Professors Are Terrified Because Gen Z Students Apparently Can’t Read Anymore
College professors across the U.S. are reporting something they did not expect to see this consistently. First-year students are arriving on campus unable to read full sentences comfortably, follow paragraphs, or complete assigned readings without help. This, according to instructors, has become a widespread pattern that is forcing a change in how college classes function.
The issue is not described as abstract concerns about attention spans or vague complaints about phones or distractions. Faculty are describing specific breakdowns in reading ability that were once assumed to be resolved by the time students finished high school, and academics are seriously worried.
What Professors Are Seeing Up Close
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Jessica Hooten Wilson, a humanities professor at Pepperdine University, has described students struggling before they reach the analysis or interpretation of texts. In her classes, the challenge often begins with decoding the sentence itself. Assigned readings are often left unread, so she reads passages aloud in class so students can follow along.
Other professors report similar experiences. Students hesitate when asked to read, lose track of meaning halfway through a paragraph, or struggle to explain what they just read, even after multiple passes. Syntax, structure, and vocabulary create barriers that slow comprehension to a halt.
Reading assignments that once ranged from 25 to 40 pages per class are now widely seen as unmanageable. Several instructors say students no longer know how to approach long-form text at all, rather than simply avoiding it.
How Colleges Are Adjusting in Response
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To keep classes functional, professors have changed how they teach. Some reduce the amount of reading. Others spend multiple sessions on a single text. Many rely more heavily on in-class reading, guided discussion, and close analysis than on independent preparation.
Faculty emphasize that these changes are meant to preserve learning goals. Students arrive without the tools to meet expectations on their own, so instructors focus on rebuilding those skills inside the classroom.
Critics see this as a reset rather than a small tweak. Introductory classes now spend time on skills students were once expected to bring, and reading-heavy syllabi are trimmed so fewer students fall behind in the first weeks. Professors admit the trade-off. These changes help more students stay enrolled, but they also mean fewer graduates leave college fully comfortable with demanding, independent reading.
A Decline That Started Long Before College
The classroom struggles reflect broader trends. National surveys show that reading has been declining for years. Nearly half of Americans did not read a single book in 2025. Adults aged 18 to 29 averaged fewer than 6 books that year.
Data from Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation found that 35 percent of Gen Z students in K–12 education dislike reading, and 43 percent rarely or never read for enjoyment. These patterns were established before the pandemic and continued afterward.
Standardized assessments tell a similar story. Reading scores for both 4th and 8th graders fell again in 2024, continuing a downward trend that began well before remote learning disruptions.
By the time students reach college, many have spent years reading primarily to extract answers for tests rather than to understand ideas, arguments, or narratives.
How Digital Habits Shape Reading Skills
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Educators point to changes in how students interact with text. Reading has often been framed as a task to be completed efficiently, rather than an activity that requires sustained attention. Scanning for key points replaced careful reading in many classrooms.
Generative AI has intensified this shift. Professors report that students increasingly rely on AI-generated summaries instead of reading assigned material. While summaries provide quick explanations, they remove the effort required to work through unfamiliar language and structure.
Many students arrive highly skilled at navigating short-form digital content but inexperienced with extended reading. That difference becomes clear when they encounter novels, essays, or theoretical writing that requires patience and memory.
Confidence Erodes Alongside Comprehension
Professors say the issue is rarely refusal. More often, students describe reading as stressful because they feel slow or incapable. Over time, reading becomes associated with frustration or embarrassment, leading many students to avoid it altogether.
Some instructors find that lowering pressure around grades helps students reengage. Confidence often improves once students realize that reading ability can be rebuilt. Others warn that without structured support, students may accept their difficulties as permanent.
Faculty also connect reading struggles to social effects. Reading supports empathy, shared discussion, and engagement with unfamiliar perspectives. When those skills weaken, students report feeling disconnected in academic settings.
Why Professors Worry About What Comes Next
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Educators stress that the consequences extend beyond college. Many careers require employees to interpret reports, contracts, policies, and long emails. Professors express concern about graduates entering the workforce without the ability to process complex written material independently.
Workplace research reinforces this concern. Gallup data shows fewer than half of employees feel they have time to learn on the job. Students who leave school without strong reading skills often have limited opportunities to rebuild them later.
Several instructors describe the situation as a narrowing pipeline. Students arrive underprepared, pass through systems that adjust expectations to keep them moving forward, and enter professional environments that assume strong reading skills already exist.
What Faculty Say Needs Attention Now
Across institutions, faculty agree on one thing. The problem is not intelligence or effort, but exposure and practice. Reading comprehension, stamina, and confidence only develop through repeated use and steady guidance.
Many argue these skills need stronger grounding earlier in education. At the same time, they stress that colleges cannot look past what is happening in classrooms right now. Without deliberate attention to reading, higher education risks producing graduates who can complete assignments but struggle with ideas, arguments, and nuance.
For instructors watching students pause over sentences that once came easily, the concern feels immediate and tangible, playing out class by class.