Accelerated Reader

Langston Aerospace and Environmental Science Magnet School's Title 1 program purchased the Accelerated Reader and S.T.A.R. Reading Assessment programs during the 1997-1998 school year. The program is designed to encourage children to read and to practice their reading skills by reading books on their individual reading level.

The program is very simple and works very well.

1. Student's individual reading levels are assessed using the S.T.A.R. Reading Assessment Program. This program provides us with the student's ZPD (zone of proximal development) which is the reading range in which each student should read. The material in each child's ZPD should be easy enough for them to read but also allow them to be challenged a little.

2. Once the students have been assessed and their ZPD set they begin reading books in our library that have been correlated to the Accelerated Reader Program. The books have been coded with colored dots so that students may quickly choose books that are in their ZPD range.

3. After reading an Accelerated Reader book in their ZPD, students take a short, computerized quiz on the book to determine their comprehension of the book. If they pass the quiz, they earn points.

The Accelerated Reader Program is individualized since each child is reading on their assessed level. The goal of the program is to encourage students to read more and to become better readers. Reading practice is critical to becoming a successful reader. Better readers are more successful in school in all areas of the curriculum.

We currently have approximately 3000 Accelerated Reader books and quizzes for our students to progress through. Our Accelerated Reader collection begins at the kindergarten level and ends at the ninth grade level so that all of our students can participate in the program, regardless of their reading level.