In short
- Positive feedback raised interest in the reward experiments, while expected tangible rewards for doing a task lowered later free-choice interest.
- Rewards close to reading did less harm: pupils given a book as a prize stayed more motivated to read than pupils given a token.
- Paying for books read and checked showed more promise than paying for test scores, and a surprise award once lowered the very behaviour it praised.
- Use rewards as records and feedback about reading, keep public recognition collective, and check that pupils still read when the rewards stop.
Every school runs some kind of reading reward, from a sticker chart to a prize-giving assembly. Some of these rewards raise reading. Others raise it while they last and leave pupils less keen afterwards. This article sets out the main kinds of reward for reading: praise, books as prizes, money or points, privileges, badges, streak records and public recognition. For each, it reports what research found and how strong that evidence is. It ends with design rules and a sample plan for one term.
Which reading rewards actually motivate?
The rewards most likely to help are the ones that point back at reading. Specific praise for how a pupil read, a book as the prize, and a record of stories finished all keep attention on the reading itself. The riskiest are tangible prizes promised in advance for simply taking part, and public awards that make reading look like something unusual.
No reward works by itself. A prize cannot make a text that is too hard readable, or give pupils time they do not have. Rewards sit on top of the basics: texts at the right level, some choice, and time to read. For pupils who avoid reading altogether, start with strategies for reluctant readers and treat rewards as a small part of the plan.
What research found about each kind of reward
Two large meta-analyses frame the debate. Deci, Koestner and Ryan (1999) pooled 128 experiments. Rewards given for doing, finishing or doing well at a task lowered later free-choice interest in it, as did tangible and expected rewards overall. Positive feedback raised it. Cameron and Pierce (1994) pooled 96 experiments and found little overall harm. They found one negative effect, from expected tangible rewards given simply for doing a task, and judged it minimal.
The two teams disagree about how large and how general the harm is. They agree that praise does better than prizes. Do Reading Certificates Motivate Students? explains the disagreement and the experiment that started it. The table below goes beyond certificates to every common kind of reading reward.
| Reward | Example | What research found | How strong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Praise and feedback | Telling a pupil what they did well as a reader | Raised interest across experiments, when sincere and not built on comparison | Strong, from two meta-analyses and a review |
| A book as the prize | Choosing a book to keep after a month of reading | Did less harm to later reading motivation than a token prize | One study of third-grade pupils |
| Money or points for books read | A small payment for each book read and checked by a quiz | Paying for reading looked better than paying for test scores or grades | One large set of trials in US schools; mixed results |
| Privileges | Choosing the next class read-aloud | We found no study that tests privileges as reading rewards | Untested; practice only |
| Badges | A badge for ten stories finished at A2 | Badges raised activity on one website over two years | One field experiment, not in a school |
| Streak records | A chain of days with reading | Studies of streaks in activity logs, reported in the daily streak article | Consumer research, not pupils |
| Public awards | A certificate in assembly for reading every day | Surprise attendance awards lowered later attendance in one large school trial | One randomised field experiment |
Praise and books: rewards that point back at reading
Praise is the reward with the best record, but not all praise helps. Henderlong and Lepper (2002) concluded that praise can undermine motivation, raise it or make no difference. Praise that a child sees as sincere helps most when it credits effort and strategy, supports the child's autonomy, builds competence without heavy comparison with others, and sets standards the child can reach.
Classroom example: praise that points at the reading
Weaker: 'Well done, you're the best reader in the class.'
Stronger: 'You re-read the page when the plot got confusing, and it worked. You got every question on that chapter right.'
Stronger: 'You chose a harder story this week and finished it. What made you keep going?'
Books make better prizes than tokens. Marinak and Gambrell (2008) gave third-grade pupils a book, a token or no reward, then measured how far they persisted with reading. Pupils given a book, and pupils given nothing, were more motivated to read afterwards than pupils given a token. The authors concluded that a reward close to the desired behaviour matters. Note what the study does not show: the book did not beat no reward at all.
Paying for reading: what the incentive trials found
The largest test of reading incentives in schools comes from economics. Fryer (2011) ran randomised trials in over 200 urban schools in three US cities. In Dallas, second-grade pupils were paid $2 for each book they read and passed a short quiz on. In New York, pupils were paid for scores on interim tests. In Chicago, ninth-grade pupils were paid for their grades.
In the published analysis, the overall effect on achievement was not statistically different from zero in any of the three cities. The one significant effect was for English-speaking pupils in Dallas, the group paid to read books. Paying for test scores and grades showed no clear benefit.
No school needs to pay pupils, and this was one set of trials with first-language readers in the United States. The useful lesson is about the target of a reward. A plausible reading, and it is only that, is that pupils know how to read a book but may not know how to raise a test score. A reward for reading done, checked lightly, gives them something they can act on today.
Badges and streak records
A badge is a reward that also works as a record. Hamari (2017) ran a two-year field experiment on a peer-to-peer trading website with 2,989 users. After badges were added, users posted more trade proposals, completed more transactions and commented more. The users were members of a trading service, not pupils reading books. Still, it is real evidence that badges can raise activity outside a laboratory.
Badges have also backfired when combined with leaderboards in a course. Gamification in the Language Classroom: What Works covers that evidence and the risks. Some practical rules for reading badges follow from the research above, though none has been tested directly:
- Tie each badge to reading done. Ten stories finished at the pupil's level, a full week of daily reading, a first story at a new level.
- Publish the criteria before pupils start. A badge that arrives for unclear reasons tells the pupil nothing.
- Use tiers. A bronze, silver and gold version of the same badge gives slower readers a first goal they can reach.
- Avoid badges for simply logging in. They reward attendance at the screen, not reading.
A streak record counts days in a row with reading. It makes a habit visible and gives a pupil a reason to read today. It also carries a risk: a pupil who loses a long streak may feel there is nothing left to protect. How to Build a Daily Reading Streak in Your School covers the research on streaks and the rule for missed days.
Privileges and public recognition
Privileges are cheap and popular: first pick of new books, choosing the class read-aloud, reading in a special corner. We found no study that tests privileges as rewards for reading. If you use them, choose privileges that are themselves reading. That follows the logic of the book-prize finding, applied by reasoning.
Public recognition needs more care than most schools give it. Robinson, Gallus, Lee and Rogers (2021) ran a randomised field experiment with 15,329 students in US schools, using awards for perfect attendance. Awards announced in advance did not improve attendance on average. Surprise awards for past attendance lowered later attendance. Attendance also fell after the announced awards were withdrawn.
Survey experiments in the same paper suggested why. An award can signal that the rewarded behaviour is neither the norm nor expected. Receiving one can tell pupils they have already done more than was expected of them. The study was about attendance, not reading, but the warning carries over. An assembly award for 'reading every day' may tell the rest of the school that daily reading is unusual.
Collective recognition avoids much of this. Celebrate what a class or house achieved together, and present reading as what everyone does. House Reading Competitions shows how to build a team score that depends on every pupil.
Design rules for a reading reward system
These rules apply the findings above. Where a rule goes beyond the evidence, it is our reading of it.
- Reward reading done, not test scores. Count stories finished at the pupil's level, checked with a short quiz or a one-sentence summary.
- Keep rewards close to reading. A book, a choice of the next story, extra time to read.
- Praise specifically and often. Name the strategy or the effort, not the rank.
- Surprise more often than you promise. Avoid announcing tangible prizes for simply taking part.
- Make records, not bribes. Badges and streaks should show pupils what they have read.
- Recognise groups in public and individuals in private. Frame reading as the norm.
- Plan the exit. Count how many pupils read before the scheme, during it, and a month after it ends.
Classroom example: a term's reward plan for an A2 class
A class of 28 pupils aged 12 reads short A2 stories. Each story finished and checked with three quiz questions adds a stamp to the pupil's own reading record. Bronze, silver and gold badges mark 5, 10 and 20 stories, with criteria on the wall from day one. Each Friday the teacher gives specific spoken praise to four pupils. Twice a term, without warning, pupils who have read steadily choose a book to keep. The class total goes on the board; individual counts stay in the record.
How iRead handles this
In iRead, badges unlock automatically as students play, in tiers, and track streaks, hint-free clears and mastery across games. Students also earn certificates and keep a Reading Passport, one record of their reading. In the daily run, reading is the only way to score. Public leaderboards show school-level results only, and a student sees their own standing privately inside the app.
The core principle: Reward the reading, not the rank. The best rewards are feedback and records that tell a pupil what they have read and how they are improving.
See it in iRead: Students earn trophies, badges and certificates and keep a Reading Passport. In the daily run, reading is the only way to score, and public leaderboards show school results only.
See the reading competitionKey takeaway
Use praise, books and honest records of reading as your main rewards. Keep promised prizes rare, recognise groups rather than individuals in public, and check that reading lasts after the rewards stop.
Frequently asked questions
What are good reading incentive ideas for students?
Choose incentives that point back at reading: a book to keep, the choice of the next class story, extra free-reading time, badges for stories finished at the pupil's level, and specific praise. Avoid tangible prizes promised just for taking part, which lowered later interest in Deci, Koestner and Ryan (1999).
Do reading rewards kill the love of reading?
They can, depending on the reward. In experiments, expected tangible rewards lowered later interest in activities people already enjoyed, while praise raised it. A book as a prize did less harm than a token in Marinak and Gambrell (2008). Keep rewards close to reading and fade them over time.
Should schools pay students to read?
Few schools would, and the evidence is mixed. In Fryer (2011), the overall effect of payments on achievement was not statistically significant in any city. The one significant effect was for English-speaking second graders in Dallas, paid to read books. Rewarding reading done looked better than rewarding test scores.
Are reading awards in assembly a good idea?
Use them with care. In a large trial on attendance, surprise awards lowered later attendance, perhaps because awards signalled the behaviour was unusual (Robinson and colleagues, 2021). Prefer collective awards for a class or house, and give individual recognition privately, with specific praise.
Do badges motivate students to read?
They can raise activity. Hamari (2017) found that adding badges increased activity on a trading website over two years. No study we found tested reading badges with pupils. Tie each badge to reading done, publish the criteria in advance, and use tiers so every reader can earn one.
Sources
- Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R. M. (1999). A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 125(6), 627-668. doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.125.6.627
- Cameron, J., & Pierce, W. D. (1994). Reinforcement, reward, and intrinsic motivation: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 64(3), 363-423. doi.org/10.3102/00346543064003363
- Henderlong, J., & Lepper, M. R. (2002). The effects of praise on children's intrinsic motivation: A review and synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 128(5), 774-795. doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.128.5.774
- Marinak, B. A., & Gambrell, L. B. (2008). Intrinsic motivation and rewards: What sustains young children's engagement with text?. Literacy Research and Instruction, 47(1), 9-26. doi.org/10.1080/19388070701749546
- Fryer, R. G. (2011). Financial incentives and student achievement: Evidence from randomized trials. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 126(4), 1755-1798. doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjr045
- Hamari, J. (2017). Do badges increase user activity? A field experiment on the effects of gamification. Computers in Human Behavior, 71, 469-478. doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.03.036
- Robinson, C. D., Gallus, J., Lee, M. G., & Rogers, T. (2021). The demotivating effect (and unintended message) of awards. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 163, 51-64. doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.03.006