The average reading scores of American high school seniors has significantly declined over the last two decades. For example, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that reading scores for 12th graders were 10 points lower in 2024 than they were in 1992. In fact, 32% of students scored below the “basic level” for reading, which means that nearly a third of seniors did not have the basic ability to find the details in a given text to understand its meaning. Additionally, the gap between the highest- and lowest-performing students was its widest ever, reflecting growing inequality in the American school system.

How Declining Reading Scores Impact Society

Adult illiteracy directly affects an individual’s:

• employment options,
• likelihood to live in poverty,
• likelihood to be incarcerated,
• access to adequate health care and health outcomes, and
• life expectancy. 

Declining reading scores are not only very distressing for our youth’s futures, but it also negatively impacts our nation’s economy and community well-being. We are losing out on potential employees and responsible community members, while our tax dollars are instead used to incarcerate or provide government assistance to adults who cannot work due to low literacy.

Reasons for Declining Literacy

While many like to blame the pandemic as the cause for reduced academic performance, experts say that the declines in reading are continuing a downward trend that began well before the pandemic. Experts point to a range of potential factors for the decline, including:

• Rise in chronic school absenteeism
• Increased screen and smartphone use
• Decreased student engagement
• Reduced time reading books or longer texts, both in and out of school
• Decline in test-based accountability in schools

In addition, poor reading skills that are not caught early tend to create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Older students who struggle to read begin to avoid reading because it is taxing, slow, frustrating, and unsatisfying. They are unmotivated to practice and become convinced they just do not like to read. Since they don’t get any reading experience, they become unfamiliar with vocabulary, sentence structure, text organization and other language concepts, making it more and more difficult for them to catch up to their peers.

Ways Parents Can Help Teens with Low Literacy

Parents aren’t teachers and may not love reading themselves, so it begs the question whether they can help a teenager with poor reading skills. Fortunately, experts say that there are some simple things that parents can do that can make a big difference. If you have a teen who struggles with reading, try some of these ideas:

1. Talk to Their Teacher. Your child’s teacher can be a great partner. They are able to identify where your child is struggling, what experiences might be most effective, and what obstacles might be getting in the way of your child’s success. They usually have good recommendations for how parents can help at home. Be sure to ask if they have noticed any signs of possible reading disabilities that have gone undiagnosed. (If so, schedule an appointment with your teen’s pediatrician.)
2. Read Every Day. Older kids who struggle with reading resist practicing, but practice is exactly what they need to improve. In fact, research has shown that only 15 minutes of regular reading at home each day has proven benefits. Consider setting up a time each day (maybe right after dinner) that everyone in the family puts down their phones and picks up a book. This will role model reading as important and also encourage family members to talk about what they read – another essential skill in reading comprehension.
3. Make Read­ing Fun. Meet your teen where he or she is, and don’t insist on ​“seri­ous” or school books. Sil­ly books, comics, ani­mé or oth­er art-dri­ven books are a good way to get many chil­dren inter­est­ed in read­ing. If your teen has a specific interest, encourage them to read a book – fiction or nonfiction – that explores that topic.
4. Think Outside the Box. Exposure to a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts enhance fluency, background knowledge, and vocabulary, so don’t feel like their reading material needs to be specifically books or classics or non-fiction. Any reading that is a longer text will improve their skills, so be open to magazines, newspaper articles, graphic novels, or even manuals that are important to them. For example, they could start with the driver’s education manual if they are nearing the time to get their drivers’ license.
5. Bridge the Gap Between Personal Life and Reading Topic. Making reading directly relevant to teens’ experiences enhances their engagement and interest. Use personal stories or real-life examples to bring reading materials to life. Or, when a character does something controversial in a story, ask them questions about whether they would have done the same thing in a similar situation.
6. Visit the Library. Librarians are wonderful resources, so talk to them about which reading materials teenagers are excited about. Have your child tell the librarian their interests and they will likely have ideas of what books might be a good fit.
7. Seek Out Adaptations. Consider reading a book together that is being adapt­ed into a movie soon. (“Together” can mean either reading out loud to each other or getting two copies of the book to read at the same time). Afterward, watch the movie together and com­pare the book to the movie.
8. Build Literacy Outside of Books. Books are not the only things that improve our reading skills. Lots of board games, crosswords, or other puzzles force us to read. Games can enable your teen to build their literacy skills while having fun.
9. Encourage Writing. Writing is a different way to work on literacy, so encourage your teen to put pen to paper. If your child is an artist, you could suggest they create a comic strip. If your child likes to help others, suggest they write letters to a service member stationed overseas. Many psychologists suggest journals as a positive coping skill, so you could suggest your teen use a journal to express themselves (focusing on stress relief rather than an assignment to improve their literacy).

Final Thoughts…

Low-progress readers need ample opportunities to practice reading. Unfortunately, previous struggles may lead some students to resist practice. Try some of the ideas above to find something that motivates your teenager and then be sure to praise them for their efforts. Over time, point out the progress they have made in order to build their confidence and enjoyment of reading. If parents can make a small time investment in prioritizing reading at home, they will reap big benefits in launching their child into a more successful adulthood.