These books may be good on their own, but add the stress of assigned reading, and reading becomes dreadful. Photo courtesy of freshman Fiona Spurlock.

  Whether it’s reading after they finish work or during a break, many students are reading at San Luis Obispo High School. Despite this, most students are consuming content that they don’t connect with. A majority of the time when students are reading, they’re reading books assigned by the school.

  It’s been proven that assigned reading diminishes satisfaction with reading, making it a chore rather than a leisurely activity. This added pressure completely ruins the art of reading for many students, few continuing to read outside of books assigned by their teachers. 

  “Occasionally, I’ll read outside of class, but if it’s not assigned reading I usually don’t put in the effort to actually read on my own time,” said freshman Vyolet Burrus.

  This doesn’t mean that school assigned reading is what’s getting them to read, however, as many students that formerly enjoyed reading stop enjoying the activity as a whole after they start being assigned books. These assigned books are ones that most students probably won’t connect with or enjoy, setting them up to automatically hate the idea of a school-assigned book even if it’s a book the student would normally love. 

  In 1984, a study on assigned reading was conducted of 3,339 students spanning from fourth through twelfth grade. It showed that as a student ages, their satisfaction with reading drops significantly.

  “The problem with [assigned reading] is that it isn’t always what I’d like to read. I’m either reading no books, or I’m reading assigned reading books that are decent at best,” said Burrus.

  Assigned reading is getting people to read, and assigning reading works extraordinarily well for some students that lack motivation to read otherwise. Despite this working well for some students, just as many are stressed from assigned reading. Those that experience stress from assigned reading frequently end up getting behind on their reading, or not doing it at all, causing their grades to drop.

   “Assigned reading creates resentment because you’re being forced to do something that’s often quite difficult with limited time,” said freshman Ava Rhodes.

  Students who have a strong disdain of reading rarely do the reading, many opting to simply use SparkNotes for the exams, making it difficult for them to take something out of assigned reading

  Whether it’s loved or hated, the facts can’t be ignored. Assigned reading significantly diminishes the enjoyment of reading. What’s the point of mandated reading if it’s hurting students? 

  Source: yalsa.ala.org