Teens are reading less often and for shorter amounts of time, according to a new National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) report released today. To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence, which compiles data from more than 40 studies about the reading habits of children, teenagers, and adults, reveals declines in voluntary reading and test scores. The report expands the breadth of the NEA's 2004 report, Reading at Risk, which looked mainly at literary reading trends. To Read or Not To Read also covers nonfiction and various formats, including books, magazines, newspapers, and online reading. The 2004 report looked only at adults 18 and older. To Read or Not To Read analyzes trends for youth as well, and for readers of different education levels. Among the findings is the overall conclusion that young Americans are reading less. Less than one-third of 13-year-olds are daily readers, a 14 percent decline from 20 years earlier. Among 17-year-olds, the percentage of non-readers doubled over 20 years, from 9 percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004. A related finding: Americans ages 15 to 24 spend almost two hours a day watching television, and only seven minutes on reading. A second overall conclusion is that Americans are reading less well: Reading scores continue to worsen, especially among teens and young males. One bit of good news: The average reading score of 9-year-olds has improved. But the bad news dominates: From 1992 to 2005, reading scores for 12^th graders fell. The 2005 reading scores for male 12^th graders were 13 points lower than for female 12rh graders; and that gender gap has widened. "The story the data tell is simple, consistent, and alarming," NEA Chairman Dana Gioia wrote in a preface to the report. "Although there has been measurable progress in recent years in reading ability at the elementary school level, all progress appears to halt as children enter their teenage years." But Alan Farstrup, director of the International Reading Association (IRA), argued that the report failed to address "the kind of reading that kids are doing. "There's an enormous amount of literate behavior going on with the Internet and with electronic messaging," said Farstrup. The IRA is dedicated to improving reading instruction and improvement. The report, Farstrup noted, emphasizes text on paper. "But I think in large part what [the NEA fails] to talk much about in the report is that the kind of reading that is available has changed because of the influence of technology. Sara Kelly Johns, president of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), agreed. "Reading looks different often these days," she said, "because it's not just reading books; it's listening to podcasts, to audiobooks, to e-books. And that may not have been measured." Kelly Johns, who is a reading media specialist at Lake Placid (NY) Middle/High School, also put in a plea for recognizing the value of school libraries and the librarian profession. "[The report] makes it obvious that the nation needs to focus particularly on raising reading scores," she said. "The direct connection between raising reading scores and strong school library programs with libraries staffed by certified media specialists is pretty obvious. "It's time for the nation to make the connection and to strengthen the number of school library specialists and the budget for these programs," Kelly Johns said, "because students need enticing materials and active programs in order to make the scores better the next time that [NEA report-related] survey is taken."