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The Decline of Adolescent Literacy and Reading Achievement: Literature Review
Andrew Roberts
School of Library and Information Science, North Carolina Central University
LSIS 5000: Foundations of Librarianship and Information Science
Dr. Agnes Pearcy
April 27th, 2023
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Abstract
As an adolescent a major part of your development will be centered around literacy and the
development of those skills, particularly reading and writing. Over time however, there has been
a decreased focus on literacy as a whole and it’s reflected in the comprehension level of many
adults and in research of many scholars who have researched the field of literacy, particularly
those with a focus on adolescent literacy. The question then shifts to what has caused this change
in priorities over the last couple of decades and you can honestly probably point to a myriad of
reasons all which are valid. The area I’m choosing to focus my research on however is the
impact that technological evolution and socioeconomic/systemic issues have had on both
librarianship and literacy, in particular adolescent literacy.
In an era of endless information access and an ever changing and evolving technological
landscape, people seem to be having a harder time finding room for traditional forms of literacy
such as reading. What was once that major hobby of many citizens has now been replaced with
various social media options, streaming, and video games. This in my estimation has led to a
decline in the reading achievement and overall literacy of adolescents and subsequently adults
over time. This has also had an impact on both libraries and the field of librarianship as these
institutions, working in tandem with other educators, are having to figure out how to create
initiatives to get students back on track towards their literacy goals. As literacy decreases you’ll
also see a decrease in the patronage of institutions like libraries which is troubling as libraries
already have to consistently justify their value to the community at large and why they deserve
financial support from the government.
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With literacy, ideally you’d address any issues these children are dealing with around the
age ranges of 8-12 as this is the time where most adolescents seem to become less and less
interested in reading as they gain different obligations and lesson plans start to shift away from
focusing on developing literacy skills and focus more on the applying the skills you’re assumed
to already have. The purpose of this paper is to examine the issues I have just laid out by
researching the potential causes for the decline in the literacy of adolescents. The articles chosen
all deal with either children or young adults in various regions and cultures across the world and
will be used to examine whether or not there is any validity to my hypothesis that there has been
a decline in literacy, in particular that of adolescent literacy and if so is there any correlation
between the advent of the internet and subsequent evolution of technology and the decline in
adolescent literacy. Also, if socioeconomic and systemic inequalities play a factor in this
supposed decline and if so, how and how much.
Literature Review
Extent of the Literacy Issue
The issue of literacy and its decline has been an issue in the educational community for some
time now. In the process of researching this issue I found statistics and articles from as far back
as the 80’s. This is around the time that personal computers started to become common in homes
around the country. I believe there is some correlation between the advent of modern technology
and its interweaving with everyday life and the sharp decline in literacy rates. In an article
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released in 2002, Bradshaw and Nichols examine the data from a national survey conducted by
the census bureau in which they investigated the frequency in which people read literature
amongst other things. This study extrapolates data over a 20 year period with data from over
17,000 individuals meaning that they have a fairly reliable survey size. The data revealed that
there had been a 10 point drop in reading over that 20 year span and also that less than half the
adult population now reads literature. In particular when it came to younger groups and minority
groups it showed similar troubling trends.
Where adolescents were once the most likely group to read, they were now the least
likely. You also see steep declines in the literacy rates of Hispanics and African-Americans,
which is in part blamed on a widening wealth gap and overall disparity in resources. Along with
this there is a noticeable pattern in the decline of literacy that correlates with the continued
development of technology. Is this just a coincidence? Perhaps, but it’s hard to dismiss the fact
that as society has shifted towards being more technologically driven our hobbies, namely
anything having to do with traditional forms of literature, have taken a backseat and this is
having a negative effect.
Further elaborating on the declining literacy of adolescents pre-pandemic, we have an
article called “Adolescent Literacy: A Position Statement” which examines the effects of
declining literacy in adolescents more in depth. In the article the authors Moore, Bean and
Birdyshaw (1999) discuss the investment and initiatives designed for adolescent literacy and
come to the conclusion that more needs to be done, especially for older adolescents as they’re the
ones who seem to need the most attention when compared to their grade-school counterparts.
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The key points of the article discuss how the lack of funding and comprehensive educational
policies by both local and national government has let down students and how this neglect has
impacted them along with their teachers who are not adequately supported and thus many are not
prepared to meet their students' needs, both collectively and on an individual level. To support
these points the authors cite that approximately 60 percent of students were recorded as being
proficient in comprehending factual information and that when pressed to elaborate on that
information in more detail only approximately 5 percent of those students could do so. This
essentially means that many students were recorded as being able to learn information and even
recall certain information but could not expound upon it or apply it in situations that called for it.
As with the previous article, the authors seek solutions to these issues and while the idea
of early prevention is touched on it’s dismissed as only a small part of the piece and they are
correct. The reasoning for this is that as students move through the grade-levels their curriculum
will continuously change to meet the needs that administrators believe they should be attaining at
that point in time. As students grow they spend less and less time in school on their reading
development and literacy growth. This is an issue as not all students develop at the same pace
and some have particular needs that require more patience and time than are allowed by the
curriculum. Many of these adolescents are not poor students either so they can’t be held back so
that they have that time so they get pushed through and the material gets tougher and tougher
while receiving less and less individualized support.
This in conjunction with other factors like the distractions of a social life that comes with getting
older and also the numerous technological and media options many have today and you have a
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problem that’s just getting worse. This then raises the question of what are the possible solutions
to this issue? The authors of this article believe that the key to curbing this decline starts with
investment in the teachers through support from the community and administration. Adding
more reading specialists to aid the teachers and help adolescents who require more
individualized help. More parental involvement in terms of reading to children and being active
participants in their literary growth, building curriculum that builds upon the students desires for
more complex material and designing assessments that highlight their strengths while more
accurately detailing the areas they still need to develop.
And finally, offering a wider selection of reading material that appeals to adolescents
beyond what they’re required to read for school. Often, as children age they find reasons not to
read and one of the major reasons is a lack of interesting material that is geared towards them
and their interest. By providing this along with a safe and supportive environment for their
growth it is believed that you can make strides in changing the trending decline of literacy in
adolescents. Now this examines the concerns of scholars and researchers over the previous
several decades but what it doesn’t address is the impact that the recent pandemic had on
adolescent literacy. This is in particular important to note as during this time adolescents spent
the better part of 2 years using technology and social media more frequently as both an
intermediary for school and also as a way to pass the time during quarantine. This increase in
technology and social media usage had a negative effect on an issue that was already trending in
the wrong direction according to some studies.
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Effects of the Pandemic and Systemic Inequalities on Literacy
The effects of the pandemic can’t be overlooked when discussing the issue of adolescent literacy
because it was such a unique event that disrupted a very important time period in many of these
children's lives. Kuhfield, Lewis and Peltier (2023) detail in their article the toll COVID-19 had
on reading achievement using quantitative data from scholastic assessments. According to the
data the average reading test scores for Fall 2021 students in grades 3–8 were .09 to .17 standard
deviations lower when compared to their same-grade peers in the Fall 2019. The largest drops
are recorded in grades 3-5, which according to the authors makes sense because this is a period
in which younger students are still in the process of attaining the literacy skills that they’ll need
for higher grade-levels.
Additionally, adolescents of color were disproportionately affected by the pandemic as
they faced unique issues mostly stemming from systemic inequalities. During the pandemic it
was reported that minority communities saw some of the greatest losses both financially and
from loss of life due to inadequate healthcare amongst other resources. In addition to this
children of color faced greater barriers towards learning remotely due to having less than
adequate technical infrastructure and quiet spaces where they could learn. Also the data also
showed that the reading achievement drops in higher poverty schools were considerably larger
than other schools with reports of drops up to 2.5 times larger than middle and low-end poverty
schools.
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Additional reasoning given was that higher-poverty schools endured more virtual
learning, which wasn’t beneficial to everyone, while also being much less likely to receive
supplemental support at home due to their caregivers being required to still find work outside of
the home which resulted in a learning environment that was detrimental to younger students. Due
to the pandemic students found themselves further behind than previous cohorts according to the
findings of the study. As previously stated upper elementary schools are not prepared to teach
what some would deem early literacy skills such as constrained decoding skills. To this end it’s
clear that additional support and resources are going to be needed to help students who exhibit
difficulties in their reading comprehension. Due to already limited funding in many of these
schools particularly those deemed high-poverty areas this may be an unrealistic task. An
alternative proposition would be to look inward to those already at your institutions such as the
librarians, many who are willing to help but this comes with its own set of issues as well.
The Role of Librarianship
There hasn’t been a great amount of research done on just how much this decline of literacy in
adolescents has affected librarianship but what research has been done shows that this decline
has created both a bigger need for the field and while also showing a lack of investment in the
field that is directly tied to literacy. Libraries are traditionally seen as the hub for literature in the
community, whether that be local public libraries or those in institutions like schools.
Nevertheless, they and the librarians in them play a huge part in the development of literacy
skills for adolescents. Yet, they are often left out of the process.
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In detailing falling literacy rates in Indiana and Librarians aims to help address this,
Bavis (2022) details how the falling literacy rates saw 1 in 5 of their states grade school students
lacking proficiency with their vocabulary and reading comprehension. In response to this the
state allocated funds to help teachers to some degree and provide a new literacy center but the
response didn’t address the need for librarians which is bizarre considering the research shows
that students in schools with well staffed and libraries tended to perform much better on reading
assessments. This is representative of a troubling trend of devaluing the field of librarianship
which seems to almost create a self fulfilling prophecy. Libraries exist to serve the community
and provide information and access to resources for its citizens
. For adolescents in particular the library can be particularly important as it’s a safe quiet
space for them to get their work done and access resources they might not otherwise have access
to as previously elaborated on. But when their understaffed and underfunded adolescents don’t
patronize these institutions which then brings upon the question of their value which then further
affects their funding and support. The article by Bavis also details the other roles librarians can
fill which include being additional support for teachers as many librarians also have their
teaching licenses. They can also take on the tasks of creating and running the initiatives to
improve literacy which removes additional workload from teachers who are already asked to do
a lot. This can only be done if there’s enough qualified librarians to fill these roles which is
another issue facing many schools these days.
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Conclusion
The decline of adolescent literacy unfortunately is not being overstated and its effects are felt in
many parts of society including in the librarianship field. This issue is also an ongoing one that
has subsequent effects on adults. What’s most distressing is that while there’s a lot of literature
and research on the issue it doesn’t seem to be as big of an issue to the general public or
government officials as it should be. Literacy affects everything from how we read and write to
how we comprehend and communicate. Developing these skills early and honing them over time
is key to our development as functioning members of society. There are many factors at play for
the cause of this issue and not all of them are easily fixable as at the core this is as much a
systemic issue as anything but in my estimation we could go a long way towards addressing and
changing this downward trend by investing more in our children's education with a prioritization
on literacy, more funding and support for both teachers and library staff, and finding ways
improve the environments of these adolescents thus improving the odds of them receiving the
necessary home involvement they need to thrive.
You do this creating initiatives to promote literacy, reaching out the children and finding
ways to engage them in their own learning process whether by curating lesson plans that target
their areas of strengths and also developing the areas they struggle with, and also by creating and
promoting content that appeals to them and gets them excited about the learning process and
about literature as a whole. Mainly, as with most things in life it will take a financial
commitment and investment in the infrastructure upon which literature is currently being taught.
With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic being so great it’s going to take a lot of effort and
investment to get these kids back on a healthy path towards positive reading achievement
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considering they were already trending downward before the pandemic. All in all the literature
on this subject is ever growing and it’s a necessary conversation to have if things are going to
change. The research provided in this review along with countless other studies and articles
prove that this is an issue that many are already passionate about. While there is more work to be
done and everything in this subject isn’t easily quantifiable it’s a good starting point for anybody
interested in this issue.
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References
Barshay, J. (2021, May 17). Proof points: Why reading comprehension is deteriorating.
The Hechinger Report https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-why-readingcomprehension-is-deteriorating/
Bavis, L. (2022, October 5). Librarians want to help combat Indiana’s declining literacy
rate. WFYI Public Media. https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/librarians-want-to-helpcombat-indianas-declining-literacy-rate
Bradshaw, T. & Nichols, B. (2002). Reading at risk: A survey of literary reading in
America. Washington DC: National Endowment for the Arts Research Division Report
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Kuhfeld, M., Lewis, K. & Peltier, T. (2023). Reading achievement declines during the
COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from 5 million U.S. students in grades 3–8. Read Writ
36, 245–261 .
Moore, D. W., Bean, T. W., Birdyshaw, D., & Rycik, J. A. (1999). Adolescent literacy: a
position statement. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 43(1), 97–112.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40017055
Waldfogel, J. (2012). The role of out-of-school factors in the literacy problem. The
Future of Children, 22(2), 39–54. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23317410