Most Americans can't read this article

On Oct.1, 2024, Rose Horowitch published a now-viral article in The Atlantic entitled “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books.” Horowitch spoke with 33 different professors, including Nicholas Dames, a professor who has taught literary humanities at Columbia University since 1998. Dames assigns what today is considered an exceptionally heavy reading load – one full book every week or two.  

Dames has noted, however, when he began teaching literary humanities, students had no problem reading and discussing such substantial amounts of material, while, today, many of his students do. He noted a particular instance that sparked concern – one of his students came to him in his office hours, telling him she had never been required to read a full book in school. 

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/11/the-elite-college-students-who-cant-read-books/679945/?utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share  

If students at prestigious institutions such as Columbia have never read a book before, what does that mean for society at large? 

In my own classes at Troy, I have noticed a similar trend. In one of my upper-level history classes, we were asked to read five books throughout an entire semester. The longest one was a mere 337 pages. Most students in the class did not do all, or even the majority of, the assigned reading. Many of those that did struggled with the amount of reading. 

This inability to read among many college students isn’t our fault. College students today have not magically become lazier than our 1990s counterparts, but the task to read an entire book, let alone to analyze and discuss it critically, seems daunting to those who have never been taught how to do so. 

Outside of a collegiate environment, the situation becomes even more dire. 

In 2023, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which is an intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, partnered with the United States Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to conduct a study of American literacy as part of the OECD’s Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). The PIAAC divides respondents into five levels of literacy.  

Those who fall into the Level 1 category, according to NCES, can read, albeit at a very low level. For example, a Level 1 respondent could read a website that contains multiple job postings and determine which one is seeking out an employee to work the night shift.  

https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/piaac/measure.asp?section=1&sub_section=3 

https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/piaac/measure.asp?section=1&sub_section=5 

A Level 2 respondent would need to have the ability to make basic inferences, such as knowing they should select “Contact Us” on a webpage in order to locate the phone number of a business they wished to call. However, as of 2023, 28% of American adults could not complete such a vital task, as they scored at or below a Level 1 on the PIAAC.  

The 57% of American adults who can only complete Level 1 and Level 2 tasks on the PIAAC are considered partially illiterate. Many of these adults struggle to read and comprehend a job application, or a voter registration form.  

When 57% of adults in our nation have been failed by the education system and are illiterate, we must realize it is time for a change. Educators, both at the K-12 and collegiate level, must take care to require students to read, to teach reading skills, to ensure their students can read, and to help them learn critical analysis skills. Even if a K-12 student does not want to attend college or have an academic career, it is vital they are able to read so they can comprehend and fill out paperwork, such as leases, voter registration forms and job contracts, with informed consent. 

From students at elite colleges to working-class adults residing in marginalized communities, the American Literacy Crisis has touched us all.  

If you have made it to the end of this article, congratulations! This article has a Flesch-Kinkaid score of 40, placing it at a “college level”, well above the Level 1 and Level 2 categories of the PIAAC. If you have been able to read, comprehend and paraphrase this article, use the privilege of being educated and literate to help others in your community, and remember the fact that 57% of your counterparts have not been so fortunate. 

Can we honestly call ourselves the greatest country in the world if most of us cannot read?