On the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, just 30% of eighth-graders were proficient in reading, down from 34% in 2019. But for students in the 10th percentile — the lowest achievers — that score has dropped 19 points in a decade. They’re not alone: Youngsters in the 25th percentile have seen a 13-point decline over the same period. These disastrous drops are often masked by averages that include higher scores posted by students at the top of the achievement ladder. But it is clear that struggling readers in middle school are now reading at much lower levels. Some of this may be because they are reading less than they used to.