Literacy in the United States is plummeting. According to the National Endowment for the Arts, or NEA, 19 percent of 17-year-old American citizens have never (or hardly ever) read a book, a value that has more than doubled since 1984 and coincides with a steady decline in reading comprehension among American teens.
The results of dropping literacy rates in the United States are shocking. Ninety-three million Americans currently read at or below the basic level needed to contribute to society. Employers increasingly report reading and writing skills as major deficiencies in their new hires. More than 50 percent of students at four-year colleges do not score at the proficient level of literacy, and almost 70 percent of college freshmen spend less than an hour per week reading for pleasure, resulting in lower rates of academic achievement and career growth.
This phenomenon likely stems in part from the proliferation of “smart” technology in society; the instantaneous and non-demanding medium of video — along with the limitless distractions programmed into smartphones and video game consoles — has contributed to a societal disinterest in the less immediate craft of the written word. However, while it certainly contributes to the problem, imparting the blame solely on “smart” technology is a counterintuitive method of addressing this national crisis. In reality, dropping literacy rates can be attributed to failures in the infrastructure of the educational experience; numerous students — particularly at the stage of elementary education — simply do not receive the support they need to maintain interest in reading, resulting in lower rates of academic engagement as they grow older.
While it may not be evident to students at the University — a majority of whom grew up in a nurturing educational environments — 65 percent of fourth graders read at or below the most basic levels required to comprehend simple literature, meaning less than one-third of fourth graders in the United States can be labeled as “proficient” readers. This percentage is a direct result of the immense disadvantages in reading skills faced by low-income children. According to a study from Princeton University, the gap in reading levels between those growing up in the tenth percentile of income distribution and those growing up in the 90th percentile is 1.25 standard deviations, a clear indication of a self-evident fact: children in low-income communities receive lower quality education both at school and in their home environments.
Students who do not achieve proficiency in reading by the end of their elementary education are significantly more likely to drop out of high school. While the direct link is difficult to track, the NEA states that the fact that nearly one-third of Americans drop out of high school is “deeply connected” to dropping rates of literacy and reading comprehension in the United States. Lower levels of reading proficiency correlate strongly with lower levels of academic, civic and social engagement, as well as lower “quantitative” literacy, such as basic mathematical and problem-solving skills. All of these adverse effects indicate an unfortunate truth: students who never achieve reading proficiency in elementary education experience a general trend of low self-esteem and academic motivation as they grow older.
Evidently, the issue of literacy needs to be addressed at the level of elementary education. This initiative is central to Reading is Fundamental, a charity that specializes in providing books and promoting enriched reading tactics (through online enrichment activities and professional development for teachers) to children across the country. Frank Bruni, a columnist for The New York Times, highlighted the benefits of Reading is Fundamental in a recent op-ed, writing, “reading tugs [children] outside of themselves, connecting them to a wider world and filling it with wonder. It’s more than fundamental. It’s transformative.” As simple as it sounds, providing children with access to books can be an enormously effective method of raising interest in reading for pleasure, subsequently raising students’ reading proficiency. Coupled with enriched classroom settings that promote critical thinking and creativity, the initiative can have an immensely positive impact on literacy rates in the United States, tapping into the notion that all children are inherently curious and can be molded into passionate, active and perpetual learners if they are given the opportunity.
However, Reading is Fundamental alone will not solve the national crisis in reading proficiency. The reason children in low-income environments face such lower literacy rates can be largely attributed to conditions outside the classroom, which a remedy of books and education tactics hardly addresses. It is imperative that lawmakers make the connection between reading proficiency and long-term self-esteem, for if this connection becomes an active component of policy, the benefits of intervention into elementary education can have exponentially positive consequences. Improving children’s capacities to learn — whether that be through cleaning up urban streets, increasing benefits to low-income families or directing more funds toward public elementary education — will have a direct impact on reading proficiency, subsequently planting a seed of motivation in students that will last for a lifetime.
Ryan Gorman is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at r.gorman@cavalierdaily.com.
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