{"id":2627838,"date":"2026-07-10T08:07:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T12:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/increasing-number-of-ivy-league-students-cant-even-read-so-lets-stop-calling-them-elite\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T08:13:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T12:13:10","slug":"increasing-number-of-ivy-league-students-cant-even-read-so-lets-stop-calling-them-elite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/increasing-number-of-ivy-league-students-cant-even-read-so-lets-stop-calling-them-elite\/","title":{"rendered":"Increasing Number Of Ivy League Students Can&#8217;t Even Read"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fincreasing-number-of-ivy-league-students-cant-even-read-so-lets-stop-calling-them-elite%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2627838&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-york-times-issues-multiple-corrections-for-article-falsely-claiming-900000-u-s-children-have-been-hospitalized-for-covid-19-during-pandemic\/\" title=\"New York Times Issues Multiple Corrections For Article Falsely Claiming 900,000 U.S. Children Have Been Hospitalized For COVID-19 During Pandemic\">article discusses<\/a> the decline in literacy levels among American students and even college students.It highlights a recent story from the Atlantic about a Harvard student struggling with reading a novel, using AI tools to help comprehend texts like anthony Burgess\u2019s &#8220;A Clockwork Orange,&#8221; which features complex slang. Experts suggest that modern education&#8217;s focus on excerpted texts and digital distractions has contributed to the weakening of reading skills.Surveys indicate that many high schoolers read only one or two full books annually, and over half of educators report student struggles with basic reading. The literacy crisis is widespread, with 21% of American adults considered functionally illiterate. Some states,like Texas,are trying to reverse this trend by mandating the study of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >classic full-length works<\/a>,such as Shakespeare and Dante,across all public schools. The article emphasizes the importance of returning to comprehensive reading of full texts to prevent a future generation, even at elite levels, from being unable to read at a basic level.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/girl-in-school-uniform-reading-book-on-floor-in-classroom-10638235\/\">Ron Lach \/ Pexels<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/10\/increasing-number-of-ivy-league-students-cant-even-read-so-lets-stop-calling-them-elite\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Increasing Number Of Ivy League Students Can\u2019t Even Read, So Let\u2019s Stop Calling Them \u2018Elite\u2019&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/10\/increasing-number-of-ivy-league-students-cant-even-read-so-lets-stop-calling-them-elite\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Increasing Number Of Ivy League Students Can\u2019t Even Read, So Let\u2019s Stop Calling Them \u2018Elite\u2019&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/10\/increasing-number-of-ivy-league-students-cant-even-read-so-lets-stop-calling-them-elite\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/10\/increasing-number-of-ivy-league-students-cant-even-read-so-lets-stop-calling-them-elite\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Increasing Number Of Ivy League Students Can\u2019t Even Read, So Let\u2019s Stop Calling Them \u2018Elite\u2019&#038;body=The literacy crisis has certainly made its way to elite universities, but it does not begin there.%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/10\/increasing-number-of-ivy-league-students-cant-even-read-so-lets-stop-calling-them-elite\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\">                     <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); pfTrackEvent(&#039;Increasing Number Of Ivy League Students Can\u2019t Even Read, So Let\u2019s Stop Calling Them \u2018Elite\u2019&#039;); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\">                     <span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span>                     <\/a>                 <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"pf-content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When a Harvard student needs ChatGPT to help with reading a novel, it\u2019s clear that America\u2019s high schools aren\u2019t teaching students how to read.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/JU6em\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">new story<\/a> from The Atlantic shows the decline in literacy by telling the story of a Harvard student having trouble in class. Assistant Director for Humanities and Social Sciences Support Margaret Rennix said this student came to her and told her about using AI to translate Anthony Burgess\u2019s <em>A Clockwork Orange<\/em> into easier language. Rennix told The Atlantic that the student was confused by what the student called \u201cOld English\u201d in the 1962 novel.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3481651138\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlike actual Old English texts like <em>Beowulf<\/em>, which some colleges still assign, <em>A Clockwork Orange<\/em> is written in English, as well as a fictional Russian-based <a href=\"https:\/\/www.anthonyburgess.org\/a-clockwork-orange\/a-clockwork-orange-and-nadsat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">slang<\/a> called \u201cNadsat.\u201d The Nadsat language is not impossible to read, however, as many internet sources contain <a href=\"http:\/\/www.visual-memory.co.uk\/amk\/doc\/nadsat.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dictionaries<\/a> of the words used in the text.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rennix explained how some students view reading in the modern age: \u201cBy asking them to read, professors are arbitrarily withholding information from students by forcing them to get it through this more difficult medium,\u201d she told The Atlantic.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"QdsHey4lFjXgu2rnZBSRqKIxPzNWTY5Jh\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Atlantic\u2019s new cover story by <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/rosehorowitch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@rosehorowitch<\/a> is absolutely definitive on the end of the age of reading in America\u2014and the emergence of a new post-literate age in modern life<\/p>\n<p>Some core facts and anecdotes:<\/p>\n<p>1. Reading is shrinking. The share of Americans who read for pleasure\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DKThomp\/status\/2074837653363564911?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The literacy crisis has certainly made its way to universities, but it did not begin there. A <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/d8Ibl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">survey<\/a> by The New York Times<em> <\/em>found that high schoolers are reading very few full books every year \u2014 often only one or two. Rather than assigning full books, the survey found, teachers instead assign short excerpts from texts in the hopes that students will read them. In the digital era, educators are catering to students\u2019 shortened attention spans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe reader of an excerpt is utterly reliant on the skill of the one who chose the excerpt, to say nothing of the good faith required to represent the original author well,\u201d Rachelle Peterson <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/16\/some-students-have-never-read-a-full-length-book-this-bill-would-fix-that\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a> for The Federalist in March. \u201cAnd the reader of excerpts is in a position of dependence on some cultural elite who made the big decisions for him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aatif Rashid, teacher at UCLA\u2019s Extension Writers Program, expressed a similar concern about excerpted texts in a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/aatif_rashid\/status\/2074916268294189080?s=46\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">post on X<\/a>: \u201c[T]he big thing that stood out to me as a teacher is how schools are actively making the reading crisis worse by reducing the number of books they assign in high school.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The literacy decline isn\u2019t just anecdotal. In a 2025 Education Week <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edweek.org\/teaching-learning\/secondary-students-are-struggling-with-reading-too-a-look-at-the-landscape\/2025\/11\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">survey<\/a>, 58 percent of educators said \u201ca quarter or more\u201d of their students struggle with \u201cbasic reading skills.\u201d Twenty-eight percent of the respondents said the main reason their students struggle is a lack of motivation to read, while 19 percent blamed a lack of fluency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This follows a concerning trend of declining literacy in America overall. The National Literacy Institute found that <a href=\"https:\/\/usareads.org\/the-literacy-crisis-in-america\/\">21 <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/usareads.org\/the-literacy-crisis-in-america\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">percent<\/a> of American adults are functionally illiterate in a 2024 study.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some states such as Texas are trying their hardest to push back against the declining literacy rates among America\u2019s students. The Texas Board of Education recently approved new <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/30\/texas-to-include-the-bible-as-part-of-new-k12-required-reading-lists\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">curriculum<\/a> that includes a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/texas-curriculum-bible-board-vote-06530403ff91c10462382422003e109f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">literary canon<\/a>, universal across all public schools. All <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/calif-gov-newsom-announces-2b-plan-to-reopen-schools-by-spring\/\" title=\"Calif. Gov. Newsom announces B plan to reopen ... by spring\">public school students<\/a> in the state will be required to read <a href=\"https:\/\/sboe.texas.gov\/state-board-of-education\/sboe-2026\/sboe-2026-june\/june2026-sboe-agenda.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">texts<\/a> like <em>Hamlet<\/em> by William Shakespeare, <em>The Inferno<\/em> by Dante Alighieri, and passages from the Bible.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Transitioning back to full-length texts is the first of many steps public schools need to take to reverse this decline. Otherwise, we can expect a generation of Ivy League graduates who cannot read a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/adam-kinzinger-continues-losing-his-mind\/\" title=\"Adam Kinzinger Continues Losing His Mind\">high school-level<\/a> novel.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Skye Graham is an intern at The Federalist. She is a senior History major at Hillsdale College and serves as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-meet-the-kids-book-character-challenging-the-lefts-pro-illegal-immigration-narrative\/\" title=\"Exclusive: New Kids&#039; Book Targets The Left&#039;s Anti-ICE Narrative\">assistant features editor<\/a> for the Hillsdale Collegian.<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Skye Graham<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/skyegraham\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags no-print bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/books\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Books<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/education-2\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">education<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/harvard\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Harvard<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/high-school\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">high school<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/illiteracy\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">illiteracy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/literacy\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">literacy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/literacy-crisis\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">literacy crisis<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/middle-school\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">middle school<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/reading\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Reading<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/reading-list\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">reading list<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/the-atlantic\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">The Atlantic<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>High school reading skills decline as Harvard student struggles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4302,"featured_media":2627839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/pexels-ron-lach-10638235-e1783624277772.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[40451,80817,38379,50757,64429],"class_list":["post-2627838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-academic-standards","tag-education-inequality","tag-ivy-league","tag-literacy-2","tag-student-achievement"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/pexels-ron-lach-10638235-e1783624277772.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4302"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2627838"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2627842,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627838\/revisions\/2627842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2627839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2627838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2627838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2627838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}