eighth grade. On the other hand, within the same period, the control group only managed to increase their scores by 42 points. What was even more impressive was that students in the AR group had lower average pretest scores than the control group students. The AR group students also demonstrated an improvement in their attitudes towards reading. Similarly, Facemire's (2000) comparison of the performance of third graders in the AR program and the control group showed a significant increase in reading comprehension scores between the pre-test and the post-test of the STAR Reading Program among the AR students within just nine weeks.
However, Mathis' (1996) research study on 30 sixth graders who participated in the AR program indicated that no gains were made in reading comprehension. Using the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT), Mathis compared the increases in the scores made by the sixth graders during the year with the gains in their scores during the previous year. The results indicated that the students' mean score dec
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