Accelerated Reader Program at White Pine

Everything you ever wanted to know about the
Accelerated Reader
program but didn’t know who to ask.

The Accelerated Reader program is a national franchise.A financial gift to the Boise School District from the Kathryn Albertson Educational Fund brought this program into use here in Boise in 1994.It is a computer-based activity that allows a student to take a comprehension test after reading a book.Each book has a separate test.Tests questions are based on the story content and are multiple choice.Tests are geared to reading levels.

There is a STAR test given to students to determine their reading level.The student is then given a number that indicates their reading and comprehension level – for example:John is a second grader. He takes the computer-based STAR test after reading some materials.He is then given a number, such as span such as 2.1 – 3.4.This indicates:

2.1     =    Second grade, first month (September)
3.4     =    Third grade, fourth month (December)

His top ability is to read like a third grader, four months into the school year.A span like this is not unusual.

The A.R. tests are protected by license and are not available for use on the Internet.They can only be accessed at this time through a school.White Pine students have computers with A.R. accessibility in their classrooms, the Library and their computer-lab.Some teachers require a point accumulation per quarter, some do not.Ask your child’s teacher  about their reading program to find out what your student will need to accomplish.The Library at White Pine currently has thousands of Accelerated Reader tests.

*Accelerated Reader tests are purchased twice a year with monies earned at our annual school-wide Scholastic Book Fairs. Tests are purchased in November and February of each school year.The Librarian is responsible for all test acquisitions.Student and staff requests are the priority, as are all new titles purchased during the year for our permanent collection. *Any titles listed on Accelerated Reader print-out from our Library will guarantee that we have that test – but not necessarily that book.This is due to the fact that some of our tests were given to us as a gift several years ago and not necessarily something we would normally need or purchase.However, since we have the tests for some of these, students could borrow books read books from their own collection or those from the public library and then take a test.

*The Youth Services Department (Children’s Dept.) of the Boise Public Library keeps a copy of all the White Pine tests available and are kept updated with new tests when we receive them. When visiting the library downtown, just ask at their desk and they will let you use their copy.

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