For parents of elementary school kids... what good is AR?

This single school, comparative study used a pretest-posttest control group design to examine the efficacy of the Accelerated Reader (AR) program on second grade students‟ motivation to read and their reading achievement. The relatively small sample of thirty-six participants attended an at-risk school, whose student population was deficient in meeting reading standards overall. These students had diverse needs and abilities. After twelve weeks it was determined that Accelerated Reader had no substantive impact on the treatment group‟s attitude toward reading or improvement of their reading abilities. It is suggested that AR may promote enthusiasm, fluency, and comprehension skills for those students who are independent readers but not for students reading below grade level.