Ask a high school student about the last book they read, and you may be disappointed to learn they never cracked open The Catcher in the Rye or trudged through Shakespeare. Instead, they turned to AI for a tidy summary and analysis, good enough to ace the required essay without ever turning a page.
The reality is that students are doing worse in reading, if they are reading at all. American high school seniors just recorded their worst reading scores since 1992 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the nation’s report card. The results show that today’s average score is 10 points lower than the first 12th-grade reading assessment in 1992.
These losses could be attributed to any variety of factors: endless scrolling on social media, increases in screen time or the pandemic’s impact on learning. But whatever the causes, the consequences are clear.
Students today are graduating with dangerously weak reading skills, at a moment when communication and critical thinking have never been more essential. In an era where perfectly curated algorithms reinforce the content we want to see and short TikTok videos have fried our attention spans, critical thinking, the very kind reading encourages, is becoming a casualty of the digital age.
And the problem is bigger than test scores. A recent study found that the number of Americans who read for pleasure has plummeted 40% over the last two decades.
Whether it’s a magazine, a book or even this newspaper, reading for pleasure is one of the last defenses against intellectual stagnation. As reading declines, so does our willingness and ability to confront new ideas, leaving us isolated inside ideological bubbles we may never leave.
At the same time, Texas lawmakers have decided that students no longer need to pass the English II assessment to graduate high school. This is the first time in a decade the state is easing graduation testing requirements — precisely when students need more structure and support to develop strong literary skills, not less.
Some educators are looking for ways to combat AI and technology in classrooms. More universities are reinstating blue books and oral exams, rethinking how assignments are structured. The Wall Street Journal reported that sales of blue books at Texas A&M University were up more than 30% for the 2024-25 school year.
These types of assessments are the right call, but higher education can’t solve this alone. K-12 schools need to double down on literacy instruction, parents need to model reading at home, and lawmakers should be investing in programs that encourage sustained reading, rather than lowering the bar.
The reading crisis is a reflection of what we prioritize in schools, what we celebrate in our culture and how we choose to spend our free time. Reading must demand our attention if we hope to raise thoughtful and informed citizens.
