ERIC Number: EJ817076
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Apr
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1081-3004
EISSN: N/A
How the Accelerated Reader Program Can Become Counterproductive for High School Students
Thompson, Gail; Madhuri, Marga; Taylor, Deborah
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, v51 n7 p550-560 Apr 2008
Two pressing education reforms entail improving students' reading skills and improving high schools in the United States. In this article, the authors focus on both of these issues by adding the voices of students in an underperforming high school to the discussion about reading reform. We present the results of a larger study pertaining specifically to the views of students who participated in eight focus groups, in which students questioned the implementation of the Accelerated Reader (AR) program. There were five reasons that students did not like the program's implementation and claimed that it did not increase their motivation to read, making AR counterproductive. The results suggest that reading reform strategies that may work at the elementary level may not be as effective for adolescents, and that in order for true high school and reading reform to occur, the views and unique needs of older students must be examined and taken more seriously.
Descriptors: High Schools, Focus Groups, Educational Change, Reading Skills, High School Students, Reading Programs, Reading Improvement, Reading Instruction, Acceleration (Education), Program Implementation, Federal Legislation, Sustained Silent Reading, Adolescents, Questionnaires
International Reading Association. 800 Barksdale Road, P.O. Box 8139, Newark, DE 19714-8139. Tel: 800-336-7323; Fax: 302-731-1057; e-mail: customerservice@reading.org; Web site: http://www.reading.org/publications/index.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California; United States
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: No Child Left Behind Act 2001
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Stanford Achievement Tests
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A