Agreed. In fact we had a reading program in our elementary school that was so confining in what the child was able to read "to count" toward it that it almost destroyed the love of reading for one of our kids. Took away the joy and motivation by not allowing them to read above or below certain levels. Took up all their time leaving no room for outside relaxing reading. Couldn't wait to get through that. Talk about having an opposite effect.
My oldest just read what he wanted and didn’t participate in the reading program, which was really just a competition to see who could get an award plus some other rewards like a pizza party for reading the most books. The books he was reading would have landed him the top reader award by a wide margin, but he wasn’t reading for that. If I ask him, he will probably remember those books, which is more than I can say about the kids who are pressured to read age level books for the reading program.
That sort of thing happens even in Christian schools. My granddaughter read several grades above her grade level but was not allowed to buy books at the book fair or check out books from the library if they didn't fit into her grade category. At that point, my daughter made the decision to homeschool and it's been a great adventure.