Editorial: When the 'best' students don't read books

Philosopher George Santayana famously said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” That warning sounds more ominous once you realize how many college students can’t understand a history book.

In a recent story for The Atlantic, Rose Horowitch addressed the decline in the ability of college students at elite institutions to handle the traditional workload. Nicholas Dames, a Columbia University literature professor, told her that many of his students find reading several books a semester to be an overwhelming challenge. It wasn’t always this way, and it has gotten worse over the past decade.

“Twenty years ago, Dames’ classes had no problem engaging in sophisticated discussions of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ one week and ‘Crime and Punishment’ the next,” Horowitch wrote. “Now his students tell him up front that the reading load feels impossible. It’s not just the frenetic pace; they struggle to attend to small details while keeping track of the overall plot.”

Horowitch spoke with nearly three dozen professors. The majority “relayed similar experiences,” she found.

This isn’t surprising given the progressive attack on merit and academic standards in the name of “equity.” Many high schools no longer require students to read books. Instead, they read articles or excerpts of books. In August, The Chronicle of Higher Education noted that students are doing less reading in high school. Part of this is because of COVID, but these lowered expectations predate the pandemic.

This reading deficit exposes and foreshadows a number of major problems. The adults running the K-12 education system are failing to prepare students adequately. Reading comprehension is a requirement for functioning as a productive adult. It helps students process information and pay attention to details. It increases empathy. Research shows that reading can help ward off cognitive decline. Many kids may not understand these benefits, so they need adults to prod them to read, even — or perhaps especially — when they don’t want to.

Then there are the universities themselves. Many have lowered standards by eliminating standardized testing requirements. Yet an exceptional test score is a strong indicator of academic readiness. In addition, grade inflation has reduced the value of grade-point averages.

Developing critical thinking skills helps students thrive in their lives and careers. Lowering standards doesn’t help students struggling academically. Instead, it masks deficiencies, undermines the pursuit of excellence and discourages scholarly progress.

New students at top universities can face intimidating challenges. Reading comprehension shouldn’t be one of them. That this has become a problem reveals a systemic failure in the country’s education system.