AR stands for Accelerated Reader. This program has been adopted as part of the reading curriculum at St. Joseph Grade School and Middle School in grades 1-8. The 1999-2000 school year was the first year that grades 7-8 had access to Accelerated Reader.
Accelerated Reader is a program that allows students to pick books they would like to read from an approved list. The teacher helps guide the student in the selection of an appropriate book based on their individual reading level. (Generally, these levels are determined either by standardized test scores, in-class assessment, or previous AR records.) Throughout the year, the teacher monitors the student's progress, and encourages each student to both select books they enjoy reading as well as challenge their reading levels. When a student completes a book, they take a multiple-choice test over the book on computer. The computer records the students scores, and maintains detailed records for the teacher.
Each individual teacher determines the best way to monitor this program for their students. Each book in the Accelerated Reader program has been assessed for reading level as well as given a point value based on word count and overall reading level. In my classroom, seventh grade students are required earn 15 points every nine weeks, and honors students are required to earn 25 points per nine weeks. (Honors students have an additional reading list requirement designed to expose them to a variety of classic novels.) Earning all of their points will give them a 100% for their Accelerated Reader grade which amounts to two test grades. Students are also rewarded with a variety of prizes for points they earn over their required points a nine weeks.
Students are given about 80 minutes per week to work on their Accelerated Reader books. This time is called Reading Workshop in my classroom, because the reading program currently in place most closely resembles the Reading Workshop that Nancie Atwell describes in her book, In The Middle, Writing, Reading, and Learning with Adolescents. I have merged the Accelerated Reader program with my Reading Workshop. (For more information on Accelerated Reader, please visit their web site.)