National Endowment for the Arts - Reading - New York Times: "In seeking to detail the consequences of a decline in reading, the study showed that reading appeared to correlate with other academic achievement. In examining the average 2005 math scores of 12th graders who lived in homes with fewer than 10 books, an analysis of federal Education Department statistics found that those students scored much lower than those who lived in homes with more than 100 books. Although some of those results could be attributed to income gaps, Mr. Iyengar noted that students who lived in homes with more than 100 books but whose parents only completed high school scored higher on math tests than those students whose parents held college degrees (and were therefore likely to earn higher incomes) but who lived in homes with fewer than 10 books."
There are homes where there are fewer than 10 books? If that includes cookbooks, then we're really in trouble.
I don't doubt that reading is declining in America, along with every other elementary skill, but I wonder if the results hold up if reading on the internet is included. Certainly, the stylistic range of internet content is wider, ranging from the devil-may-care style of blogs (which I love) to the New York Times, but it should count for something.
Also, might it also be true that Americans are writing far more than even ten years ago?
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