The Effects of the Accelerated Reader Program on the Reading Habits and Reading Frequencies of 4 th Grade Students By: Kathleen Wendt Thesis II Rowan University May 9, 2005

Description of the Accelerated Reader (AR)  What is the AR Program? Technology-based literacy program. Utilized in schools for grades K-12 in reading & math. Over 50,000 schools in the US have implemented this program.

Purpose and Objectives of this Study  Determine if participation in the AR program effected the reading habits and reading frequency in 4 th grade students. Objectives of Study  Determine if participation in the AR program effected the reading frequency of 4th grade students.  Examine in a library setting students’ reading choices and habits while using the AR program.  To compare changes in reading frequency using the variables of gender and reading level.

Review of Literature  Paul (1996). Greater amounts of reading practice, yielded increased reading frequency of students.  McKnight (1992). AR is propelled by innovative methods to improve reading habits of students.  Giddings (1991). Recreational reading programs, like AR were designed to encourage development of the “reading habit”.

Methodology  Research Design Survey research using a pretest and posttest questionnaire.  Subjects (n=38) Two groups of 4 th grade students in a public school library.  Data Collection Pretest and posttest questionnaire responses.  Data Analysis The comparison of the responses on the pretest and posttest questionnaires will be analyzed.

Pre-Test and Post-Test Reading Levels for 4 th Grade Students as Determined by 4 th Grade Teachers Pre-TestPost-Test No. of StudentsReading LevelNo. of StudentsReading Level Total = 38Mean= 3.67 Total = 38Mean= 3.97

Table 3 Number of Responses and Gender of Pre-Test Reading Survey Results Survey Question Number of Responses and Gender n =38 # ResponsesBG BG BG BG 1(26) Always1511(10) Sometimes 4 6 ( 2 ) Never 1 1 2(12) Always 7 5(21 ) Sometimes1011 ( 5 ) Never 3 2 3( 2 ) None 1 1( 3 ) ( 12 ) (21) ( 9 ) Always 5 4(27) Sometimes1413 ( 2 ) Never 1 1 5( 28 )Always1513(10) Sometimes 5 5 ( 0 ) Never 0 0 6( 3 ) Always 2 1(30) Sometimes15 ( 5 ) Never 3 2 7( 10 ) Always 5 5(25) Sometimes1312 ( 3 ) Never 2 1 8( 3 ) None 0 3( 4 ) (12 ) (19) ( 14 ) Always 7 7(18) Sometimes 9 9 ( 6 ) Never ( 26 ) Always1214( 8 ) Sometimes 5 3 ( 4 ) Never

Table 4 Number of Responses and Gender of Post-Test Reading Survey Results Survey Question Number of Responses and Gender n=38 # ResponsesBG BG BG BG 1( 38 ) Yes2117( 0 ) No 0 0 2( 7 ) Always 6 1(29) Sometimes1316 ( 2 ) Never 2 0 3( 1 ) None 1 0( 4 ) (15) (18) (37) Yes2116( 1 ) No 0 1 5(24) Always12 (14) Sometimes 9 5 ( 0 ) Never 0 0 6(10) Always 6 4(28) Sometimes1513 ( 0 ) Never 0 0 7( 9 ) Always 6 3(26) Sometimes1412 ( 3 ) Never 1 2 8( 0 ) None 0 0( 6 ) (11) (21) (14) Always 9 5(23) Sometimes1112 ( 1 ) Never (31) Always1615( 7 ) Sometimes 5 2 ( 0 ) Never 0 0 3

Discussion of the Findings  AR was significantly effective: In increasing the reading frequency of 4 th grade students. Reading habits and choices increased slightly higher for boys than girls. When utilized over time.

Conclusion  AR provided: Significant increases in the reading habits and reading frequencies of 4 th grade students  Future Study: Replicated with a larger student sample Conducted for a longer period of time Replicate in schools with/without AR program

Credits and References  Power Point by: Kathleen Wendt (2005)  Giddings, L. R. (1991). Literature-based reading instruction: An analysis. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED333350)  McKnight, D. (1992). Using the accelerated reader and other strategies and varied techniques to improve the reading attitudes of fifth grade students. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED350582)  Paul, T. (1996). Patterns of reading practice. Madison, WI: Institute for Academic Excellence, Inc.

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