Ability to Read

I recently wrote an article on corporation’s recruiting college graduates only at “Elite Colleges & Universities.” I have also written concerning “speed reading” and “concierge services” for college students.”

Yesterday, I read an article by Preston Fore, in Fortune Magazine, titled “Gen Z are Arriving to College Unable to even Read a Sentence-Professors Warn it Could Lead to a Generation of Anxious and Lonely Graduates.”

Wow! I could hardly believe my eyes. After reading this article, I decided to do a little research on the subject.

In this article, the author states that “students are arriving to classrooms, unable to complete assigned reading on par with previous expectations.”

As a result, colleges are lowering their expectations of the students. I was stunned. No wonder there has been serious grade erosion at colleges and universities.

However, if one considers what has been happening in the “tech” arena, this is really not a surprise. Young people today, text rather than talk, to their peers. Texting is abbreviated. Reading isn’t stressed, at home or in school.

I thought, if one can’t read, how can they write? My research indicates the truth in that hypothesis.

It is believed that over half of all Americans did not read a single book in 2025. Also, according to YouGov, those in the 18 to 29 age range, read an average of 5.8 books in 2025. Based upon everything else, that sounds high to me.

Professor Jessica Wilson of Pepperdine University states that “some students are arriving to college, unable to read a complete sentence.”

She goes on to say that “academics have been forced to adapt.”

Professor Wilson also says that “she has turned to reading passages aloud together, discussing them, line by line, or repeatedly returning to a single poem or text over the course of a semester - in part so students can begin to develop the skills to read critically on their own, and be prepared for their post-graduate career.”

Professor Timothy O’Malley of the University of Notre Dame says “students showing up to class unprepared is nothing new.” He used to assign 25 to 40 pages of reading per class, but he found that his students would use artificial intelligence (AI) to summarize, and thus miss the point of the assignment.

However, a JP Morgan survey, found that among those considered “ultra wealthy,”reading is and has been critical to their success. In my day, reading was critical for all, not just the “ultra wealthy.”

There are some who say that the inability to read is creating serious social, emotional, and mental issues.

Colleges and universities are not helping the situation. It has been reported that they are giving the students lighter reading assignments, and are not requiring writing assignments.

It is believed, that if one cannot handle a typical reading assignment, how can they handle “real world issues.”

Obviously this issue started in grade school, and continued through junior and senior high school. This has also resulted in the loss of “critical thinking.”

Many colleges and universities have stopped using SAT scores in evaluating those students applying for admission. Is it no wonder that many students are admitted, unable to really read?

The academic Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Marty West, says “we should be looking at what social media and the rise of the screen-based childhood is doing for reading skills.”

I remember when our children were young, my wife or I would read to them every night, before they went to sleep. Is that happening today? I doubt it. We would also take them to our public library regularly.

Apparently, this has been an issue for a number of years, but no one has really done anything to improve it. Not the secondary education schools, nor the colleges and universities. Where has the National Department of Education been? What about the parents?

If something isn’t done soon, shame on us! Can you imagine our leaders of tomorrow, unable to read and comprehend complex issues? Maybe that is the issue today.

This is really a serious issue that needs brought to the forefront. It should start with the parents, will it?

Jess Sweely

Madison, Va.

January 10, 2026