We use AR in our school but we have only just moved over to it. I am involved in it in a volunteer capacity.
Firstly, when the children reached year 3 they came off banded books and became "free readers" so they could pick any book. Due to the vast range of levels lots of children didn't choose books they could read and understand and this caused issues. Lots just kept the same books for months and how would anyone know if they had actually read it before they replaced it?
Also your school won't have changed the books they originally offered, just put them into the appropriate bands.
The quizzes are not a test of your memory but your understanding of the book. Some books in the scheme are over 300 pages.
There is a 30 minute slot allocated to AR each day in our school, and there is no way you can sit fannying about on the quiz for 30 minutes whilst you flick through an unread book to find the answers.
If a child understands the book then they would be achieving a much higher rate than 60%. In our school you have to get about 85% on 3 tests to move on a level. If a child consistently achieved only 60% we would be recommending that they read it twice before attempting a quiz.
The only way to show your child is understanding the book is to get a high score on the quiz.
Yes, it does force children to choose books they may not have picked before, however, it does allow them to experience a wider range of books, genres, and subjects and yes they can discover what books they don't like as well as what they do like.
As for Project X books, I don't believe that any of our own Project X books are on a high level for reading. The child chooses the book, not the teacher unless they are in year 2 where they may be guided toward books. As all the books are listed in their reading record we would strive to persuade a child to different genres and authors.
Our school is having a competition for the points earned, the children I have read with are very motivated. We have a lot of boys reading books to the end for the first time.
We have a language deficit in our school meaning children are not exposed to new words and this is apparent in their literacy. The children who read the most have the widest vocabulary. We moved onto this scheme because it has proven very successful in raising literacy levels in local schools to us.
Children will start on their lowest levels to build confidence in their reading ability. Please support your school, listening to a child read takes 5 minutes.