From: Beth Wheeler Dean <bethdean>
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2004 10:05:03 -0500

Dear Cammie,

You have hit on my favorite soapbox. In our community (Huntsville, AL) AR has become the driving force in our school systems (2 city and 1 county). All 80+ schools own different tests. All books in a series do not have tests. The grade levels do not take subject matter into consideration. Some teachers are so rigid about grade levels that we have patrons saying,
"My child needs a book between 5.5 and 6.1 grade levels." Children choose books by point value, not interest. Children basically do not read for fun. They read for points. The points that have to be met in a grading period do not leave them time to read non-AR books.

Another point that bothers me is that children can and do read and enjoy a book, then take the test and fail. They get no credit for reading that book. There are no more book reports, no more discussions, no more book-related assignments, just take the test.

I hear time and time again from parents that say their children loved to read until they began using AR in their classrooms.

When I first heard about AR, I thought it would be an excellent program. It had good books that were not just the popular stuff. It's now been taken to the extreme at least in my area.

Thanks for the time to vent.

Beth Wheeler Dean Head of Youth Services Huntsville Public Library Huntsville, AL 256S2Y82 bethdean at hpl.lib.al.us
Received on Wed 13 Oct 2004 10:05:03 AM CDT