College Students Are Rapidly Losing the Ability to Read

In this End Time Headlines article, the author argues that many incoming college students are increasingly unable to handle sustained reading assignments.

• The article centers on comments from university-level literature and writing instructor Tyler Jagt, who says students struggled to finish a 20-page article that would have been routine for undergraduates a decade ago.
• One student reportedly said they kept losing track of the paper’s main points, which Jagt presents as part of a broader decline in sustained attention and comprehension.
• The piece cites 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress data showing 12th-grade reading scores at their lowest point since tracking began in 1992.
• It also notes that nearly one-third of 12th graders scored below the basic reading level.
• The article points to Annie E. Casey Foundation data claiming roughly 70% of fourth graders are not reading proficiently.
• Jagt argues this is not merely anecdotal classroom frustration, but evidence of a generational collapse in sustained reading and writing.
• The article blames several contributing factors, including generative AI tools that let students summarize or bypass difficult texts.
• Smartphones are also presented as a major factor, with the article saying constant device presence weakens attention and cognitive capacity.
• The broader warning is that colleges are being forced to improvise around a problem that may require a far more serious structural overhaul.

Read the full story: https://endtimeheadlines.org/2026/06/college-students-are-rapidly-losing-the-ability-to-read/