The Effect of the Accelerated Reading Incentive Program on Motivation and Attitudes of
Second-Grade Male Readers
Meagan S. Hallengren
July 2004
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of using the Accelerated Reading
Incentive Program on the motivation and attitudes toward reading of second graders.
Three weeks prior to the start of this program, students were given a reading interest
survey and were also asked to record the number of minutes they read each evening on a
reading log. During the three week Accelerated Reading Incentive Program, students
were awarded one point for each minute they read in addition to bonus points for
completing an Accelerated Reader quiz on the computer. Analysis of students’ responses
on the logs suggest that the Accelerated Reader Program was effective in motivating boys
to read for longer amounts of time and also resulted in improvement in the subjects’
attitudes toward reading.