Research

One hundred studies reviewed by the WWC investigated the effects of Accelerated Reader or some subset of its components. Two of these studies (Ross, Nunnery, & Goldfeder, 2004; Bullock, 2005) are randomized controlled trials that meet WWC evidence standards. The remaining 98 studies do not meet either WWC evidence standards or eligibility screens.

Ross, Nunnery, & Goldfeder (2004) was a randomized controlled trial that included 45 teachers and 572 students in grades K–3.⁵ The study took place in 11 schools in Memphis, TN. Within each school, a minimum of two teachers within one grade volunteered to be randomly assigned to implement either the intervention, Accelerated Reader, or the comparison, a commercially available basal reading program used across all schools. The study examines student outcomes during the first year of implementation.

Bullock (2005) was a randomized controlled trial that included 32 students from two third-grade classrooms in grade 3 in one school near Eugene, OR.⁶ The students were randomly assigned to the intervention group or the control group. The intervention group implemented Accelerated Reader for 10 weeks, spending at least 90 minutes a week independently reading trade books in the classroom and taking Accelerated Reader quizzes on each book. The control group also spent at least 90 minutes a week reading independently, choosing any book available in the school library, and not using the Accelerated Reader software.

Extent of evidence

The WWC categorizes the extent of evidence in each domain as small or medium to large (see the What Works Clearinghouse Extent of Evidence Categorization Scheme). The extent of evidence takes into account the number of studies and the total sample size across the studies that meet WWC evidence standards with or without reservations.⁷

The WWC considers the extent of evidence for Accelerated Reader to be medium to large for comprehension and small for reading fluency and general reading achievement. No studies that meet WWC standards with or without reservations examined the effectiveness of Accelerated Reader in the alphabetics domain.