#readingcrisis — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #readingcrisis, aggregated by home.social.
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RIP Reading Redux. Big 5 CEO David Shelley Plays the ‘Smartphones Did It Card’ at the Worst Possible Moment
Hachette CEO David Shelley blames smartphones for the reading crisis in a widely syndicated op-ed. The correlation is real. The causation isn't - and his own history should have warned him.
The post RIP Reading Redux. Big 5 CEO David Shelley Plays the ‘Smartphones Did It Card’ at the Worst Possible Moment appeared first on The New Publishing Standard.
https://thenewpublishingstandard.com/2026/07/19/david-shelley-smartphones-reading-decline-hachette/#PublishingControversies #ReadingCrisis #DavidShelleyblamessmartphones #SmartphonesDidIt #TheAtlanticsReadingObituary
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RIP Reading Redux. Big 5 CEO David Shelley Plays the ‘Smartphones Did It Card’ at the Worst Possible Moment
Hachette CEO David Shelley blames smartphones for the reading crisis in a widely syndicated op-ed. The correlation is real. The causation isn't - and his own history should have warned him.
The post RIP Reading Redux. Big 5 CEO David Shelley Plays the ‘Smartphones Did It Card’ at the Worst Possible Moment appeared first on The New Publishing Standard.
https://thenewpublishingstandard.com/2026/07/19/david-shelley-smartphones-reading-decline-hachette/#PublishingControversies #ReadingCrisis #DavidShelleyblamessmartphones #SmartphonesDidIt #TheAtlanticsReadingObituary
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🎉 Oh, the groundbreaking revelation that you must enable JavaScript and cookies to read an article! 🧠 Clearly, solving the Spanish reading crisis requires a PhD in internet browsing. Bravo, modern journalism! 🙄📚
https://www.commonreader.co.uk/p/no-spanish-reading-crisis #JavaScriptEnabled #CookiesRequired #ModernJournalism #InternetBrowsing #ReadingCrisis #HackerNews #ngated -
🎉 Oh, the groundbreaking revelation that you must enable JavaScript and cookies to read an article! 🧠 Clearly, solving the Spanish reading crisis requires a PhD in internet browsing. Bravo, modern journalism! 🙄📚
https://www.commonreader.co.uk/p/no-spanish-reading-crisis #JavaScriptEnabled #CookiesRequired #ModernJournalism #InternetBrowsing #ReadingCrisis #HackerNews #ngated -
Which Screen? Why The Atlantic’s “The End of Reading” Measures the Wrong Thing
The Atlantic blames shrinking attention spans for reading's decline. The research it cites measured office multitasking, not books - and today's bestsellers are longer than ever.
The post Which Screen? Why The Atlantic’s “The End of Reading” Measures the Wrong Thing appeared first on The New Publishing Standard.
https://thenewpublishingstandard.com/2026/07/12/which-screen-atlantic-reading-attention-span/#PublishingControversies #Reading #ReadingCrisis #SmartphonesAndTablets #TheEndofReading
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Which Screen? Why The Atlantic’s “The End of Reading” Measures the Wrong Thing
The Atlantic blames shrinking attention spans for reading's decline. The research it cites measured office multitasking, not books - and today's bestsellers are longer than ever.
The post Which Screen? Why The Atlantic’s “The End of Reading” Measures the Wrong Thing appeared first on The New Publishing Standard.
https://thenewpublishingstandard.com/2026/07/12/which-screen-atlantic-reading-attention-span/#PublishingControversies #Reading #ReadingCrisis #SmartphonesAndTablets #TheEndofReading
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The Geopolitics of the Bestseller: Why The Atlantic’s Doctor Zhivago Myth Fails the Reading Test
The Atlantic used Doctor Zhivago to argue Americans once read harder books. The real story is a CIA operation, a refused Nobel, and a translation quirk — not declining minds.
The post The Geopolitics of the Bestseller: Why The Atlantic’s Doctor Zhivago Myth Fails the Reading Test appeared first on The New Publishing Standard.
https://thenewpublishingstandard.com/2026/07/12/the-geopolitics-of-the-bestseller-why-the-atlantics-doctor-zhivago-myth-fails-the-reading-test/ -
The Geopolitics of the Bestseller: Why The Atlantic’s Doctor Zhivago Myth Fails the Reading Test
The Atlantic used Doctor Zhivago to argue Americans once read harder books. The real story is a CIA operation, a refused Nobel, and a translation quirk — not declining minds.
The post The Geopolitics of the Bestseller: Why The Atlantic’s Doctor Zhivago Myth Fails the Reading Test appeared first on The New Publishing Standard.
https://thenewpublishingstandard.com/2026/07/12/the-geopolitics-of-the-bestseller-why-the-atlantics-doctor-zhivago-myth-fails-the-reading-test/ -
The Decline In Reading Cuts Across Age Groups Gender and Education Levels
Shafkat Anowar / The Dallas Morning News / Getty Images Americans, once members of a proudly literate society, read much less than they used to, says Rose Horowitch. Even demographics that traditionally read the most retirees, women and college graduates have seen a collapse, and the books that people do read are simpler than they used to be. People are losing the higher-order abilities of comprehension. America isn’t illiterate. It’s postliterate. The people who make a living from […]https://onlinemarketingscoops.com/2026/07/09/the-decline-in-reading-cuts-across-age-groups/
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The Decline In Reading Cuts Across Age Groups Gender and Education Levels
Shafkat Anowar / The Dallas Morning News / Getty Images Americans, once members of a proudly literate society, read much less than they used to, says Rose Horowitch. Even demographics that traditionally read the most retirees, women and college graduates have seen a collapse, and the books that people do read are simpler than they used to be. People are losing the higher-order abilities of comprehension. America isn’t illiterate. It’s postliterate. The people who make a living from […]https://onlinemarketingscoops.com/2026/07/09/the-decline-in-reading-cuts-across-age-groups/
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Teacher reveals the ‘really obvious’ reason teens no longer read. It’s not just the phones.
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Teacher reveals the ‘really obvious’ reason teens no longer read. It’s not just the phones.
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Digital Reading Boost Kids’ Reading Time in Malaysia. Rest of the World, Take Note!
Malaysian students' reading scores have plummeted, but digital platforms present an unexpected solution for publishing professionals.
https://thenewpublishingstandard.com/2025/12/31/malaysia-digital-reading-lifeline/#IPA #Malaysia #ReadingCrisis #SEAsia #InternbationalPublishersAssociation
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Digital Reading Boost Kids’ Reading Time in Malaysia. Rest of the World, Take Note!
Malaysian students' reading scores have plummeted, but digital platforms present an unexpected solution for publishing professionals.
https://thenewpublishingstandard.com/2025/12/31/malaysia-digital-reading-lifeline/#IPA #Malaysia #ReadingCrisis #SEAsia #InternbationalPublishersAssociation
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#Denmark abolishes VAT on #books in order to address the #ReadingCrisis.
I think that's a great idea! While crap is generally free to read, see #X etc., why would we want make quality content less accessible by imposing taxes!?
Well ok, while certainly not every book is great, there is still a tendency that longer formats allow for a higher quality in information, education or entertainment.
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#Denmark abolishes VAT on #books in order to address the #ReadingCrisis.
I think that's a great idea! While crap is generally free to read, see #X etc., why would we want make quality content less accessible by imposing taxes!?
Well ok, while certainly not every book is great, there is still a tendency that longer formats allow for a higher quality in information, education or entertainment.
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📚🔥 Oh no, Denmark! Facing a "reading crisis," you finally axed that 25% book tax. 🚫📖 Who knew the key to #literacy was not charging an arm and a leg for a paperback? 🤔💸 Next up, solving the national "too much time on social media" problem by giving away free novels with every phone purchase. 📱📚
https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2025/0820/1529397-denmark-book-tax/ #readingcrisis #Denmark #booktax #socialmedia #novelinitiative #HackerNews #ngated -
📚🔥 Oh no, Denmark! Facing a "reading crisis," you finally axed that 25% book tax. 🚫📖 Who knew the key to #literacy was not charging an arm and a leg for a paperback? 🤔💸 Next up, solving the national "too much time on social media" problem by giving away free novels with every phone purchase. 📱📚
https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2025/0820/1529397-denmark-book-tax/ #readingcrisis #Denmark #booktax #socialmedia #novelinitiative #HackerNews #ngated -
'Reading crisis' prompts Denmark to end 25% tax on books
https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2025/0820/1529397-denmark-book-tax/
#HackerNews #ReadingCrisis #Denmark #BookTax #TaxRelief #Literacy
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'Reading crisis' prompts Denmark to end 25% tax on books
https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2025/0820/1529397-denmark-book-tax/
#HackerNews #ReadingCrisis #Denmark #BookTax #TaxRelief #Literacy
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Opinion | There is no reading crisis in the U.S. Here’s what’s really happening. – The Washington Post
(Washington Post staff; iStock)There is no reading crisis in the U.S. Here’s what’s really happening.
Politicians and journalists are misinterpreting the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
By Paul Thomas
Paul L. Thomas is a professor of education at Furman University and author of “How to End the Reading War and Serve the Literacy Needs of All Students.”
After her controversial appointment, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon posted this apparently uncontroversial claim on social media: “When 70% of 8th graders in the U.S. can’t read proficiently, it’s not the students who are failing — it’s the education system that’s failing them.”
Americans are used to hearing about the nation’s reading crisis. In 2018, journalist Emily Hanford popularized the current “crisis” in her article “Hard Words,” writing, “More than 60 percent of American fourth-graders are not proficient readers, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and it’s been that way since testing began in the 1990s.”
Five years later, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof repeated that statistic: “One of the most bearish statistics for the future of the United States is this: Two-thirds of fourth graders in the United States are not proficient in reading.”
Each of these statements about student reading achievement, though probably well-meaning, is misleading if not outright false. There is no reading crisis in the U.S. But there are major discrepancies between how the federal government and states define reading proficiency.
At the center of this confusion is the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a congressionally mandated assessment of student performance known also as the “nation’s report card.” The NAEP has three achievement levels: “basic,” “proficient” and “advanced.”
The disconnect lies with the second benchmark, “proficient.” According to the NAEP, students performing “at or above the NAEP Proficient level … demonstrate solid academic performance and competency over challenging subject matter.” But this statement includes a significant clarification: “The NAEP Proficient achievement level does not represent grade level proficiency as determined by other assessment standards (e.g., state or district assessments).”
In almost every state, “grade level” proficiency on state testing correlates with the NAEP’s “basic” level; in 2022, 45 states set their standard for reading proficiency in the NAEP’s “basic” range. Therefore, it is inaccurate to say that nearly two-thirds of fourth-graders are not capable readers.
The NAEP has been a key mechanism for holding states accountable for student achievement for over 30 years. Yet, educators have expressed doubt over the assessment’s utility. In 2004, an analysis by the American Federation of Teachers raised concerns about the NAEP’s achievement levels: “The proficient level on NAEP for grade 4 and 8 reading is set at almost the 70th percentile,” the union wrote. “It would not be unreasonable to think that the proficiency levels on NAEP represent a standard of achievement that is more commonly associated with fairly advanced students.”
The NAEP has set unrealistic goals for student achievement, fueling alarm about a reading crisis in the United States that is overblown. The common misreading of NAEP data has allowed the country to ignore what is urgent: addressing the opportunity gap that negatively impacts Black and Brown students, impoverished students, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Opinion | There is no reading crisis in the U.S. Here’s what’s really happening. – The Washington Post
#2025 #America #AmericanFederationOfTeachers #Books #DonaldTrump #Education #Health #History #Libraries #LibraryOfCongress #NAEP #Politics #Reading #ReadingCrisis #Resistance #Science #States #TeachingReading #TheWashingtonPost #Trump #TrumpAdministration #UnitedStates
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Opinion | There is no reading crisis in the U.S. Here’s what’s really happening. – The Washington Post
(Washington Post staff; iStock)There is no reading crisis in the U.S. Here’s what’s really happening.
Politicians and journalists are misinterpreting the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
By Paul Thomas
Paul L. Thomas is a professor of education at Furman University and author of “How to End the Reading War and Serve the Literacy Needs of All Students.”
After her controversial appointment, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon posted this apparently uncontroversial claim on social media: “When 70% of 8th graders in the U.S. can’t read proficiently, it’s not the students who are failing — it’s the education system that’s failing them.”
Americans are used to hearing about the nation’s reading crisis. In 2018, journalist Emily Hanford popularized the current “crisis” in her article “Hard Words,” writing, “More than 60 percent of American fourth-graders are not proficient readers, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and it’s been that way since testing began in the 1990s.”
Five years later, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof repeated that statistic: “One of the most bearish statistics for the future of the United States is this: Two-thirds of fourth graders in the United States are not proficient in reading.”
Each of these statements about student reading achievement, though probably well-meaning, is misleading if not outright false. There is no reading crisis in the U.S. But there are major discrepancies between how the federal government and states define reading proficiency.
At the center of this confusion is the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a congressionally mandated assessment of student performance known also as the “nation’s report card.” The NAEP has three achievement levels: “basic,” “proficient” and “advanced.”
The disconnect lies with the second benchmark, “proficient.” According to the NAEP, students performing “at or above the NAEP Proficient level … demonstrate solid academic performance and competency over challenging subject matter.” But this statement includes a significant clarification: “The NAEP Proficient achievement level does not represent grade level proficiency as determined by other assessment standards (e.g., state or district assessments).”
In almost every state, “grade level” proficiency on state testing correlates with the NAEP’s “basic” level; in 2022, 45 states set their standard for reading proficiency in the NAEP’s “basic” range. Therefore, it is inaccurate to say that nearly two-thirds of fourth-graders are not capable readers.
The NAEP has been a key mechanism for holding states accountable for student achievement for over 30 years. Yet, educators have expressed doubt over the assessment’s utility. In 2004, an analysis by the American Federation of Teachers raised concerns about the NAEP’s achievement levels: “The proficient level on NAEP for grade 4 and 8 reading is set at almost the 70th percentile,” the union wrote. “It would not be unreasonable to think that the proficiency levels on NAEP represent a standard of achievement that is more commonly associated with fairly advanced students.”
The NAEP has set unrealistic goals for student achievement, fueling alarm about a reading crisis in the United States that is overblown. The common misreading of NAEP data has allowed the country to ignore what is urgent: addressing the opportunity gap that negatively impacts Black and Brown students, impoverished students, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Opinion | There is no reading crisis in the U.S. Here’s what’s really happening. – The Washington Post
#2025 #America #AmericanFederationOfTeachers #Books #DonaldTrump #Education #Health #History #Libraries #LibraryOfCongress #NAEP #Politics #Reading #ReadingCrisis #Resistance #Science #States #TeachingReading #TheWashingtonPost #Trump #TrumpAdministration #UnitedStates
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🎓📚 Attention, alarmists: the modern student can't read! 😱 Apparently, a PhD, four decades in #academia, and a time machine to the 19th century are required to realize this "crisis." Who knew? 😂 #BreakingNews #ProfessorNostalgia
https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-average-college-student-is-illiterate #modernstudents #readingcrisis #humor #ProfessorNostalgia #HackerNews #ngated -
🎓📚 Attention, alarmists: the modern student can't read! 😱 Apparently, a PhD, four decades in #academia, and a time machine to the 19th century are required to realize this "crisis." Who knew? 😂 #BreakingNews #ProfessorNostalgia
https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-average-college-student-is-illiterate #modernstudents #readingcrisis #humor #ProfessorNostalgia #HackerNews #ngated -
Everyone Likes #Reading. Why Are We So Afraid of It? #Book#ans, #chatbots, #pedagogical #warfare: What it means to #read has become a #minefield. The #ReadingCrisis reverberates at the higher reaches of educational system too. As #CorporateManagement models, #zealous #State Legislatures refashion the #academy into a #gated #outpost of the #GigEconomy, humanities have lost their luster for #undergraduates - fewer and fewer students are #majoring in #English https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/21/books/review/book-bans-humanities-ai.html
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Everyone Likes #Reading. Why Are We So Afraid of It? #Book#ans, #chatbots, #pedagogical #warfare: What it means to #read has become a #minefield. The #ReadingCrisis reverberates at the higher reaches of educational system too. As #CorporateManagement models, #zealous #State Legislatures refashion the #academy into a #gated #outpost of the #GigEconomy, humanities have lost their luster for #undergraduates - fewer and fewer students are #majoring in #English https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/21/books/review/book-bans-humanities-ai.html
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Everyone Likes #Reading. Why Are We So Afraid of It? #Book#ans, #chatbots, #pedagogical #warfare: What it means to #read has become a #minefield. The #ReadingCrisis reverberates at the higher reaches of educational system too. As #CorporateManagement models, #zealous #State Legislatures refashion the #academy into a #gated #outpost of the #GigEconomy, humanities have lost their luster for #undergraduates - fewer and fewer students are #majoring in #English https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/21/books/review/book-bans-humanities-ai.html
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Everyone Likes #Reading. Why Are We So Afraid of It? #Book#ans, #chatbots, #pedagogical #warfare: What it means to #read has become a #minefield. The #ReadingCrisis reverberates at the higher reaches of educational system too. As #CorporateManagement models, #zealous #State Legislatures refashion the #academy into a #gated #outpost of the #GigEconomy, humanities have lost their luster for #undergraduates - fewer and fewer students are #majoring in #English https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/21/books/review/book-bans-humanities-ai.html
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Everyone Likes #Reading. Why Are We So Afraid of It? #Book#ans, #chatbots, #pedagogical #warfare: What it means to #read has become a #minefield. The #ReadingCrisis reverberates at the higher reaches of educational system too. As #CorporateManagement models, #zealous #State Legislatures refashion the #academy into a #gated #outpost of the #GigEconomy, humanities have lost their luster for #undergraduates - fewer and fewer students are #majoring in #English https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/21/books/review/book-bans-humanities-ai.html