A Parent’s Concern with Mandated Reading Programs (Part 2)
Last year, I posted a piece by a parent of a middle schooler in Massachusetts, who had asked, to no avail, that her child be allowed to opt out of the Renaissance Learning’s Accelerated Reader program.
Today, she provides an update.
Our School’s Use of the Renaissance Learning’s Accelerated Reading Product Has a Detrimental Effect on Our Children’s Desire to Read
by a Middle School Parent
Our middle school uses Renaissance Learning’s Accelerated Reader quiz product to verify that students are reading books at home. Scores on the 10-20 question fact-recall quizzes are then applied directly to students’ English/Language Arts grades.
AR is widely used in schools in the U.S. and around the world, often in conjunction with prize incentives and awards to “top readers.” Some schools, like ours, use it as part of a reading grade for students’ “free reading” at home – which is separate from in-class reading and literature instruction – despite the company’s clear statement in its supporting material that quiz scores are not meant to be reading grades. I am sharing this here because I know we are not the only parents who are concerned about the unintended consequences of this and similar well intentioned but potentially damaging requirements that turn children’s at-home pleasure reading into a chore.
We initially expressed misgivings about this approach in September 2007, when we first heard about it, but said we would give it a try. In May 2008 we sent a letter to the school indicating that we had given AR a try for the school year and were now convinced that this approach was counterproductive for our children. That summer I met with the incoming middle school principal. I like this principal and it was a friendly conversation, but he made it clear the school would not consider making AR optional for everyone, or letting our family opt out because of our objections.
He listened to my concerns, then reiterated the position that the school needed to monitor at-home reading. He said that while it is great my child likes to read, many students do not get support at home for reading. He said he would talk to my children’s teachers about offering alternative assessments for reading they do at home that does not have an AR quiz. Lastly, he assured me that the use of AR would be reviewed in an upcoming reviews of the English/ Language Arts curriculum for grades 6-12.
In fall 2009, the school department presented part of its long-awaited ELA curriculum review to the town school board, indicating the middle school’s AR at-home reading requirements would continue largely unchanged. We attended the presentation, and subsequently submitted the following letter:
We agree wholeheartedly with the school department that independent reading outside of school should be strongly encouraged. We especially appreciated the questions raised by the board with respect to how the school department seeks to meet our mutual goals in this area.
In light of the school department’s presentation, we felt it important to ask some questions and make some points. First, the questions:
1. The middle school currently uses Renaissance Learning’s Accelerated Reader quizzes as the backbone of its independent reading program, which is separate from in-class literature instruction. Are there any independent studies that gauge the effectiveness of this product in boosting student achievement?
2. Has the school department looked into any scholarly research as to the most effective ways to motivate middle school students to read independently and develop a love for reading? In the same vein, have they consulted any reading specialists or even a children’s librarian regarding current thinking on adolescent reading motivation? What do other similarly situated schools do?
3. Why does the school department feel it must assign a grade to students’ independent reading, which is done almost entirely during out of school time? Is there research that shows this is an effective way to get middle school students to enjoy reading on their own time? We ask this question especially in light of Renaissance Learning’s own specific instructions not to use quiz scores as reading grades.
Our comments, based on experience with two middle school students, are as follows:
* The alternative projects offered to students who read books not on the Accelerated Reader list are not equal. Depending on the teacher, they can be far more work-intensive than taking a 10 question fact-recall test. So, in effect, students who have reading tastes beyond titles found on the AR quiz list are penalized.
* Not all teachers even inform their students of the alternatives.
* Book levels listed in the Renaissance Learning database, said to roughly correspond to grade levels, are flawed to the point of absurdity. For example, Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury is assigned a book level of 4.4; Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is 4.7; Golding’s Lord of the Flies is 5.0; and Alice Hoffman’s Aquamarine is 5.6. Meanwhile, the 32-page picture book Everything I Know About Pirates by Tom Lichtenheld is leveled at 6.1.
* Point values assigned to titles by Renaissance Learning are also flawed. For example, Shakespeare’s Macbeth is worth 4 points; Hamlet is worth 7; I Like It Like That, a Gossip Girl novel, is 8 points; Twilight, 18 points, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 44 points.
* Renaissance Learning recommends students take quizzes within 24 hours of completing a book, stating “If students have to wait longer to quiz and they do poorly, you won’t know if they had problems comprehending what they read or if they simply forgot some details.” Students here frequently cannot take quizzes in such a timely manner. Students often are unable to complete quizzes during class time and are instead directed to stay after school to complete a quiz.
* Counting quizzes toward a student’s overall grade actually discourages students from reading books that challenge them. For example, why would a student read a challenging, richly detailed book, thus risking an 80 on a quiz, when she could read an easy book and be assured a 100?
We appreciate the time and effort the school committee, the teachers and the school department staff put into helping us educate our children. Helping our children develop a love for reading is very important to us. It is something we have nurtured in them since birth. Our observation is that the middle school’s method of enforcing and monitoring at-home independent reading actually has a detrimental effect on our children’s desire to read. We think this is because the program takes something that should be fun and relaxing and turns it into work.
We trust you will all thoroughly review this curriculum, and make changes you deem appropriate. At the very least, we hope the school department seriously considers the Renaissance Learning advice and eliminates the grade portion of the program.
Thanks again for your attention to this issue. We look forward to hearing responses to our questions.
The parent has still not received a response.
But I thought the whole point of reading assignments in school was to kill any desire to read anything you were not forced to, or am I missing something?
:-)
February 24th, 2010 at 2:47 am
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That has got to be one of the most counter-productive “educational” programs I’ve ever heard of. I think the letter writer hit the nail on the head in asking what research the school system had to support the program. The answer clearly is none, and that is a problem that seems to pervade all our school systems.
Ironically, the schools are now staffed by people who are our worst nightmare of what our schools will produce: uninquisitive, unable to adapt to changing times, assembly-line types who have no vision of what the future will need and no sense of professionalism about their careers.
February 24th, 2010 at 7:53 am
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He said that while it is great my child likes to read, many students do not get support at home for reading.
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We had the same debate about reading logs. Some other kid doesn’t like to read, so your kid has to do AR? Huh? And the kids who don’t get support at home for reading will somehow magically do the AR?
Here’s what I think is really going on. The point of AR, like reading logs, is to generate paperwork which makes it look like the kids are reading. The paperwork is so valuable to the schools (especially the public schools) that the students’ desire to read pales in comparison.
This is why various complaints that sound so important to parents are meaningless to the school. For instance, I’m sure that kids are gaming the system and finding ways to ace the AR quiz without reading the book. You’d think that would bother the school, but I bet it doesn’t. Why should they care? They’ve got great-looking paperwork!
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I like this principal and it was a friendly conversation, but he made it clear the school would not consider making AR optional for everyone, or letting our family opt out because of our objections.
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This is what’s known in the trade as a “good principal”. He has found a way to make parents like him in spite of the fact that he has no intention of taking their concerns seriously.
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Counting quizzes toward a student’s overall grade actually discourages students from reading books that challenge them.
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Alfie Kohn makes this point all the time. It’s one of the basic de-motivating effects of grades.
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Our observation is that the middle school’s method of enforcing and monitoring at-home independent reading actually has a detrimental effect on our children’s desire to read. We think this is because the program takes something that should be fun and relaxing and turns it into work.
*****
Absolutely right.
February 24th, 2010 at 8:43 am
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In first grade, my son had to read a book a night, fill out a cut-out fish with the name and author of the book, and bring the paper fish to school the next day. The fish was put in a bowl and the teacher oulled out one fish. The owner of the fish rec’ a prize (small plastic thing). Only one prize per student was allowed for the duration of the program. Once my son has rec’d his plastic pen, he told me he didn’t need to read anymore -there was no point because he already had his prize. These programs are most likley doing the complete opposite of their intended purpose. [Luckily, my son "gets" reading for pleasure and we still read every night because we want to.]
Alfie Kohn has a lot to say about all kinds of incentive reading programs. Here’s one link, with annotated research.
http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/readingincentives.htm
Excerpt from the 2009 addendum:
Linda M. Pavonetti et al., “Accelerated Reader: What Are the Lasting Effects on the Reading Habits of Middle School Students Exposed to Accelerated Reader in Elementary Grades?”, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, vol. 46, no. 4, December 2002/January 2003: 300-311. This study found that “students who did not have AR in elementary school in these two districts are reading more relative to their AR-exposed peers” (p. 308).
February 24th, 2010 at 8:43 am
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All I can say is if a system like that ever infiltrated (like a virus) my child’s school, she would not be participating.
As it did last year at this time in Grade 2, the same problem of Novel Study has arisen in Grade 3 and again, reading has shut down in my 8 year old. As soon as she’s forced to read something, she won’t. And she doesn’t even read pleasure books at home right now. The teachers are getting it wrong. If you want young children to become avid readers they must be given the space to choose what they like…….
ummmm…just like adults.
February 24th, 2010 at 8:51 am
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Matthew says:
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Ironically, the schools are now staffed by people who are our worst nightmare of what our schools will produce:
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Matthew, great point. I remember the light-bulb moment I had a few years ago when I realized that schools are run and staffed by people who — shudder — actually liked school! No wonder I can’t communicate with them.
February 24th, 2010 at 8:56 am
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I should add that the features of school that are catnip to the average teacher or administrator — the control freakery, the regimentation, the conformity — are precisely the features that cause me to start looking for the nearest cliff to jump off of.
February 24th, 2010 at 9:07 am
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From “Bad Teachers”, by Guy Strickland:
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You need the principal, but he doesn’t necessarily need you. You are about to interrupt his normal routine and ask him to make some change that could upset his school or his teachers. This will not be the first time he has had to protect his school from “disruptive” influences like you, and he has lots of experience in defending the status quo.
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February 24th, 2010 at 9:30 am
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FedUpMom- You’re right. For the most part, the principal is very good at blowing everyone off. What I find astounding is how gullible the parents are! For the most part, they are being “played” at every turn and don’t know it. Have a problem with a teacher? You must be wrong because she has twenty letters written by parents telling them the teacher is wonderful. Don’t want to be involved with the PTA projects? The prinicpal will tell you how important it is for your child to see you involved with the PTA. Upset that they suggest your child should be tested for ADD? The principal’s child had ADD when he/she was in elementary school and the meds sure helped him/her. Have concerns about hiring a tutor? The principal’s children had tutors when they were little and it sure didn’t hurt! (Nothing about whether it helped or not.) Have concerns that a teacher is switching grades (like first to fifth- a big jump). Don’t worry says the principal…that teacher won a teacher of the year award five years ago and is fantastic in any grade!
Again, if the principal is well liked, the parents will believe any snow job their handed. It is sorta scary how gullible they are.
February 25th, 2010 at 10:52 pm
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It is so sad to see that a school system would, however unintentionally, abuse a wonderful program like Accelerated Reader. This program is intended to monitor IN-CLASS Reading PRACTICE. It should never be used punitively. The whole idea is to teach children to love to read. The student’s progress should be based on individualized research-based goals. Goals are set based on the child’s reading level, (NOT grade level.) The principal himself states that many children do not get support at home for reading. This is why Renaissance Learning says in-school time must be provided for reading, and reading time after school should not be mandated. Otherwise, as you say, you are only rewarding those who already love to read, while punishing those who may, for example, be charged with caring for 3 younger siblings while the parent works. The second piece of this is that AR monitors PRACTICE. Successful reading practice is critical to success in any field. Therefore the default “passing” score is 60%. Any child with an 85% average or higher on AR quizzes is experiencing successful practice.
As an experienced upper elementary teacher, I have successfully used Accelerated Reader for a number of years. I have seen the growth my students make, largely because they have a total (in small chunks) of 60 minutes per day to read in-class! They are immersed in literature all day, through read-alouds, read-togethers, content reading, and independent reading to name only a few. They achieve their attainable goals, and many reluctant readers truly love to read and beg for more reading time by year’s end.
It upsets me to hear of the ways that AR is misunderstood and abused, because I have seen such tremendous progress in children through its proper implementation.
One common misunderstanding involves the Book Level and the Point values. Renaissance uses the ATOS system to level books. This software analyzes EVERY word in the book and determines the average level of all the words. This is the “Book Level.” Most of the New York Times’ Best Sellers are written at a level no higher than 4 or 5, while many of the Classics are written at a much higher level. This is why Renaissance also assigns an “Interest Level” to each book. The points, on the other hand, refer to the length of the book; the number of words versus pictures. Thus, nearly all picture books are assigned a value of 0.5 points, while the Harry Potter you mentioned has 896 pages for 44 points, as opposed to MacBeth’s 192 pages for 4 points.
You are right to keep fighting for correct implementation of Accelerated Reader. Like all tools, used correctly it can create something wonderful, but used incorrectly, results can be devastating.
April 20th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
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