About the AR Program in Vacaville Unified
Accelerated Reader is a
computerized guided reading program purchased by The Vacaville Unified
School
District
designed to build interest in reading. It
quizzes students on books they have read, testing their
understanding of the book. The questions and answers for the quizzes
are written by the software company Renaissance Learning.
Each child can
only take the test on a quiz that is owned by his or her school.
Quizzes must be taken on a school computer -- one that can log on to
the school district's network to access the RenPlace server.
Each book is given a reading level by Renaissance Learning, and students are encouraged to read books at their difficulty level. Students are assigned a reading range or "ZPD" (such as books from 3.4 to 4.6) based on a computerized reading test called Star Reading. Steering kids toward high-interest books at the appropriate level is an important part of the program.
The links on the previous page will provide the list of quizzes owned by each elementary and middle school as well as Country High. The lists are sorted a variety of ways, and include other details about each book such as the number of words in each, and an assigned point values for each book based on its length and difficulty.
Together, the two programs (Star Reading and Accelerated Reader) form a powerful incentive to getting kids to check out appropriate books from the library and read them at home or during silent reading time in class. The software program keeps track of the books tested -- the number of words even -- so that reports can be generated about the students' progress in reading. Unfortunately, there is no way for parents to log in to the system from school or home. Please contact your child's teacher for reports about their progress with the Accelerated Reading program.
BACKGROUND: The program was brought to Cooper Elementary in Winter of 2001 on a trial basis, and was quickly expanded school-wide the next school year. In early spring of 2002, Vacaville Unified received a grant from Vacaville's Buck Foundation to fund a literacy program in all schools K-8. The grant purchased software for all schools, quiz titles, and modern computers for any class still needing one to run the program. VPEF, The Vacaville Public Education Foundation, along with the Beelard Foundation in Vacaville have continued to support the reading program by providing computer equipment, books to the libraries, and money to purchase more quizzes at each school. These organizations have been key to the success of the program in Vacaville schools.
You can find out more about Accelerated Reader by looking at the company's web site at http://www.renlearn.com/ar.
If you still have questions about the lists or the program, please contact Barry Rico in the VUSD tech department.
Each book is given a reading level by Renaissance Learning, and students are encouraged to read books at their difficulty level. Students are assigned a reading range or "ZPD" (such as books from 3.4 to 4.6) based on a computerized reading test called Star Reading. Steering kids toward high-interest books at the appropriate level is an important part of the program.
The links on the previous page will provide the list of quizzes owned by each elementary and middle school as well as Country High. The lists are sorted a variety of ways, and include other details about each book such as the number of words in each, and an assigned point values for each book based on its length and difficulty.
Together, the two programs (Star Reading and Accelerated Reader) form a powerful incentive to getting kids to check out appropriate books from the library and read them at home or during silent reading time in class. The software program keeps track of the books tested -- the number of words even -- so that reports can be generated about the students' progress in reading. Unfortunately, there is no way for parents to log in to the system from school or home. Please contact your child's teacher for reports about their progress with the Accelerated Reading program.
BACKGROUND: The program was brought to Cooper Elementary in Winter of 2001 on a trial basis, and was quickly expanded school-wide the next school year. In early spring of 2002, Vacaville Unified received a grant from Vacaville's Buck Foundation to fund a literacy program in all schools K-8. The grant purchased software for all schools, quiz titles, and modern computers for any class still needing one to run the program. VPEF, The Vacaville Public Education Foundation, along with the Beelard Foundation in Vacaville have continued to support the reading program by providing computer equipment, books to the libraries, and money to purchase more quizzes at each school. These organizations have been key to the success of the program in Vacaville schools.
You can find out more about Accelerated Reader by looking at the company's web site at http://www.renlearn.com/ar.
If you still have questions about the lists or the program, please contact Barry Rico in the VUSD tech department.