The Decline of Reading Skills Among College Students
“My students can’t read.” This stark statement from Tyler Jagt, a university literature professor, captures a troubling trend observed in college classrooms today. Many students struggle to engage with longer texts, particularly 20-page articles, which raises concerns about their reading and comprehension abilities. Jagt attributes this decline in skills to the pervasive influence of technology, particularly AI and smartphones.
The Challenge of 20 Pages
For the past five years, Jagt has assigned his rhetoric and writing students the same task: reading a 20-page article. However, this year, he noted a disheartening trend: none of his students completed the assignment. These were not students who had failed previous courses, but rather university students who had successfully passed entrance exams. One candid student even admitted that the length of the text was overwhelming and that they constantly lost track of the main points.
Jagt acknowledges that the complaint about students’ reading skills is common among educators. Yet, he emphasizes that the data points to a more severe crisis in reading ability than ever before.
Reading Proficiency on the Decline: Statistical Evidence
The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) revealed alarming statistics: 12th graders achieved the lowest reading scores since assessments began in 1992, with only a third demonstrating basic reading comprehension skills. Younger students appear to be faring even worse, with a study from the Annie E. Casey Foundation indicating that 70% of fourth graders in the U.S. are not reading proficiently.
Comparatively, in Spain, the situation is equally concerning. The OECD reports that one-third of the Spanish population has only basic reading comprehension abilities, meaning they can barely handle short texts without distractions.
The Role of Technology
Jagt attributes part of this crisis to the impact of new technology, specifically smartphones and AI. The notion that technology degrades intellectual capacity isn’t new; it has been debated for decades. However, the introduction of AI has exacerbated fears about cognitive decline as students increasingly rely on these tools to complete their assignments.
While it remains unclear whether technology directly harms cognitive capabilities, studies indicate that frequent use of AI may alter how we think and process information.
Cognitive Debt and Surrender
Two emerging concepts—cognitive debt and cognitive surrender—are pivotal in understanding how technology influences student performance. Cognitive debt describes the negative impact of relying on AI tools like ChatGPT, which can weaken neural connections and diminish overall cognitive performance.
Cognitive surrender, as explained in a University of Pennsylvania study, occurs when students delegate their critical thinking to AI, leading to a false sense of confidence in its answers. Another study from the University of Oxford demonstrated that when AI is removed from the process, users’ performance often declines.
The Social Media Dilemma
Smartphones are not the sole culprits; social media and habits like doomscrolling have hijacked students’ attention. The rapid consumption of bite-sized information through tweets, reels, and TikToks contributes to a decline in their ability to focus on longer texts. In response, educators like Jagt are revising their approaches, breaking assignments into smaller segments and providing specific prompts to maintain engagement.
Conclusion: Adapting to a New Reality
As Jagt illustrates, the educational landscape is evolving, and traditional methods may need to adapt to keep pace with technological advancements and changing student behaviors. While technology can enhance learning when used thoughtfully, educators must remain vigilant to ensure it does not become a crutch that sidelines essential skills like reading.
Image Credit
Image by Siora Photography via Unsplash