@albnelson@bookstodon as a former English teacher I was the opposite. Let me students choose whatever book they wanted from the Provincial "approved" list.
Search -Approved Novels Alberta pdf.
It included Heinlien, McCaffrey, Asimov, Scott Card, as well as other fiction.
No tests, just had to respond personally to each chapter or set number of pages.
If parents objected to books on the list they could substitute one of a similar reading level