Manning was told by her administrators that she had to use AR.  The year prior to this she had been with the same group of students.  She looped with them as their teacher hoping to build on the previous year experience of creating a culture of inquiry in their classroom.  Together, teacher and students brainstormed to engage in critical action research forming an inquiry of how they could make AR serve their needs better.  The students noted that they were segregated by colors(decided by their AR scores) on their library cards.  They were only allowed to check out certain books based on their AR level, and were actually discouraged by the media specialists when they wanted to check out different, more interesting books.  The color coding worked to censor student choices and discouraged reading motivation.  Also, even if a student read a book beyond his level, he would not be able to receive test points for it.  Students started identifying themselves as the color-coded readers they were as noted on their library cards.  In addition, because peers may not be labeled the same color, they weren’t necessarily able to read, then discuss, the same books.  ‘Reading was reduced to a textual, cognitive process that was striped of it’s sociopolitical aspects.’  Other problems the students noted were that the AR book choices were not plentiful enough to include all their varied interests.  Nor were there many children of color represented in the texts.  

Ms. Souto-Manning’s class worked together and fund raised, earning $800.  They surveyed their families and came up with a list of books they believed would more authentically represent their class make up.  Books were purchased and then the Media Specialist was consulted and these new books were added to the AR lists…with parent volunteers using websites with details on how to write appropriate AR quizzes.  The Media Specialist was able to add these new books to the schools pool of resources.  

The class decided to stop the AR reward system and instead work as a class towards points and then reward the whole rather than individuals for efforts.  To overcome the “you can only check out your color coded AR books in the library”, Ms. Souto-Manning had her students generate a weekly list and she would personally check out books from the school library to have in her classroom.

Ms. Souto-Manning was resourceful with her students.  The lesson she taught them, in my opinion, empowered her students to make take a system they had to use and make it better for all.  The community of learners she started to grow as first graders blossomed into capable second graders who made a difference in their school community.  

Reading needs to make meaning to students.  Students who have more book choice options to choose from, book choices that reflect their interests and book choices in which they can see themselves, they make connections that will propel them even farther in their learning.  

~ltk

Souto-Manning, M.  (2010) . Accelerating Reading Inequalities in the Early Years . Language Arts, 88 (2), 104-113. 

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