Accelerated Reader VS Scholastic Reading Counts

[S.D.K.]

My 6-8 middle school is going to purchase either Accelerated Reader or
Scholastic Reading Counts. The money is already allocated, we just need
to decide which program to go with.

Some of our teachers have experience with AR, none have experience with
Reading Counts except for what the sales rep. presented. Most of us,
like myself, have experience with neither.

I would like to hear from teachers who have worked with either program.
What do you like about them? What do you dislike? What, in your
opinion, are the benefits or drawbacks of eac program? The Reading
Counts rep. said that many schools are switching to Reading Counts from
AR. I'd especially be interested in hearing from someone who's been
involved in such a switch.

Thanks so much!

[Hope Nicholson]

Hello,
I have worked with 1st graders on the AR program. The pros for this
program are: (1) it keeps up with the books read and tested; (2) creates
reports that are easily used for recording should you want to use them in
your grading system; (3) if provided, points are a good incentive to get
students to read.
The cons are: (1) tests are not always accurate on the contents of each
book; (2) tests are not rotated so that one student who takes the test can
discuss questions with another so memorization before the test is possible.

These are just a few things I know about AR. I hope this will help
you make your decision.
Hope Nicholson
S.D.K. <HisC...@flash.net> wrote in message news:37D130...@flash.net...

[Charlotte and Ed Lammers]

Hope Nicholson wrote:
>
> Hello,
> I have worked with 1st graders on the AR program. The pros for this
> program are: (1) it keeps up with the books read and tested; (2) creates
> reports that are easily used for recording should you want to use them in
> your grading system; (3) if provided, points are a good incentive to get
> students to read.
> The cons are: (1) tests are not always accurate on the contents of each
> book; (2) tests are not rotated so that one student who takes the test can
> discuss questions with another so memorization before the test is possible.
>

This is supposed to be why many schools are switching. The
Scholastic program has multiple versions of the test for one
book, students can't cheat in this manner.

--
Charlotte S. Lammers

"This will be on the test and
yes, spelling does count."

[Laurie Cooper]

I used AR my first year in teaching 7th grade English because it was on the
computers in my room and my mentor told me how wonderful it is. WRONG! AR
asks 10 (sometimes 20) questions about a NOVEL! The questions themselves
are very picky and specific; I only got 8 of 10 right for Charlotte's Web.
If you have readers who work very slowly, they will probably not experience
success with AR because they can't remember the fine details the questions
demand. I personally don't like "discussing" reading that way (answering
random questions). I don't think that is how you create life-long readers.
I have never used the Scholastic program you mentioned, but I have never
used AR since the first six weeks of my first year of teaching. I enjoy
reading response logs much better even though it takes about triple the time
to complete! Good luck in your search!!! L. Cooper/Virginia

[Angieline]

AR works. We have it in our school and the kids love. I am not familiar with
the Reading Counts, but I do know our kids like it.
Angie Carpenter
Marshall County, Mississippi