Gen Z Students Are Struggling To Read Single Sentences And It Could Harm Their Futures, Professors Warn – AfroTech
College educators are reportedly rethinking their teaching methods as Gen Z students arrive on campus with weaker reading skills than previous generations.
Nearly half of all Americans did not read a single book in 2025, and reading habits have declined by roughly 40% over the past decade, Fortune reports. Gen Z continues to lag behind other generations: Americans aged 18–29 read an average of just 5.8 books in 2025, the outlet notes.
How Professors Are Adjusting Their Teaching
Jessica Hooten Wilson, a professor of great books and humanities at Pepperdine University, told Fortune that some students now arrive in her classroom struggling to read even a single sentence or engage in basic critical thinking.
Rather than lowering expectations, Wilson has adapted her approach to instruction. She now reads passages aloud with students, analyzes texts line by line, and returns repeatedly to a single poem or passage throughout a semester.
The goal, she says, is to help students rebuild foundational reading skills so they can think critically on their own and prepare for life after graduation.
“I feel like I am tap dancing and having to read things aloud because there’s no way that anyone read it the night before,” Wilson said, per Fortune. “Even when you read it in class with them, there’s so much they can’t process about the very words that are on the page.”
Rethinking Reading In The Age Of AI
Timothy O’Malley, a theology professor at the University of Notre Dame, told Fortune that he traces some of his students’ struggles to earlier stages of education. After years of standardized testing, “they’ve been formed in a kind of scanning approach to reading,” O’Malley said, noting that students simply skim texts for important information instead of engaging deeply with complex material.
And even when longer readings are assigned, O’Malley said some students turn to AI-generated summaries — missing the deeper purpose of the exercise.
Struggling With Confidence In Reading
Per Fortune, many students lack the confidence and stamina to work through longer or more demanding reading assignments.
Brooke Vuckovic, a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, told the outlet that, each term, roughly 40% to 50% of her students describe themselves as novice or reluctant readers. Once encouraged to begin reading, however, Vuckovic says students gain confidence quickly, Fortune reports.
Per the outlet, Abilene Christian University Theology Professor Brad East has also noticed that easing grading pressures could be an effective way to engage Gen Z with reading lists and has chosen to adjust assignments to encourage critical thinking.
As AI evolves, it’s evident educators may continue to evolve their instruction along with it.
