A look at the reading habits of the students

Do the students here at AHS read? A survey was sent out to find out, and it received 110 responses.

For the question “How books many have you read in the past year FOR SCHOOL?”, the answers were varied. The highest amount was 5 with 21.6%. The number of responses saying 3 and the amount saying 4 were tied with 19.8% each. An answer that stood out was, “I skimmed enough books to probably add up to like three.”

The next question was if the students actually read the books or if they look up summaries and ask their friends or if they do a mix of both. 45.9% said they actually read, but 15.3% look up summaries or ask their friends. 38.7% responded that they did a mix of both.

33.3% said that they have read zero books, not for school in the past year. The highest numbers for this were 40, 39, and 31 books. Currently, 50.5% are not reading books for pleasure and 49.5% are reading not for school.

Students should read for pleasure. Studies show that reading helps with learning in all subjects, not just English. There are other benefits including better well-being and able to feel more empathy.

The survey also asked for favorite books. Some answers were the Harry Potter series, The Hate You Give, And Then There Were None, The Book Thief, Warbreaker, The Lie Tree, and Some Kind of Happiness. Some books to stay away from, according to the survey, are Great Expectations, The Blood Red Horse, The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, Tess of the Dubervilles, and The Passage. Students should go pick up a good book and read.