Fogarty
1


Research
Report:
“To
Read
or
Not
to
Read:
A
Question
of
National
Consequence”


I.
Notable
Facts


• Americans
are
spending
less
time
reading.



• Reading
comprehension
skills
are
eroding.



• Nearly
half
of
all
Americans
ages
18‐24
read
no
books
for
pleasure.



• Less
than
1/3
of
13‐year
‐olds
are
daily
readers.



• The
percentage
of
17‐year‐olds
who
read
nothing
at
all
for
pleasure
has


doubled
over
a
20‐year
period.
Yet
the
amount
they
read
for
school
or


homework
(15
or
fewer
pages
daily
for
62%
of
students)
has
stayed
the


same.


• Voluntary
reading
rates
diminish
from
childhood
to
late
adolescence.



• College
attendance
no
longer
guarantees
active
reading
habits.



• Teens
and
young
adults
spend
less
time
reading
than
people
or
other
age


groups.



• By
contrast,
15‐
to
24‐year‐olds
spend
2
to
2
½
hours
per
day
watching
TV.


This
activity
consumes
the
most
leisure
time
for
men
and
women
of
all
ages.



• Literary
reading
declined
significantly
in
a
period
of
rising
Internet
use.
From


1997‐2003,
home
Internet
use
soared
53
percentage
points
among
18‐
24‐

year‐olds.
By
another
estimate,
the
percentage
of
18‐
24‐year‐olds
with
a


home
broadband
connection
climbed
25
points
from
2005
to
2007.



• Even
when
reading
does
occur,
it
competes
with
other
media.
This
multi‐

tasking
suggests
less
focused
engagement
with
a
text.



• Little
more
than
one‐third
of
high
school
seniors
now
read
proficiently.



 
 Fogarty
2


• Reading
for
pleasure
correlates
strongly
with
academic
achievement.



• Employers
now
rank
reading
and
writing
as
top
deficiencies
in
new
hires.



• Less
advanced
readers
report
fewer
opportunities
for
career
growth.



• Good
readers
play
a
crucial
role
in
enriching
our
cultural
and
civic
life.



• Good
readers
make
good
citizens.



• Literary
readers
are
more
than
twice
as
likely
as
non‐readers
to
volunteer
or


do
charity
work.



• Deficient
readers
are
far
more
likely
than
skilled
readers
to
be
high
school


dropouts
and
out
of
the
workforce.



• Poor
reading
skills
are
endemic
in
the
prison
population.



• “Future
research
also
could
explore
factors
such
as
income,
ethnicity,
region,


and
race,
and
how
they
might
alter
the
relationship
between
voluntary


reading,
reading
test
scores,
and
other
outcomes.”
(p.
21).



II.
Analysis
&
Opinion



 All
of
these
facts
put
forth
by
the
National
Endowment
for
the
Arts
tell
many


things
about
the
need
for
our
nation’s
attention
to
be
drawn
to
literacy.
This
article


speaks
of
the
ability
for
citizens
to
read
and
write,
and
characterizes
literacy
by
the


amount
that
people
read
and
also
by
the
amount
of
time
that
people
read


voluntarily
or
for
pleasure.
The
data
is
broken
up
by
age
groups,
speaking
of


teenagers,
young
adults,
and
adults.
It
seems
as
if
reading
is
declining
in
the
younger


populations.
Some
factors
that
may
be
affecting
this
decline
in
reading
for
pleasure


include
television,
the
Internet,
socioeconomic
factors,
and
a
decrease
in
leisure


time
due
to
a
societal
tendency
to
always
be
on
the
move.

The
article
also
discusses


 
 Fogarty
3


the
implications
of
this
decline
in
reading
and
in
reading
skills,
suggesting
that


deficient
readers
are
less
likely
to
advance
in
their
careers
and
are
also
lower


achieving
in
academics.
Knowing
these
facts
and
outcomes,
there
are
many
things


that
teachers
of
all
content
areas
must
keep
in
mind
in
terms
of
literacy.




 Realizing
that
learners
come
in
all
shapes
and
sizes
in
terms
of
literacy
is
the


first
step
in
being
sensitive
to
the
literary
needs
or
our
students.
As
a
future
ELA


teacher,
I
will
be
cognizant
of
the
fact
that
less
and
less
of
my
students
will
read
for


pleasure.
Even
now,
I
know
that
I
cannot
read
for
pleasure
as
a
college
student
due


to
my
workload.
I
can
see
that
this
is
affecting
my
overall
reading
skills
and
it
is
also


frustrating
to
not
be
able
to
read
for
pleasure
when
it
is
one
of
my
hobbies.