Guest Blog #2: Judy Grevett, Headteacher, River Beach Primary School
29 June, 2016
In the second and final instalment of our current guest blog series, Judy Grevett, Headteacher at River Beach Primary School in Littlehampton, returns to finish her Accelerated Reader (AR) story so far and explains why: ‘Practice what you preach’ has played a pivotal role in embedding such a positive reading culture throughout the whole school…
Why can't quizzes be available straight away?
23 June, 2016
The posters have gone up on the bus shelters. The pre-order has been made. The book has dropped on the doormat. The student has read it from cover to cover in a few hours. He has logged into Accelerated Reader and… there isn’t a quiz available yet.
How can I request a book to be quizzed?
23 June, 2016
We are often asked when a particular book will have a quiz made available for Accelerated Reader. Sometimes these are new publications, and the book is currently in our editing process. Other times, they are slightly older books that we haven't yet come across. One way or the other, if we know that a book is highly sought-after in schools using AR we will make every effort to produce a quiz for that book.
What makes a book non-quizzable?
23 June, 2016
While we make every effort to produce a reading practice quiz on the books that students are reading, from time to time we find that books are unsuitable for quizzing with Accelerated Reader. The reasons for this vary, but all centre on the fact that we never compromise on the rigorously developed and enforced standards on the quality of our quizzes.
What are AR book levels... and what are they not?
23 June, 2016
Accelerated Reader uses the ATOS formula to determine book levels - a measure of the complexity of the text. But what are book levels? And what are they not? Our Managing Editor explains how they are determined and how they should be used in conjunction with other measures to ensure that students are reading books that are appropriate for them.
Why are there AR quizzes for books with adult content?
22 June, 2016
AR quizzes are available for several books that handle adult themes and use adult language. In this FAQs article, we look at why we produce quizzes for these books.
Guest Blog #1: Judy Grevett, Headteacher, River Beach Primary School
23 May, 2016
After a successful short Ofsted inspection last month, Judy Grevett, Headteacher at River Beach Primary School in Littlehampton, has taken the time out to share some poignant learnings with us here at Renaissance Learning. With the development of a positive reading culture a topic very close to her heart, Judy has some touching advice on how to inspire a love for reading (even with the most reluctant readers). In Part 1 of her guest blog series, Judy shares her experience as to why: ‘Reading is a journey, not a destination…’
Testing times for pupils necessitates a re-think in our approach to primary assessment
18 May, 2016
A recent piece of research published by the National Literacy Trust and Coventry University into the effectiveness of AR in improving children’s enjoyment of reading found that children who use the AR programme enjoy reading “quite a lot” more than those who do not (58% enjoy it compared with 51% who do not). This is significant as it shows that assessment, when implemented formatively, can help increase children’s enjoyment of learning and literature.