Today, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced the release of "To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence," a new analysis of reading patterns in the U.S. It gathers statistics from some 40 studies on the reading habits and skills of children, teenagers and adults. It looks at all varieties of reading, including fiction and nonfiction genres in various formats such as books, magazines, newspapers, and online reading. "The compendium reveals recent declines in voluntary reading and test scores alike, exposing trends that have severe consequences for American society," says the press release. At the same time, says Motoko Rich in the N.Y. Times, 11/19/07, the NEA warns that "performance in other academic disciplines like math and science is dipping for students whose access to books is limited, and employers are rating workers deficient in basic writing skills." But, says Rich, not everyone agrees...

Among the NEA's findings are that Americans are reading less and reading less well, and the declines in reading have civic, social and economic implications. NEA Chair Dana Gioia blames it on "commonly accepted culprits, including the proliferation of digital diversions on the Internet and other gadgets, and the failure of schools and colleges to develop a culture of daily reading habits."

But some critics, says Rich, find this report as flawed as the NEA's last one on reading, "Reading at Risk" (2004), saying that it's based on old data, and more recent research shows little or no drop in reading. Other critics say the study isn't nuanced enough, and doesn't take well enough into account young people's reading on the Internet. “I don’t think the solutions are as simple as a report like this might be encouraging folks to think they might be,” Rich quotes Timothy Shanahan, past president of the International Reading Association and a professor of urban education and reading at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

"The NEA national reading program, the Big Read, is one response to these findings," says the NEA, and that's not its only response. One might point out that Mr. Gioia is a literary figure, not based in the visual, performing or media arts, and under his leadership, the NEA has been unusually generous with literary and reading/writing-based programs and fellowships. Not surprising, perhaps. But it is slightly surprising that the responsibility for all this reading and studying of reading has fallen to the NEA and not the National Endowment for the Humanities. And who's looking out for the visual, performing and media arts in our schools?

To Read or Not To Read:
Study Links Drop in Test Scores to a Decline in Time Spent Reading (N.Y. Times):

   

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