Study Finds Students More Likely to Read the Classics

According to a May 5, 2008 article from U.S. News & World Report, a recent study from Renaissance Learning finds that students are more likely to read classic works than popular contemporary fiction. While titles varied depending upon grade level, current favorites (such as J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series) were read less often by the students who were surveyed than were works by classic authors (such as Dr. Seuss, S.E. Hinton or Harper Lee). The study also found that, in general, students read less books per year as they grow older (dropping from 12.9 books in sixth grade to 4.5 books in 12th grade).

The article, which includes a link to the study, is available at the U.S. News & World Report Web site.