OpinionViewpointsCredentialled but Illiterate: The Reading Crisis at the Heart of EducationCopyFacebookXTruthGettrLinkedInTelegramEmailSaveStudents study in the Perry-Castaneda Library at the University of Texas at Austin on Feb. 22, 2024. Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesBy Patrick Keeney4/20/2025Updated: 4/20/2025PrintX 10:00CommentaryIn his trenchant essay, “The Average College Student Is Illiterate,” Hilarius Bookbinder sounds the alarm over the precipitous decline in student literacy.