Accelerated Reader Improvement Project

Proposal to Improve Pupil Progress

G. Fry
Accelerated Reader is a useful tool that raises literacy achievement for all students who participate.
However, at present Icknield High School is not using this facility to maximum benefit.
Having investigated the potential of AR this week I have outlined below the reasons I believe have caused
lack of utilisation and propose possible scheme of action, in order to raise the literacy achievement of all
KS3 students.

Reasons for under utilisation

1. Lack of knowledge and understanding of the Accelerated Reader calculation methods as an aid to
setting meaningful student targets, by all staff involved.
2. Lack of training on the available reports available through AR
3. Lack of knowledge of ZPD and ATOS data and the application to students through insufficient
training.
Reasons for poor pupil progress
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Teachers may not always check that their students are reading AR reading scheme books.
Appropriate reading levels are not being set by the class teachers, but by the librarian.
Lack of knowledge of the ZPD levels by all staff concerned.
Lack of knowledge about how ZPD levels should be applied to the setting of student targets.
Lack of a meaningful reward system to encourage students to read AR books and take quizzes.
Lack of a breadth of books on the AR list within the library causing the students to disengage with
reading.
7. AR data shows that pupils who read every day make the most progress. It recommends that students
in secondary schools read for 30 minutes every day and that this should be built into the school day,
to enable the more reticent students to achieve that aim.
8. Students must have a library card to take out books, but are easy to lose and cost 50p to replace. This
is a key issue to address, as students often do not have a book in their bag for library lessons, nor can
they borrow a book.

Proposed action to address the above issues

1. Teachers are made fully aware of the reports available through AR.
2. Teachers to keep an AR file of TOPS reports for each student to monitor student progress.
3. A copy of the TOPS report should be put into the student folders with teacher comments and targets
written in the relevant sections of the report.
a. Targets and reports should be completed during the Library Lesson time. This will create no
extra time burden on English staff.

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4. Students should be STAR tested at the start of every term to set initial targets, track progress and
refine targets.
5. Teachers set meaningful targets, using the ZPD data. The Librarian, as the administrator, inputs this
data onto the system.
6. A meaningful reward system that can be applied across KS3 and encourage the more reluctant
readers.
7. An advice booklet be sent out to parents via parent mail (hard copies for those without email) on how
to support their child with the AR system
8. A reading list to be created on www.lovereading4schools.co.uk. The reading list is created by the
school online.
a. Parents can buy books at discounted prices.
b. For every 100 spent by parents the school would get a 5 book voucher to spend on the
website.
9. Students to be reading a minimum of 30 minutes of every school day.
10. The library card system needs a whole school push for importance. If reading books were seen as a
non-negotiable part of school equipment and enforced by a detention it would encourage students
not to lose their cards and to take out books. Tutors already support curriculum areas with short
detentions for lack of homework, lateness, etc. monitored on SIMS and this would be part of that
process.

With regard to point 9, I am fully aware that the school has spent a considerable amount of money on books
for Tutor time. However, these books vary considerably in their ATOS reading levels. This raises the
following concerns:
1. Differentiation is not applied within Tutor Time
2. The lower ability students find books too difficult and disengage
3. The higher ability student finds the book too easy and disengages

It is not suggested though that these books are a waste of money, far from it. I do, however, propose that the
school consider a slight change to the way it approaches literacy across the school.
1. That the literacy books purchased for tutor time still be read.
2. Students who find the books too challenging might be able to read an alternative AR book
appropriate to their reading level.
3. Students are encouraged to read the books independently, at their own speed, if they are not doing so
currently. This will allow the more able, who finish the book quickly to use an AR book appropriate
to their reading level, whilst the remainder of the class are finishing their copy of the book.
However, Tutor reading time may only 10-15 minutes of the school day and falls short of the
recommended 30 minutes minimum within a school day. This could be addressed as a whole school
policy as follows:

For the first 10 minutes of every lesson students are expected to come in, sit in their seat and read.

Advantages:
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1. Students will not need to line up outside of the class room.

2. A quiet settling activity that allows the teacher to transition between lessons, and to make note of late
arrivals without disruption to the main lesson.
3. With regular enforcement from all teachers students would soon get used to the routine.
4. 10 minutes reading for all academic subjects, plus reading in Tutor registration students should meet
the minimum 30 minutes per day.
5. AR reading levels should improve across the school.
Disadvantages:
1. Students may arrive late to lessons to avoid reading.

Solutions:
o Teachers would sanction lateness, as they would normally, whereby the student can catch up
on their reading after school.
o Teachers would need to ensure that all lateness is logged on SIMS.
o Year Room would then pick up regular offenders and SIMS teachers to make them aware of
the issue, as they would with any behavioural patterns to support staff and departments.
o Regular offenders could catch up with reading time in a department detention after school.
o Provided all teachers are on board students would soon realise they are expected to read as
part of the school day.

These are my initial findings and I would be grateful for your consideration of my thoughts.

G. Fry

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