I think I read Flesch’s Why Johnny Can’t Read back in graduate school. For one reason or another, this problem seemed to disappear. Perhaps math and science issues became greater concerns.
Problems with reading proficiency are about to receive more attention. A recent study by the National Endowment for the Arts urges attention to the lack of reading activity once students hit middle school.
“We are doing a better job of teaching kids to read in elementary school. But once they enter adolescence, they fall victim to a general culture which does not encourage or reinforce reading. Because these people then read less, they read less well. Because they read less well, they do more poorly in school, in the job market and in civic life.”
Among the possible causes is the “profileration of electronic media”. The news article I have linked does include statements contending that the research does not include online reading and students may be reading, but reading different types of material.
