Gen Alpha Boys Face Reading Crisis
Summary
U.S. reading results show low proficiency among fourth- and eighth-grade students, and fewer 13-year-olds say they read for fun almost every day. Girls continue to outperform boys in reading, while experts cited early smartphone use and less reading modeled at home as possible factors in declining engagement.Key Facts
- In 2024, 31 percent of U.S. fourth graders scored at or above the NAEP Proficient level in reading.
- Forty percent of fourth graders scored below the NAEP Basic level in 2024, a larger share than in 2022.
- Thirty-three percent of eighth graders scored below the NAEP Basic level in 2024, the highest percentage recorded for that grade.
- In 2025, 14 percent of 13-year-olds said they read for fun almost every day, compared with 27 percent in 2012.
- Girls outperformed boys in reading in both fourth and eighth grades, continuing a pattern seen across more than two decades of national assessments.
- The National Literacy Institute reported that more than one in four U.S. adults read at the lowest literacy level in 2024.
- Literacy professor William G. Brozo said boys have lower reading achievement and engagement than girls in the U.S. and globally.
- Author and former middle school teacher Matt Eicheldinger cited earlier smartphone use and a decline in reading modeled at home as possible factors in young people's reading struggles.
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