I'm coming in late, but here's my $0.02. AR in elementary school has worked for my kids in motivating them to read. A few yrs ago we were limited by which books were on the AR, but now almost everything seems to be on it. If the school library doesn't have a lot of higher level books, the public library does. I do not like AR to be the entire reading "curriculum" for a kid. Luckily, we also do "book studies", where the class reads a book in class together and has worksheets, discussions, projects. My 3rd grader is currently doing a book study on Lois Lowry's "Number the Stars", so he's learning about WWII and the Holocaust as well as some analysis of the book (theme, characters, plot, etc.)
I am not an advocate for AR after elementary school.
If AR does not fit your child and she's already an avid reader, I would talk to teacher/principal to see if accommodations can be made.
