Declining elementary reading comprehension scores, disengaged high schoolers, and college students who can barely make it through a Jane Austen novel: the public narrative regarding childhood and youth illiteracy is decisive––kids simply aren’t learning how to read.
The Growing Literacy Crisis
Generally speaking, the sentiment that kids have fallen behind in reading is supported by existing research indicating that post-pandemic literacy rates have fallen across the United States. Notably, around 65% of fourth graders lack proficient reading skills, an alarming statistic that remains consistent across most age groups. Critically, childhood literacy deficits are especially pronounced for racial minority groups and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. This fact is especially concerning given that problematic reading patterns often persist as children age, as evidenced by observational accounts of diminished reading abilities among college students and pervasive functional illiteracy in the adult population.
The personal and societal impacts of the literacy crisis––reduced economic mobility, lessened sociability, and hindered cognitive development––are manifold and detrimental: adults with low literacy earn around $24,000 less than those who are proficiently literate, individuals who read fiction more regularly score better on empathy tests, and adults who did not aquire sufficient literacy during education perform more similar to children than fully literate adults on cognitive assessments. Despite these overt and striking outcomes of childhood illiteracy, elucidating the origins of this emerging crisis is a complex task.
Are social-media-shortened attention spans to blame? Post-pandemic curricula that deemphasize reading? Spiralling wealth inequality? All of these explanations likely hold some merit. Yet remediating these macro-level problems demands systemic solutions that are not only strategically difficult to implement but also infeasible under an administration that actively seeks to ban books and defund public education. In fact, under rightwing censorship laws, over 10,000 books were banned during the 2023-24 school year, a threefold increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, calls from conservatives to end the Department of Education have pressed on––President Trump’s longtime goal that could soon become reality.
The Death of “Reading for Fun”
Focusing squarely on how external factors prevent kids from learning to read may neglect a more foundational issue: kids are not just struggling to read; they are reading less. Survey data shows that the share of kids who read for fun has declined significantly in the last few decades. The constant allure of short-form content consumption is, unsurprisingly, a driver behind the decline in reading for pleasure. However, the way kids and teens conceptualize the “goal” of reading appears to be another contributing factor.
In an interview for The Atlantic, public school teacher and librarian Jennifer LaGarde notes, “There’s a whole generation of kids who associate reading with assessment now.”
The notion that children’s relationship with reading affects their actual enjoyment is consistent with the fact that the most significant drops in reading for pleasure occur during the early teenage years, between 13 and 16. As kids age and are met with mounting schoolwork, reading shifts from a treasured pastime often spent with family to an unwelcome chore.
A Path Forward
Yet there is nothing inherent about children’s decline in reading for pleasure. Parents and teachers have a shared responsibility in developing children’s understanding (and appreciation) of reading, and, without careful attention, students can quickly adopt a negative view of books.
Professor of Professional Education and former elementary school teacher Dr. Kathrina O’Connell said, “When we focus on reading skills and strategies, and we put that ahead of actual reading and rich reading experiences, that ‘skill and drill’ work becomes very boring [to students].”
By engaging in read-alouds, allowing kids to collect and feel ownership over their books, and framing reading as a gift rather than a burden, parents and educators can help cultivate a genuine appreciation of books. Parents, in particular, have a unique responsibility to foster this love early on––not only by modeling the behavior themselves, but also by creating routines, discussing stories with their children, and finding books that align with personal interests and hobbies.
On a policy level, reading must be continually emphasized as a vital part of education. Still, reducing books to the material for standardized tests and homework prevents kids from unlocking a genuine love for reading. Of course, prolific systemic barriers remain: library accessibility, underfunded school districts, and racial inequities continue to undermine the aim of higher childhood literacy. However, in lieu of all-encompassing fixes, the ethos of solving childhood illiteracy must recognize that the prevailing way to get kids to read is by getting them to enjoy it.