Students can’t read

The crisis of students being unable to read is a measurable, generational collapse in literacy that extends from elementary students lacking phonics to high schoolers who cannot comprehend complex texts.  40% of fourth graders cannot read proficiently, and 32% of twelfth graders scored below Basic on the 2024 NAEP reading assessment, the lowest level since the test began in 1992. 

Key factors contributing to this decline include:

• Neurological Impact of Technology: The mere presence of smartphones reduces working memory and fluid intelligence, while reading on screens suppresses comprehension-related neural activity compared to paper reading. 

• Reliance on AI: Early use of generative AI creates “cognitive debt,” reducing neural connectivity and preventing students from building the mental stamina required for sustained analysis.

• Instructional Failures: Many students were taught via sight words rather than explicit phonics, leading to memorization without true decoding skills.  Additionally, Common Core-influenced instruction often replaced sustained reading with short, disconnected passages, preventing the development of reading stamina.

• Grade Inflation and Policy: High schools often pass students regardless of literacy levels to maintain graduation rates, and the lack of dedicated reading instruction in middle and high schools leaves older students without support for the gap. 

In the classroom, this manifests as students who can decode words but lack comprehension, struggling to infer meaning, follow long arguments, or retain information from texts even when read aloud

The Scope of the Crisis

The data confirms a historic low in literacy. The 2024 NAEP Grade 12 Reading Assessment reveals that the average score dropped 3 points from 2019 and is 10 points lower than in 1992, the first year the test was administered.  Only 29% of twelfth graders performed at or above the “Proficient” level, while 32% scored below “Basic,” meaning they cannot reliably locate details or make simple inferences from text.  This decline is universal, affecting scores at the 10th, 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles, indicating that the collapse impacts both struggling and average readers, not just the lowest performers.