Reading at Risk, says NEA (and NASBE!)

A new report from the National Endowment for the Arts, To Read or Not To Read, found that Americans are reading less and their reading proficiency is declining at troubling rate.

The NEA analysis found that scores among elementary school students have been improving, but scores for among middle school students are flat and slightly declining among high school seniors.

"We are doing a better job of teaching kids to read in elementary school. But once they enter adolescence, they fall victim to a general culture which does not encourage or reinforce reading. Because these people then read less, they read less well. Because they read less well, they do more poorly in school, in the job market and in civic life," said NEA Chairman Dana Gioia.

For the last several years, the NASBE has supported states in improving adolescent literacy achievement, particularly though our State Adolescent Literacy Network. To learn more about NASBE's efforts to improve adolescent literacy achievement, please visit our website.