One of the most common reactions to a bad statistic in America is disbelief. Not only because people think the numbers are fake, but because they genuinely can’t imagine the problem existing where they live. That it has to be an issue affecting other people, somewhere else. And considering how separated Americans are by class, race, and environment, that disconnect isn’t really surprising.
I understand this mindset because I had it too. Despite growing up around people from different backgrounds, I still assumed most Americans lived more or less the same life. If you asked teenage AE what the average American looked like, she probably would have described someone with a degree, a white-collar job, and a middle-class life. In hindsight, I was living in a pretty insulated bubble. And in a weird way, my life sat between two completely different worlds. I was being raised by a single mother who struggled to remain housed, while much of the environment around me was filled with educated “professional types.”
I bring this up because too many people still think America is operating from one shared reality. There are completely different worlds of people living in this country, often with very little understanding of each other. Which is part of why so many Americans instinctively dismiss certain problems as exaggerated or impossible. But as a former educator, I can say firsthand that this crisis is real. And eventually, we’re going to have to decide whether we want to solve it or simply live with the consequences.
So yes, the title of this article is true.
Many Americans, including those of the next generation, can’t read.
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Now, back to what I was saying.
Even with free public education available from kindergarten through twelfth grade, more than half of American adults read below a sixth-grade level. Roughly 21% are considered illiterate. We aren’t talking about citizens just struggling through dense novels or SAT words. We’re talking about people unable to navigate basic written information in everyday life.
Historically, illiteracy in America was often tied to poverty, child labor, or leaving school early to work. What makes this moment different is that many young Americans are attending school for over a decade and still not learning basic reading skills. Increasingly, educators are warning that the next major divide in America may not simply be economic, but cognitive, between those who can critically think and read and those who cannot.
My fellow teachers and I saw this coming a decade ago. But since then, the problem has only gotten worse. A friend who now teaches 8th-grade history knows the problem firsthand. Out of her 110 students, only two are currently reading on grade level. Eighteen are testing at kindergarten and know only basic sight words, while another fifty-five are reading somewhere between 2nd and 4th grade.
But according to her, literacy itself isn’t the only issue. What alarms her most is the decline in basic thinking skills. She says many students struggle to decode information, process long verbal instructions, or track multistep ideas. These problems aren’t limited to younger students either. High school teachers are increasingly alarmed by how many students struggle with basic reasoning and memory retention, with many seeing students who cannot consistently grasp simple concepts or mentally track basic ideas.
Many education experts believe the problem begins with the underdevelopment of younger children, particularly in reading. And parents across all types of school settings, public, private, and everything in between, are noticing similar issues. Teachers say students are lacking both consistent exposure to reading at home and enough dedicated time with the skill at school. In many classrooms, uninterrupted reading periods that were once standard practice are now being phased out entirely.
Outside of the education world, many people seem unaware of what’s happening, in part because graduation rates remain high and give the impression that the system is still working.
But national reading data tells a different story. The NAEP exam, which measures reading proficiency among students across the United States, showed in 2024 that 70% of 8th graders were not reading at grade level. Which also means many students are being promoted year after year while still struggling academically, only to eventually receive diplomas without meeting grade-level standards.
But there’s also a newer and more disturbing cultural element to all of this. With the rise of A.I., some younger students are starting to question the value of learning altogether, especially when it comes to reading and critical thinking. Teachers are already hearing students openly ask things like, “Why do I need to learn this if A.I. can just do it for me?”
At the same time, students are surrounded by tools that can instantly solve problems with minimal effort. They’re using speech-to-text with friends and apps that can complete math equations from a single photo. Yet no one is asking the deeper question of what happens when an entire generation becomes dependent on tools they don’t know how to function without.
What’s clearer is that when people lack basic reading and comprehension skills, it becomes much harder for them to successfully enter and remain in the workforce. But employment is far from the biggest concern here. Functional illiteracy affects nearly every part of adult life. Reading ingredient labels, understanding medical instructions, navigating contracts, or making informed decisions all become significantly harder.
And reducing a problem this widespread down to “bad parents” or “failing teachers” oversimplifies what is clearly a much deeper systemic problem within American education.
Regardless, education and literacy are often seen as indicators of a nation’s long-term health. And while other developed countries are not experiencing the same level of illiteracy seen in the United States, many are seeing similar warning signs connected to COVID disruptions and increased technology dependence.
Which is why some countries are beginning to reevaluate their relationship with classroom technology altogether. In the U.S., heavy technology use in classrooms is often associated with wealthier and better-funded schools. But countries like Sweden, Norway, and Denmark are increasingly questioning whether that model has actually benefited literacy. Denmark, which aggressively embraced digital learning and achieved nearly a 1:1 device-to-student ratio, is returning to traditional reading instruction after declines in the nation’s reading comprehension. Norway is also debating many of the same issues. And Sweden, which once heavily embraced digital classrooms, is now spending 1.3 billion SEK (about 150 million dollars) to reinvest in physical textbooks. This is coming from a country with a population roughly the size of North Carolina, by the way.
If Americans think this crisis only affects other people, they’re mistaken. When large numbers of adults struggle with literacy, it eventually impacts everyone. Teachers say improving the situation will require real community buy-in, not just schools trying to manage it alone.
Some friends of mine volunteer in literacy tutoring programs like the ones organized through ProLiteracy. Librarians are trying to step in too. Organizations like the American Library Association help connect volunteers with people who need one-on-one tutoring or small-group reading support.
Advocates are pushing for greater public awareness and more funding for local adult literacy programs. At the same time, many are encouraging greater community participation in schools and asking people to step up and rethink education policy.
And while the problem is systemic, that doesn’t mean ordinary people are powerless in it. Communities still have the ability to shape whether the next generation learns to read, think, and function independently.
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