Accelerated Reader is a progress-monitoring system that provides feedback on the comprehension of books and other materials that students have read. It also tracks student reading over time. Currently, more than 180,000 different Accelerated Reader quizzes have been developed and are in use. This report provides reliability and validity data for Accelerated Reader quizzes. The reliability analyses use a large database of nearly 1 million quiz records. Validity is established through correlations with scores from 24 standardized reading tests and through a study that confirms that the quizzes are effective at discriminating between instances of students having read the book versus not having read the book. The report also includes descriptions of the purpose and intended classroom use of Accelerated Reader, descriptions of the types of quizzes, and the processes for quiz development. The report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R35806>.

DETAILS: Location: 19 U.S. states, 1 Canadian province; Design: Correlational; Sample: 29 elementary, middle, and high schools; Measure: Library circulation measurements; Duration: Data spans 2-6 years. RESULTS: A number of research studies document the positive impact of Accelerated Reader on student reading achievement, motivation, and the amount of reading. One would expect that the combination of improved student motivation and teacher encouragement to read would affect library circulation. The purpose of this report was to review and summarize existing research on Accelerated Reader where library circulation was reported, which included 25 case studies, 3 journal articles, and 1 dissertation. The results showed that it is reasonable to conclude that students read more books while using Accelerated Reader, and are perhaps more motivated to read than before their schools implemented the program, so it can be expected that library circulation will increase. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R37737>.

DETAILS: School Profile: 304 students in grades K-6; Demographics: Inner City, Urban, Title I, Free/reduced lunch: 72.7%, English Language Learners: 38%; Race/Ethnicity: American Indian/Alaska Native: 2%, Asian/Pacific Islander: 25%, Black/African American: 28%, Hispanic/Latino: 13%, White: 32%; Measure: Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA); Duration: 1999-2003. RESULTS: Sheridan Elementary began implementing Accelerated Reader in spring 2000. In fall 2002, funding from a comprehensive school reform grant enabled them to also adopt Accelerated Math and Accelerated Writer. Since spring 1999, the percentage of students in grades 3 and 5 scoring proficient in reading and math on the MCA increased an average of 43.5 points. Between August 2003 and March 2004, Sheridan students read more than 22,000 books. In addition, the school received the St. Paul Schools Superintendents Academic Award for continuous school improvement 5 years in a row on standardized tests. In Spring 2004, 10 educators achieved Renaissance Model Certification and the school attained Model School status in spring 2004. REPORTING EDUCATOR: Nancy Mambi, librarian/Title I reading teacher. (Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of this study from the Renaissance Research Department.)

DETAILS: Location: Large city in upper Midwest; Design: Independent, experimental; Sample: 2 third-grade classrooms and 2 fifth-grade classrooms; Measure: Star Reading; Duration: 6 months. RESULTS: Although there is correlational evidence showing that students who read more have higher achievement, the National Reading Panel has stated there was insufficient evidence to determine the direction of causality. This study was conducted to address this shortcoming in the literature and the question: Does more time spent reading produce higher achievement? Students were randomly assigned to spend either 40 minutes (experimental condition) or 15 minutes (control condition) per day independently reading. All students read books matched to their reading abilities, and took an Accelerated Reader quiz after reading each book. Pretest and posttest data were collected from all students in this study. The researchers concluded that more time spent reading had a greater effect on achievement compared to the control condition. In addition, the results showed that poor readers tended to have greater gains in vocabulary with 15 minutes of reading but had better gains on reading comprehension with 40 minutes of reading. AUTHORS: S. Jay Samuels, EdD and Yi-Chen Wu, PhD. Report available online: <https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=ce1f459adbbae5978d07378bd5611e045efd4f04>

DETAILS: Location: St. Paul, Minnesota; Design: Independent, quasi-experimental; Sample: 67 students in grades 3 and 5; Measures: Star Reading, Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE), Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM); Duration: 6 months. RESULTS: This study took place at a school where 64% of the students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. It compared students that completed book reports, which resulted in delayed feedback, and students that completed Accelerated Reader quizzes, which provided immediate feedback. The GRADE was used to measure vocabulary, sentence, and passage comprehension; a CBM of oral reading fluency was used to determine the students' reading speed. The results revealed that students who used Accelerated Reader showed significantly higher gains on 3 measures of reading achievement compared to students who completed book reports and received only delayed feedback. In particular, students receiving immediate feedback through Accelerated Reader demonstrated twice the gain in reading comprehension of students not using Accelerated Reader. AUTHORS: S. Jay Samuels, EdD and Yi-Chen Wu, PhD. Report available online: <http://testmaker.if-at.com/home/articles/file/research/immediate_feedback.pdf>.

DETAILS: Location: Throughout the US; Design: Independent, peer-reviewed; Sample: 659,214 students in grades K-12 at 2,193 schools; Measure: Accelerated Reader data. RESULTS: This study provided further evidence of the positive relationship between amount of reading practice and reading ability. In addition to gathering Accelerated Reader data for the study sample, 13,000 schools were also surveyed for the project, and the ethnicity and socioeconomic status of these students were found to be generally similar to U.S. students as a whole. Consistent with other research in the field, the study found that students in the highest quartile practiced reading 3.4 to 4.1 times more than students in the lowest quartile. In addition, the top 5% of readers read 144 times more than bottom 5%. The data also suggested that, on average, amount of reading practice increases until 6th grade and then declines. Finally, it was observed that schools using Accelerated Reader for 4 or more years had a 64% higher level of reading practice compared to schools using Accelerated Reader for 1 year. PLEASE NOTE: The Summary of this peer-reviewed journal article: Topping, K. J., & Paul, T. D. (1999). Computer-assisted assessment of practice at reading: A large scale survey using Accelerated Reader data. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 15(3), 213-231 is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R33255>. For a copy of the Full Article, email the Renaissance Research Department: research@renaissance.com.

DETAILS: Design: Correlational; Sample: Data for 659,214 students in grades K-12. RESULTS: This study of reading is one of the largest ever conducted and collected reading performance data for 659,214 K-12 students. Key findings concluded students spend only seven minutes per day practicing reading, and reading practice declines markedly after 5th grade. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R11830>.