READING INCENTIVE

PROGRAMS
Helpful or Harmful?
What are Reading Incentive
Programs?
According to Dictionary.com, an incentive program is
defined as:
noun
A formal scheme for inducing someone (as employees) to
do something.
A school reading incentive program could therefore
be defined as:
noun
a formal scheme for inducing someone (as students) to
read.

What is the goal?
Reading incentive programs have various goals,
including:
To increase the amount of time a child reads.
To instill a love of reading.
To raise students reading achievement.
To raise students test scores.
Some Familiar Reading Incentive
Programs
Accelerated Reader
Summer reading programs
Readers choice awards (e.g. Caudill and Abe)
Battle of the Books
Book It! (Pizza Hut)
Six Flags Read to Succeed
Author visits
Overall Benefits of Reading Incentive
Programs
Students are motivated to read and often receive
tangible rewards.
Many schools report increased time reading by
students.
Computerized test models ensure that students
are reading thoroughly and comprehending.
The more a student practices reading, the better
he/she becomes at it.
General concerns about reading
incentive programs
Alfie Kohn, in his book Punished by Rewards: The Trouble
With Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, As, Praise, and Other
Bribes, argues that extrinsic rewards can actually work
against the desired behavior for these reasons:
Anything presented as a prerequisite for something else that
is, as a means toward some other end comes to be seen as
less desirable. In other words, If they have to bribe me to do
this, it must be something I wouldnt want to do.
Rewards are usually experienced as controlling, and we tend to
recoil from situations where our autonomy has been diminished.
Rewards smother peoples enthusiasm for activities they might
otherwise enjoy.
Do rewards motivate people? Absolutely. They motivate people
to get rewards.
General concerns about reading
incentive programs
Programs might encourage reading for the wrong
reasons.
The Book It! program (bookitprogram.com) rewards kids
with pizza for reading a certain number of books. This
encourages students to read short, simple books.
Educational psychologist John Nicholls suggested that this
program would probably produce a lot of fat kids who dont like
to read.
Six Flags Read to Succeed
(readtosucceed.discoveryeducation.com)rewards students
for reading 600 minutes. The enticing reward of a ticket to
Six Flags does not encourage further reading.

Accelerated Reader
Accelerated Reader (AR) is the most commonly used
computerized reading management software program.
In this program, students read specific books that are
labeled with reading level and point value.
After reading the book, students take a computer-
based test for comprehension. They answer 5 or 10
questions and receive points based on the point value
of the book and their test results.
Students can use their points to buy various prizes (e.g
toys, pizza parties, trips, etc.)

Benefits of Accelerated Reader
Rewards entice most students to read.
Reading more books is like practicing any skill.
Students set goals and work towards them.
Students like getting immediate feedback on their tests.
Provides reading specialists with accurate documentation
of student reading practice.
According to the ARs Renaissance Learning
(www.renlearn.com)
There is consensus among key federally funded organizations charged
with evaluating educational products that Accelerated Reader is fully
supported by scientifically based research. Moreover, these
organizations agree that AR is effective in improving students reading
achievement.


Concerns about Accelerated Reader
Students may choose books based on point values
rather than interest.
Students wont read outside their reading level or
outside the program.
Student self-esteem can be impacted by lower ability
levels and/or embarrassment.
Library skills deteriorate if books are organized by
reading level.
Collection development can be skewed towards
program books.
Extrinsic rewards have a negative impact on reading
enjoyment.
Summer Reading Programs
Most public libraries offer summer reading programs
to keep children reading throughout the summer.
The Illinois Library Association (ILA) offers a
cooperative summer read program called iREAD for all
Illinois libraries (www.ila.org)
iREAD provides libraries, large and small, with all of the
resources they need to promote, launch, and execute great
reading programs.
The program rewards students for minutes spent reading.
Summer Reading Programs
The 2012 iREAD theme is Reading is So Delicious

Summer Reading Program
Kids visit the public
library regularly
during the summer
months.
Tangible rewards can
effectively compete
with other activities
such as electronics.
Reward-type incentives
shift childrens goals
from enjoying a reading
experience to winning a
contest.
Extrinsic motivation
encourages
dependence on lures
and irrelevant rewards.
Pros Cons
Readers Choice Awards
The Illinois School Library Media Association (ISLMA)
sponsors three Readers Choice Awards: www.islma.org

Abraham Lincoln (grades 9 12)
Bluestem (grades 3 5)
Monarch (grades K 3)

Separately, there is an award for middle grade readers:

Rebecca Caudill (grades 4 8)www.rcyrba.org

Readers Choice Awards
Schools can register to participate in these
programs for a minimal charge (~ $10).
Librarians creatively display the nominated books.
Students can vote for their favorite after theyve
read a predetermined number of nominees.
Librarians submit votes and a winner is
announced!
Readers Choice Awards
These can be effective reading incentive tools
because they:
Give students ownership and pride in choosing the
winning book.
Engage students in conversations with librarians and
teachers about the books theyve read.
Expose students to a manageable number of quality
books from which to choose.
Various contests can be created around these
awards to add excitement.

Battle of the Books
Battle of the Books is a team-based reading competition. It
can take place within schools, school districts or public
library districts.
Students read a variety of books and answer questions
posed by a moderator.
Teams usually include 4- 6 students per team with one
captain
America's Battle of the Books (battleofthebooks.org) is a
voluntary reading incentive program for students in grades
3-12. The purpose is simply to encourage students to read
good books and have fun while competing with peers.
Chicago Public Schools Battle of the Books
(www.youtube.com)

Battle of the Books
Exposes students to a
variety of books they
might not otherwise
read.
Encourages reading
and teamwork.
Honors all participants
for their participation.

Students may be
focused on competition
versus the enjoyment of
reading.
Requires a large time
commitment for
teachers, librarians,
volunteers and
students.


Pros Cons
Author Visits
Bringing real, live authors to visit a school brings excitement and
celebrity status to the author.
It encourages students to read books by the visiting author before and
after the program.
Students can be inspired to create their own work.
An authors enthusiasm is contagious!
It can be very expensive. Try to collaborate with other schools or use
Skype.
For ideas for authors, see Scholastics web site: teacher.scholastic.com
Elements of effective reading
incentive programs
Students receive intrinsic rewards, such as verbal
praise and positive feedback.
Extrinsic rewards encourage further reading in some
way (e.g. students win books, bookmarks, book store
gift certificates.)
Students set their own reading goals.
Students choose their own reading materials.
Students have access to a variety of books
Students have more time for recreational reading (e.g.
sustained silent reading)

Citations
Howard, Sue N. A School Librarian's Dilemma: Computerized Reading Incentive
Programs. Book Report November/December 2001: 52-53. Print.
Johnson, Doug. Creating Fat Kids Who Dont Like to Read. Book Report
September/October 1999: 96. Print.
Kohn, Artie. Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, As,
Praise, and other Bribes. New York: Houghton Mifflin. 1993. Print.
Renaissance Learning: Advanced Technology for Data-Driven Schools. 2012. Web. 14
July 2012.
Rogers, Lynn. Computerized Reading Management Software: An Effective Component
of a Successful Reading Program. Journal of Childrens Literature Fall 2003: 9-14. Print.
Small, Ruth V. Reading Incentives that Work: No-Cost Strategies to Motivate Kids to
Read and Love it! School Library Media Activities Monthly May 2009: 27-31. Print.
Stauffer, Suzanne M. Summer Reading Incentives: Positive or Pernicious? Children
and Libraries Summer/Fall 2009: 53-55. Print.
Steiner, Diva Agazzi. Money Changes Everything. Want your students to read more?
Just Pay Them. School Library Journal October 2000: 35. Print.
Citations
Dictionary.com. IAC Corporation, 2012. Web. 13 July 2012.
Battleofthebooks.org. Americas Battle of the Books, 2012. Web. 19 July 2012.
Teacher.scholastic.com/products/tradebooks/inviteanauthor.htm. Scholastic, Inc.
2012 Web. 19 July 2012.
Bookitprogram.com. Pizza Hut , Inc. 2012. Web. 19 July 2012.