Nearly 10 Percent of College Students Read and Do Math at a 4th-Grade Level, New Survey Finds

A sweeping new international survey has revealed that a significant share of college students across wealthy nations are reading and doing math at the level of a 10-year-old, raising serious questions about the state of education in some of the world’s most developed countries.The Survey of Adult Skills, conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, tested more than 150,000 people of all ages across its 38 member states. The results, captured in 2023 and just released, are stark: eight percent of college-enrolled adults are reading at or below the level of a 10-year-old, while nine percent perform at the same low benchmark in math.The numbers vary considerably by country. In Germany and France, fewer than five percent of college students fall into the lowest literacy category. But in Poland, Israel, and the United States, that figure jumps to 21, 20, and 14 percent, respectively. The math results tell a similar story — in Italy, America, and Slovakia, more than 15 percent of college students are performing below grade level, with Israel topping the list at roughly 21 percent.Researchers point to several overlapping factors behind the decline: pandemic-era learning gaps; falling college enrollment pushing institutions to lower their admissions standards; and reduced public investment in education. The survey was conducted not just to measure proficiency in reading and writing. It aims to capture whether adults are able to function in society. Nations with lower performance are generally the most diverse in culture and population or they lack access to educational tools. The report notes that the disadvantages for individuals unable to understand course work results in a vicious circle — lower employment opportunities, earnings, health, and participation in civic life make people less likely to seek out educational resources. “Adults with low foundational skills are around one-third less likely to be active in the labor market than those with medium proficiency. Among those in work, hourly earnings are around five dollars lower on average, with gaps exceeding ten dollars in Singapore and Switzerland. They report worse health, lower life satisfaction, and weaker trust in others and in institutions,” the report reads.“Adults with the lowest skills are the least likely to engage in learning. They are held back by a combination of limited awareness of their own skill gaps, poor prior experiences of formal education, financial pressure, and employment in jobs that offer neither the time nor the encouragement to develop skills,” the report adds. The explosion of AI tools like ChatGPT has added another layer of complexity, with many educators arguing that large language models have established a troubling new floor for academic underperformance in both K-12 and higher education settings.Some teachers are pushing back with decidedly low-tech solutions. In one Minneapolis classroom, a literature and English teacher banned phones and laptops entirely, requiring all work to be completed with pencil and paper. The results were striking: In September, just 46 percent of students said they felt confident in their reading skills. By February, after the ban, that number had climbed to 95 percent, Futurism reported.It’s a single classroom, but it points to something larger. As a collection of the wealthiest nations in human history, OECD member countries are now confronting a troubling paradox: rising access to education alongside falling academic standards. If left unaddressed, the consequences will extend far beyond test scores, sending graduates into the workforce without the foundational skills once considered a baseline for secondary school.

Nearly 10 Percent of College Students Read and Do Math at a 4th-Grade Level, New Survey Finds

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