A report from the National Institute of Literacy (NLI) found approximately 40% of students across the nation couldn’t read at a basic level. This number is shocking.
And while many could point to the pandemic as the cause, the decline began well before then. Performance on the reading assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress has steadily declined since peaking in 2017. The literacy problem has been building for years.
Literacy is more than the ability to read and write, it is the ability to comprehend, interpret, and apply information. These skills shape how people learn, communicate, and navigate the world around them, making literacy a foundation for long-term success.
When those skills are lacking, the consequences extend beyond the classroom. Research shows that low literacy skills can create barriers to economic opportunity, making it increasingly important to identify effective ways to support students as they develop these foundational skills.
While concerns persist that AI could enable students to bypass the reading and writing process, developers and initiatives such as Renaissance Philanthropy’s Learning Virtual Institute (LEVI) Literacy are exploring how AI tools can help students build confidence and strengthen literacy skills.
Why Are Literacy Rates Declining?
The conversation surrounding declining literacy has largely focused on identifying its root causes. While there is no single explanation, several factors continue to emerge, including shorter attention spans, reduced engagement with longer texts, and socioeconomic disparities.
One contributing factor may be the rise of short-form content. Sixty-second videos deliver information quickly, requiring little sustained attention. As a result, many students may be less accustomed to spending extended periods engaging with longer texts that require comprehension, interpretation, and critical thought.
Data has shown that over the past two decades, attention spans on screens have decreased from 2.5 minutes to 47 seconds. If students are increasingly consuming content designed to be brief and immediate, they may have fewer opportunities to develop the literacy skills that come from sustained engagement with complex material.
Recent data also suggests that students are engaging less with books and other long-form texts outside the classroom. A report from the Walton Family Foundation and Gallup found that 35% of Gen Z K–12 students dislike reading, while 43% say they rarely or never read for fun.
Another report found that only 2 percent of parents read to their children. Literacy is not a static skill, it develops through continued practice and exposure to increasingly complex texts. As those opportunities decline, literacy may decline alongside them.
Socioeconomic disparities further compound the problem. Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are less likely to perform well on literacy assessments than students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. There are many possible reasons for this.
Higher-income families may have more access to books or the resources to hire tutors to support their students’ education. Students from lower-income families may not have those same opportunities and may also attend schools that lack the funding to provide individualized support for literacy development. This is where AI can help.
Data has shown that over the past two decades, attention spans on screens have decreased from 2.5 minutes to 47 seconds. If students are increasingly consuming content designed to be brief and immediate, they may have fewer opportunities to develop the literacy skills that come from sustained engagement with complex material.
The AI Dilemma
As AI capabilities have evolved, they have transformed the technology into a companion that helps people work more efficiently and, depending on the task, do less of the work themselves. This is where the tension lies.
AI can read, write, summarize, and interpret text in seconds. A novel like The Count of Monte Cristo, spanning more than 1,000 pages, can be condensed into a concise summary complete with key themes, symbols, and character development.
Instead of spending hours engaging with the text, students can generate the answers almost instantly. In many ways, AI can become a shortcut around the very process that develops literacy.
Teachers have taken notice. A recent survey on the role of generative AI and the future of literacy found that 66.5 percent of teachers are concerned AI will decrease the perceived value of developing writing skills, while 46.8 percent are concerned it will decrease the value of reading.
One teacher recounted, “One child told me they didn’t need to learn to write as a computer would do it for them when they left school.” Even music teachers like Alexis Pollock have grown concerned, arguing that AI generated music keeps young people from engaging deeply in either music or writing.
These concerns are valid. Students can use AI to bypass the cognitive work required to develop literacy and complete assignments more quickly. But the impact of AI depends on how it is used. Rather than replacing literacy development, AI also has the potential to strengthen it.
Some teachers, for example, already use AI powered tools to help students think critically about the essays they are writing along with evaluating the outputs an AI may provide. The question, then, is not whether AI belongs in education, but whether it can be designed and used in ways that strengthen literacy instead of replacing it.
A recent survey on the role of generative AI and the future of literacy found that 66.5 percent of teachers are concerned AI will decrease the perceived value of developing writing skills, while 46.8 percent are concerned it will decrease the value of reading.
AI as a Personalized Literacy Coach
AI as a personalized literacy coach can provide teachers and students with the support needed to help them become confident readers and writers. These tools can provide personalized assistance based on individual learning needs, making it easier for students to understand content and practice literacy skills.
Recognizing the potential for AI to support literacy development, Renaissance Philanthropy partnering with The Learning Agency recently launched the Learning Engineering Virtual Institute (LEVI) Literacy, an initiative to develop and scale low-cost AI tools that can help cut in half the number of struggling young readers.
This can take many forms. AI can adjust reading complexity, break down challenging passages, provide explanations to help students move forward, and ask questions to ensure students understand the deeper meaning of a passage.
When it comes to writing, it can provide instant feedback on written assignments and offer suggestions on how to improve each section. Students can learn how to write an essay step by step, building their skills throughout the writing process.
Some tools are already working to do this. Amira Learning, a 2026 Tools Competition winner, is an AI-powered learning agent that supports reading growth. Amira captures oral reading moments, provides real-time support, recommends the next best instructional move, and can detect reading errors, fluency, and dyslexia risk.
Independent research conducted in Louisiana public schools during the 2023–2024 school year found that K–3 students who used Amira had higher spring 2024 Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) scores than non-users.
ThinkCerca, a 2022 Tools Competition winner, is a writing platform that provides feedback on student writing. An independent study conducted in Texas middle schools found that Grade 7 and 8 students who used the platform scored higher on their spring reading state assessment than non-users.
These examples reflect the type of literacy-focused AI approaches that initiatives like LEVI Literacy aim to support, tools designed to help students build skills through personalized guidance and feedback. The clear distinction in both of these tools is that AI is being used as a coach, not a shortcut. It is this kind of responsible design that makes AI a meaningful support for literacy in the long run.
AI as a personalized literacy coach can provide teachers and students with the support needed to help them become confident readers and writers.
A Moment of Opportunity
The literacy crisis will not be solved by AI alone, and technology cannot replace excellent teachers or evidence-based instruction. But AI does offer an opportunity to rethink how personalized support is delivered and how students engage with reading and writing.
The future of AI in literacy will depend on the choices we make today. If designed responsibly, AI can help students build the skills that literacy requires: the ability to think critically, communicate clearly, and engage deeply with information. The goal is not to have AI read and write for students, but to help more students become confident, capable readers and writers themselves.
The future of AI in literacy will depend on the choices we make today. If designed responsibly, AI can help students build the skills that literacy requires: the ability to think critically, communicate clearly, and engage deeply with information.
This column first appeared in Forbes.
