Why Won't/Don't Students Read? And How Can We Get Them To?

I believe we are all familiar with the growing problem of college students not wanting to or simply not reading. This is true not only for required reading, we may assign them for class, but for reading overall, including for enjoyment (McMurtrie, 2024; Swan, 2024). The number of students who read for pleasure, which strengthens their overall reading skills, has continued to decline. It dropped from 50% in 1976  to 30% in 2016. Those reading for pleasure at least once a week dropped from 60% in 1976 to just over 40% in 2016. Today, only 20% of teenagers voluntarily read for pleasure (The Impact of Technology on Reading and the Future of Reading, 2023).  

The research and reports from educators across the country are clear. The number of students who complete the reading assignments for class continues to decline (McMurtrie, 2024), especially if that reading is more than a few pages. In a study published in 2000, 20% of students did the reading for class in 1997. This percentage was down 80% compared to 1981 (Burchfield & Sappington, 2000). Even though many of us have tried to adapt by requiring less reading or defining only the absolutely critical pages for them to read, they still don’t read. 

Why? 

There are a lot of theories out there, some supported by research and others from longtime educators. One of the most common reasons is believed to be a result of the recent generations having been raised on screens – smartphones, social media, video games, and an endless supply of instant information, most in small snippets not requiring much time or effort to read. Such reading requires lower cognitive load or effort than a long article or book chapters (Swan, 2024). Give them a traditional medical textbook like Harrison’s, and they are overwhelmed. Some are suggesting that due to the endless supply of things to watch or listen to in short, isolated information bits, which create constant distractions, Generation Z’s brains are wiring in ways that make focusing on deep reading harder (Swan, 2024; Why Students Aren’t Reading, 2025). The average home in 2024 had 17 screens, including TVs, computers, tablets, and cell phones (The Impact of Technology on Reading and the Future of Reading, 2023). 

Human brain development requires more than quick hits of fragmented information to develop the ability to do sustained reading, which is needed to follow a line of thinking, compare and contrast, analyze complex or long documents, articles, or book chapters, and understand certain arguments or points of view (Swan, 2024). 

The lowering of academic expectations and loss of learning time during the pandemic are also believed to be contributing factors. In a 2023 survey by EdWeek Research Center, 24% of secondary-school officials defined the loss of learning in English and language arts as severe or very severe (Cavanagh, 2024). 

Student factors also come into play. Many students don’t see the point of doing a lot of work outside of the classroom or the value in spending time reading for an hour or more. Part of this could be due to the ultra-hectic schedules students have been on since elementary school, with almost every moment of their day planned. Some struggle with reading endurance or weak vocabulary skills, so they avoid reading. Even those students who do read, a significant number seem unable to analyze, summarize, or integrate what they read (McMurtrie, 2024).

For anyone teaching for 15 years or more, you may remember when new students could synthesize and summarize information from multiple lectures and extrapolate and integrate principles across courses. But that is much less so today. Students enter our programs with a host of new and concerning learning challenges that include fragmented and distracted thinking, and more limits on what they are willing or able to do, reading being one of the significant issues. 

What can we do?

I suspect many of you have tried several different approaches, such as reducing the amount of reading, clearly identifying only those pages that must be read, and using quizzes or gaming to see if students did read. All of these are reasonable and have likely had mixed results. Here are some additional suggestions. 

Have students read in class

Consider having students read in class and then have a discussion, guided by questions that must be answered during the time allotted. An alternative to this is that students must read and answer questions individually first, and then join a group to discuss. 

Reading guides

Provide reading guides to help students learn to look for and focus on key areas. These could be a list of key terms, concepts, or questions to answer. However, this will require more work on your part. If you initially start by guiding, showing, and reviewing with the class how best to approach and use these guides to pull the key points from the reading, the aim would be that they will be able to do it more and more independently and without a guide. 

Communicating the importance and why of reading

Telling students why you are assigning the reading and how it directly connects with the course material or their future work (NIU, n.d.; O’Grady, 2024). With adult learners, telling them the why behind what you are asking them to do can be extremely helpful in getting them to do it. They are less likely to do it if they sense it doesn’t have value or worth. Thus, tethering it to something that matters and will impact their lives as PAs can motivate them to do it. 

Reading expectations

Clearly define your expectations for reading in a special paragraph in your syllabus, on the course home page, and during the first day of class. This aligns with communicating the importance and why of your expectations of them regarding readings. 

Textbook orientation

Help students familiarize themselves with their textbooks (Barbour, 2025). Each medical book is laid out differently, and helping students understand how to navigate it to find what they need most effectively may help. This is true for print and digital text formats. 

Options

Students like choices. When possible, let them pick from a defined list of readings or various formats such as links, PDFs, rental options, and digital access. Consider adding a few additional links or videos that relate to the topic and are more practical or real-life-based. 

The actual impact of digital and social media reading of snippets of information has and will likely continue to affect student reading and learning in unclear ways. Many faculty members seem to agree that students are entering college and graduate education with what appears to be fewer skills needed to be successful. Reading effectively is just one of them. However, it is also essential to take a moment to consider the enormity of change in media environments today and how it affects communication and learning. The future appears to be moving toward a hybrid model of video/image, oral, and abbreviated written format. I’m not sure we can change that. So, perhaps, we need to adjust to consider incorporating more listening and watching, with smaller pieces of reading, to encourage and support learning. 

This article discussed a few suggestions for getting students to read for class. If you want to learn more, please check out the references with the *.  

References:

*Barbour, B. (2025, March 26). Teaching students to read textbooks. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-students-read-textbook/ 

Burchfield, C. M., & Sappington, J. (2000). Compliance with required reading assignments. Teaching of Psychology, 27(1), 58-60. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2000-07173-017 

Cavanagh, S. (2024, February 8). The depth of ‘learning loss’: How bad is it across subjects? EdWeek. https://marketbrief.edweek.org/education-market/the-depth-of-learning-loss-how-bad-is-it-across-subjects/2024/02 

*How to Get Students to Read What’s Assigned. (2020). Faculty Focus. https://s35691.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/How-to-Get-Students-to-Read-Whats-Assigned.pdf 

*O’Grady, K. L. (2024,July 10). How to get your students to read. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-to-get-your-students-to-read? 

McCurtrie, B.(2024, May 9). Is this the end of reading? Students are coming to college less able and less willing to read. Professors are stymied. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/is-this-the-end-of-reading 

*Northern Illinois University[NIU]. (n.d.). Getting students to read. Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning.https://www.niu.edu/citl/resources/guides/instructional-guide/encouraging-students-to-read.shtm. 

Swan, L. (2024, June 1). The end of reading. Why aren’t college students reading-and what can we do about it. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/college-confidential/202405/the-end-of-reading 

The Impact of Technology on Reading Habits and the Future of Reading. (2023, November 22). Technology.org.  https://www.technology.org/2023/11/22/the-impact-of-technology-on-reading-habits-and-the-future-of-reading/ 

Why Students Aren’t Reading. (2025, April 17) Chronicles of Higher Education. [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXIOfEnCoFs