Scholastic “Kids & Family Reading Report” 7th Ed

Scholastic “Kids & Family Reading Report” Reveals Young Readers Face Challenges In Finding Their Stories

Scholastic: 3.14.2019

Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, today released results from the seventh edition of its Kids & Family Reading Report™, a biennial national survey of parents’ and children’s reading attitudes and behaviors. Those surveyed include more than 1,000 pairs of children ages 6–17 and their parents, as well as 678 parents of kids ages 0–5. 

The research reveals the diversity parents and children seek in books, explores how reading helps children understand their world and indicates the importance of book access and reading role models.

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“What is striking in this year’s report, however, is how many children are losing their connection to books and reading at a relatively early age. If we are to turn around the decline in children’s reading frequency at age 8 and 9, and reignite their love for reading, we must continue the critical work of connecting kids with stories that spark their innate curiosity, in whatever format they prefer.”

Finding Their Story: A Precarious “Decline by Nine” 

The study found the percentage of kids defined as frequent readers (reading books for fun 5–7 days a week) drops from 57% among 8-year-olds to 35% among 9-year-olds. The data also shows a drop between ages eight and nine in the number of kids who say they love reading (from 40% to 28%), as well as the percentage of kids who think reading books for fun is important (from 65% to 57%).

The Kids & Family Reading Report has shown a child’s attitude towards reading enjoyment and importance is a predictor of reading frequency, which makes the trends in this year’s report so striking.

Reading helps kids navigate the world. The vast majority of parents (88%) believe that reading fiction and nonfiction is a good way for their child to better understand the world. Three in four children agree. More than half of kids (53%) and parents (55%) also agree a book has helped them or their child through a difficult time. Nevertheless, the data cited above shows that a young reader’s journey is at risk.

➤ 58% say they love or like reading books for fun.

➤ 52% agree reading books for fun is extremely or very important.

➤ 31% read books for fun 5–7 days a week (known as frequent readers);

➤ 41% of kids read for fun 1–4 days a week (known as moderately frequent readers); ➤ ➤ 28% of kids read for fun less than 1 day a week (known as infrequent readers).

➤ 74% of kids say that reading fiction and nonfiction is a way to help them understand the world; 88% of parents say the same.

➤ More than half of kids (53%) and parents (55%) agree a book has helped them/their child through a difficult time.

➤ 73% of kids say that reading about current events make it easier to talk about or understand them.

Finding Their Story: Diversity in Children’s Books in Demand

The survey underscores the importance of diversity and how broadly it is defined. A majority of parents and a near majority of kids ages 9–17 say diversity in children’s books includes people and experiences different than their own – representations of various cultures, customs, religions, settings and living situations. For others, diversity in children’s books includes differently-abled people, people of color and LGBTQ people.

Many want diversity in books. About half of kids ages 9–17 and parents with kids ages 6–17 agree “I wish there were more books available that include diversity;” among kids and parents who agree that diversity in children’s books is important, these percentages rise to 76% of kids and 69% of parents. Black and Hispanic families overall have the strongest views on the importance of and need for books with diversity.  

Demand is on the rise. Kids ages 12–17 and parents of children of all ages are more likely today than they were in 2016 to want books that include diverse storylines, characters or settings (18% of kids, up five points; 31% of parents with kids ages 6–17, up five points; parents of children ages 5 and under up 9 points to 36%). 

Characters build character. This year’s survey asked parents to prioritize the qualities they hope their children develop. Responsibility, self-confidence, honesty, respectfulness and kindness top the list. Parents know that cultivating these qualities can be challenging, and they overwhelmingly believe reading can help: 95% agree that characters in books can help inspire the development of these qualities in their child. 

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Finding Their Story: Access matters

The report shows clear parallels between access to books and reading role models and kids’ reading frequency.

Kids need help finding books. While four in 10 kids agree that they have trouble finding books that they like, this is far higher among infrequent readers than frequent readers (59% vs. 32%) and is true of roughly half of kids by age nine. 

Reading role models show kids the way. Frequent readers are more likely to be surrounded by people who they perceive to enjoy reading: 82% say a lot or nearly everyone they know enjoys reading, versus infrequent readers at 34%. And much like reading frequency, there’s a clear decline as children age: 77% of kids ages 6–8 say a lot or nearly everyone they know enjoys reading, but this drops as children age to 48% among 15–17 year-olds.

Books at home and in the classroom provide access. Frequent readers have an average of 139 books for children in their homes vs. 74 in infrequent readers’ homes. In school, classroom libraries are only available for 43% of school-aged children and only one-third say they have a classroom library that has enough of the types of books they'd like to read.

When kids choose, kids read. Regardless of reading frequency or children’s ages, the majority of kids (89%) agree their favorite books are the ones that they have picked out themselves.  READ MORE >>

Literacy Reports & Statistics

Children

Kids and Family Reading Report, Scholastic

Kids Count Data Center, Annie E. Casey Foundation

National/State Report Cards – Reading, NCES

State of Preschool, NIEER

2018

Education Leader’s Guide to Reading Growth, Renaissance

READ•FOR•SUCCESS: Combating the Summer Learning Slide in America, RIF

2009: Developing Early Literacy, National Early Literacy Panel - NIFL

2003: The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3, American Educator

The Kids & Family Reading Report: Rise of Read-Aloud :: Scholastic

Kids & Family Reading Report

Rise of Read-Aloud

Rise of Read-Aloud

Scholastic: 2019

The Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report™ is a biennial, national survey of children ages 6–17 and their parents as well as parents of kids ages 0–5, in the U.S. exploring attitudes and behaviors around reading books for fun. Released as three installments, findings from the 7th Edition cover the topics of read aloud, summer reading, book access, the latest trends in children’s reading habits as well as what both kids and parents want in books.

Key findings from The Rise of Read-Aloud, released in January 2019, reveal that more parents are reading to their young children, the family read-aloud experience is overwhelmingly positive, reading aloud is a partnership between kids and parents, and read-aloud frequency is on the rise, although read-aloud continues to decline after age five.

Additional data from the 7th Edition will be released throughout the spring of 2019.

Around the globe, the Kids & Family Reading Report has also been released in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom.

Scholastic’s New ‘Kids & Family Reading’ Report: Reading Aloud Is Up

Publishing Perspectives: 1.28.2019 by Porter Anderson

Scholastic’s biennial family-reading study finds American families are reading aloud to their children more often, but falling fast as children start reading for themselves.

The seventh edition of the biennial Kids & Family Reading Report from Scholastic was released at the end of last week and compiles the result of a survey on reading habits of American families.

With a focus two years ago on diversity issues, as Publishing Perspectives reported, this edition reports good news about the effects of reading aloud to children.

Kids & Family Reading Report™

The quick version:

➤Reading aloud is important, and it’s on the rise since the study started looking for it in 2014.

➤But reading aloud peaks at age 5 and falls off precipitously after ages 6 to 8. Parents say they stop or decrease reading aloud because children can read on their own.

The quick version with numbers:

➤The percentage of parents reading aloud during a child’s first three months is up nearly 50 percent since 2014, and the number of 6 to 8 year olds being read to 5 to 7 days a week up 7 percent since 2016

➤While a majority of families (55 percent) said they read aloud 5 to 7 days a week before a child turns 6, this percentage then begins to decline dramatically, even as research shows read-aloud frequency can help shape a young child into a frequent reader

The quickest version:

Read aloud more to children’s, and keep doing it, even after they can read for themselves.  READ MORE >>

Family Literacy Month :: Kids & Family Reading Report :: Scholastic

Kids & Family Reading Report

Kids & Family Reading Report, 6^th Edition

Scholastic: 2017

The key findings of this research, based on a nationally representative sample of 2,718 parents and children, including 632 parents of children ages 0–5; 1,043 parents of children ages 6–17; plus one child age 6–17 from the same household, are as follows:

1. WHAT KIDS & PARENTS WANT IN CHILDREN’S BOOKS

The average home with children ages 0–17 reports having 104 children’s books, however, there are large disparities in the number of books for kids in the home when considering kids’ reading frequency and household income:

Children who are frequent readers have 141 children’s books in their homes vs. 65 books for kids among infrequent readers’ homes.

Households with income less than $35K only have an average of 69 children’s books vs. 127 books for kids in households with income more than $100K.

When looking for children’s books to read for fun, both kids (37%) and parents (42%) “just want a good story,” and a similar percentage want books that make kids laugh.

Parents of kids ages 12–17 are more likely than kids to look for characters that reflect diversity in children’s books, yet about one in 10 kids ages 12–17 look for characters who are differently-abled (13%), are culturally or ethnically diverse (11%), and who break stereotypes (11%).

When asked what diversity in books for children and teens means to them, parents with kids ages 0–17 include “people and experiences different than those of my child” (73%), “various cultures, customs or religions” (68%), “differently-abled people” (51%), “people of color” (47%), and “LGBTQ people” (21%).

2. READING BOOKS FOR FUN

The majority of kids ages 6–17 agree “it is very important for their future to be a good reader” (86%) and about six in ten kids love or like reading books for fun (58%), a steady percentage since 2010.

Parents underestimate the degree to which children have trouble finding books they like. Only 29% of parents agree “my child has trouble finding books he/she likes,” whereas 41% of kids agree this is a challenge—this percentage of kids increases to 57% among infrequent readers vs. 26% of frequent readers.

Across ages, children turn to teachers or school librarians (51%), and friends, siblings or cousins (50%) to get the best ideas about books to read for fun. Among kids ages 6–11, school book clubs and fairs are also powerful sources of book ideas, as is social media among 12–17 year-olds.

3. READING ALOUD

Three-quarters of parents with children ages 0–5 (77%) say they started reading aloud to their child before age one, with 40%—up from 30% in 2014—saying they began when their child was less than three months old.

The frequency of reading aloud to young children 5–7 days a week has increased since 2014 among parents with kids ages 3–5 (55% to 62%), yet there are still significant drops in frequency after ages 5 and 8.

Kids ages 6–11 and their parents agree that they enjoy read-aloud time with the top reasons being it is a special time together (72% and 77%, respectively) and reading together is fun. (66% and 67%)

4. SUMMER READING

Despite conventional wisdom, six in 10 children ages 6–17 agree “I really enjoy reading books over the summer” (62%), with the main reasons being “I just enjoy reading” and “It’s a fun way to pass the time.”

While parents are more likely to see the value of summer reading, majorities of both kids (80%) and parents (96%) agree that summer reading will help the child during the school year. Parents say that summer reading is important because it keeps their child’s mind active and reading requires practice.

On average, kids read eight books over the summer; however one in five 12–17 year-olds and one in five kids in lower-income families do not read any books at all over the summer.

Nearly half of all parents with children ages 6–17 (48%) have heard of the summer slide—the loss of academic skills over the school break—with lower-income parents far less likely to have heard of this (38%). Teachers and schools are the number one source of this information.  READ MORE >>

Scholastic The Kids & Family Reading Report: 6th Edition

The Kids & Family Reading Report™: 6th Edition

shares new data on reading aloud, inequities in access to books, diversity in children's books and more.

Scholastic: 1.31.2017 by Alexandra Wladich

Kids & Family Reading Report™, Scholastic’s biannual study of children’s and parents’ attitudes and behaviors around reading. In the decade since, much has changed in the research on reading aloud starting at birth, discussions around access to books and diversity in children’s books, and efforts to promote summer reading. Yet despite knowing that all families want their children to succeed, not all realize that books and reading both improve children’s academic skills and critical thinking abilities, as well as help children develop empathy and compassion.

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Among the most positive findings we see the impact of the recent movement to encourage families to begin reading aloud to their children at birth and to keep going as their children get older. Previously, we found 30% of parents with children ages 0–5 reported reading to their child before three months old. Today, 40% of parents do. The percentage of families reading aloud to young children 5–7 days a week has also increased among families with kids ages 3–5 (55% to 62%), yet we still find many parents read less often to children older than 5, with another steep drop-off occurring at age 8.

While starting to read aloud early matters, we know that having books at home also makes a difference in kids’ reading lives. The report verifies that the homes of frequent readers have far more children’s books than the homes of infrequent readers, and a similar disparity exists in low-income homes and the homes of African American and Hispanic families. This is a strong call to action to ensure we are all working hard to get books into the hands of every child.

We also wanted to better understand what diversity in children’s books means to parents, as well as what types of characters kids and parents look for in kids’ books. Parents shared with us that when they consider the meaning of diversity in books for children and teens, they believe these books include “people and experiences different than those of my child” (73%), “various cultures, customs or religions” (68%), “differently-abled people” (51%), “people of color” (47%), and “LGBTQ people” (21%). We also found about one in 10 kids look for characters who are differently abled (13%), are culturally or ethnically diverse (11%), and who break stereotypes (11%). Hispanic and African-American families express more interest in diverse books than non-Hispanic and non-African American families.

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The key findings of this research, based on a nationally representative sample of 2,718 parents and children, including 632 parents of children ages 0–5; 1,043 parents of children ages 6–17; plus one child age  6–17 from the same 

household, are as follows:

WHAT KIDS & PARENTS WANT IN CHILDREN’S BOOKS

The average home with children ages 0–17 reports having 104 children’s books, however, there are large disparities in the number of books for kids in the home when considering kids’ reading frequency and household income:

> Children who are frequent readers have 141 children’s books in their homes vs. 65 books for kids among infrequent readers’ homes.

> Households with income less than $35K  only have an average of 69 children’s books  vs. 127 books for kids in households with income more than $100K.  READ MORE @

Scholastic :: Kids & Family Reading Report 5th Ed.

Kids & Family Reading Report

Scholastic

The New Kids & Family Reading Report™ from Scholastic Explores the Reading Attitudes and Experiences That Most Influence Children’s Reading Habits, Including Reading Aloud at Home, Independent Reading at School, Presence of Books in the Home, and More.

Key Findings

In fall 2014, Scholastic, in conjunction with YouGov, conducted a survey to explore family attitudes and behaviors around reading books for fun. The key findings of this research, based on a nationally representative sample of 2,558 parents and children, including 506 parents of children ages 0–5; 1,026 parents of children ages 6–17; plus one child age 6–17 from the same household, are as follows:

The State of Kids & Reading

~Half of all children ages 6–17 (51%) are currently reading a book for fun and another one in five (20%) just finished one.

~Both parents of children ages 6–17 (71%) and kids (54%) rank strong reading skills as the most important skill a child should have. Yet while 86% of parents say reading books for fun is extremely or very important, only 46% of kids say the same.

Reading Aloud at Home

~When it comes to being read aloud to at home, more than eight in 10 children (83%) across age groups say they love(d) or like(d) it a lot—the main reason being it was a special time with parents.

Spotlight: Reading with Kids from Birth

~Nearly three-quarters of parents with children ages 0–5 (73%) say they started reading aloud to their child before age one, yet only 30% say they began before the age of three months.

Reading in School

~One third of children ages 6–17 (33%) say their class has a designated time during the school day to read a book of choice independently, but only 17% do this every or almost every school day.

What Kids Want in Books

~Ninety-one percent of children ages 6–17 say “my favorite books are the ones that I have picked out myself.”

~The majority of kids ages 6–17 (70%) say they want books that “make me laugh.” Kids also want books that “let me use my imagination” (54%), “tell a made-up story” (48%), “have characters I wish I could be like because they’re smart, strong or brave” (43%), “teach me something new” (43%) and “have a mystery or a problem to solve” (41%).  READ MORE !

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