The State of Teen Reading 2026

National Trends and Actionable Solutions for Secondary Literacy

American teens are facing a literacy crisis and secondary schools are on the front lines.

Reading for pleasure has declined by more than 40 percent over the past 20 years. National reading scores continue to fall. Too many students are spending their days working below grade level instead of building the skills they need for college, career, and civic life. What’s more, too few teens are taught how to actually apply effort in reading—or shown that doing so develops the agency, confidence, and credibility that adolescents crave.

The State of Teen Reading 2026, published by Zinc Learning Labs, examines what’s driving these trends and what educators can do differently to reverse them.

Download the full report here.