For example, in a post on her blog for parents, one fifth-grade teacher explains:

Our first reading unit this year is all about developing independence as readers. We have already been busy learning and reviewing things that powerful readers do. We know that reading, like any other skill, is developed through practice. Today we learned that powerful readers keep and analyze reading logs. We will be logging our reading at school and home each day. I am asking students to keep track of the amount of time they spend reading at home each week. They are required to read 100 minutes per week.

Unfortunately, this well-intentioned strategy may have serious pitfalls.

As a psychologist (and a parent), I have long opposed reading logs because of abundant research on the negative effects of external controls (such as rewards, deadlines, and assigned goals) on intrinsic motivation. In other words, when motivation to do an activity comes from outside, via rewards or mandates, it tends to undermine people’s interest in doing that activity for its own sake. This decline in motivation ultimately affects enjoyment, creativity, and even performance.

This research would suggest that reading logs have a similar effect on children’s reading habits, especially their desire to read for fun, making reading less of a pleasure and more of a chore. Imagine telling your child that she must draw pictures for at least 20 minutes daily—and also record how much time she spent drawing and how many different colors she used.

Until recently, however, there were no formal studies testing whether or not reading logs were actually promoting reading. A study published a few years ago, to surprisingly limited attention, in the Journal of Research in Education found that, indeed, reading logs can have a detrimental effect on students’ interest in and attitudes toward reading.

In the study, more than 100 second- and third-graders in 14 classrooms were divided randomly into two groups by class: The first was given a mandatory reading log, the second, a voluntary log. The students in the mandatory group were assigned to read each night a minimum of 20 minutes, to record their reading in the log, and to get a parent signature. The students in the voluntary group were encouraged to read, but teachers emphasized that the reading log was completely optional.

Students were tested to measure their interest in and attitudes toward reading both before and after the study. The results? Students assigned the mandatory log showed diminished interest in recreational reading and also more negative attitudes toward reading after the study concluded. In contrast, the voluntary group showed an increase in both interest and positive attitudes. Although this study wasn’t exhaustive, it suggests that reading logs may undermine their intended goals.