Accelerated Reader
 (AR)

Cost per student per year: $10.00 per student based on 250 students (including a $4.00 per student fee).

The one-time fee for Accelerated Reader is $1,499.00 ($599 for an upgrade from previous versions). It includes Accelerated Reader software, software/technical manual, installation guide, testing instructions, and access to over 100,000 quiz titles.

Cost for subsequent years: $4.00 per student per year ($1,000 minimum). It includes software upgrades, updates, expert technical support, district-wide management, and reporting access.

Other pricing models are available.

Computer access is required.

Testers will require less than 1 hour of training.

Paraprofessionals can administer the test.

Accommodations:

The standard version of Accelerated Reader has been used successfully with students with learning disabilities, hearing impairments, and vision impairments.

Recorded Voice Quizzes are appropriate for students with developmental and learning disabilities, beginning readers, or English language learners who are not yet capable of responding to on-screen quizzes. These quizzes have audio support and the text on the screen is read as it appears.

Students with visual impairments have used the program by reading books on tape, books read aloud, and similar adaptations with the tests read aloud to them (by a person or screen reader) or using Recorded Voice Quizzes while someone else enters the students’ answers.

Accelerated Reader is accessible through alternate input devices that connect through the mouse port.

Renaissance Learning, Inc.
PO Box 8036
Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54495-8036
www.renlearn.com
Phone: (800) 338-4204

Field tested training manuals are available and should provide all implementation information.

Ongoing technical support is available from the Renaissance Learning technical support staff.

Accelerated Reader is intended to promote individualized reading practice and progress monitoring. There are three main steps to Accelerated Reader:

1. The student selects and reads a library book or textbook.  Teachers guide students to select titles within a zone of proximal development determined by the student’s reading grade equivalent score on any norm-reference standardized test.
2. The student takes an AR quiz on a  computer, which assesses the student’s comprehension of key elements of the book’s content. 
3. Teachers can use the reports to guide instruction, monitor student independent reading, and help the student select appropriate reading materials.

AR can be administered for individual or group of students in grades K to 12.

AR may be used with any core or supplemental reading curriculum.  Although it is a flexible system, Renaissance Learning does recommend a set of best practices for classroom implementation.

An Accelerated Reader quiz takes approximately 2-10 minutes to administer. Scoring is automated and does not require any additional time.

Raw scores, percent correct, and points earned are available. Cumulative percent correct across multiple quizzes over a specified period of time is also available. In addition, a proprietary point system reflects the length of a given book, its difficulty, and the proportion of quiz questions a student answers correctly. Reports generated automatically by Accelerated Reader can include all of these scores.

No alternate forms are available, but there are over 100,000 quiz titles.