New 2025 testing data shows third- through eighth-graders scored far below 2019 levels in reading. In math, some grades have made gains, but all are lagging compared to before the pandemic.
reading
PEN America warns of rise in books ‘systematically removed from school libraries’
A new report says that the number of books being challenged or removed from public schools across the country has risen exponentially in the past two years. A Clockwork Orange tops their list.
How a public library’s summer game took over a Michigan city
Summer in Ann Arbor, Mich., means thousands of people hunting for hidden codes around the city and reading books to earn points. It’s part of a popular game organized by the public library.
Most Americans want to read more books. We just don’t.
When we worry about the declining rates of literacy and a lack of reading skills, it’s often about children. But how often are adults reading these days? And what are we reading? A new NPR/Ipsos poll finds out.
Five years since COVID, Louisiana’s readers are thriving. This is their secret.
In 2019, Louisiana’s fourth graders ranked 50th in the country for reading. Now, they’re 16th. Here’s how the state, and one rural district, pulled it off.
Nearly 5 years after schools closed, the nation gets a new report card
There’s some good news in math, mostly bad news in reading and lots of questions about why students are still struggling.
Growing up, he struggled to read. Then a young teacher saw his potential
Juleus Ghunta is a published children’s author and award-winning poet. But growing up, he could barely read. That was until a teacher saw his potential.


