A middle school teacher in Dallas, Texas, shared some alarming news about her students. Out of 110 eighth graders she teaches, only two can read at the level they should be at. This shocking finding has sparked new concerns about how well kids can read today and how much time they spend on screens.
According to The Daily Dot, Ms. L posted a video on TikTok, that quickly went viral. She explained the reading levels of her students and said the problem is much bigger than just reading. The video has been viewed over one million times and got people talking about the state of education.
According to Ms. L, 18 of her students can only read at a kindergarten level. That means they read like five-year-olds, even though they’re around 13 or 14 years old. Almost half of her class reads somewhere between second and fourth grade levels. With just two students reading where they should be, she’s worried these kids won’t catch up and will face serious problems in life.
The problem goes way beyond just reading skills
Ms. L stressed that this isn’t only about reading or knowing facts.“It’s not just literacy, and it’s not just lack of content knowledge,” she said in her video. “It’s not just critical thinking skills, It’s basic thinking skills,”
“It’s scaring me a little. I see it every single day.” The education crisis in Texas has made headlines recently, including a high school football player facing serious charges.
She described how students can copy information without actually thinking about it. Information goes straight from their eyes to their hands without passing through their brains at all. She compared the situation to a ship sailing across the ocean with nobody steering it.
Data from the Nation’s Report Card backs up what Ms. L is seeing. According to their 2024-2025 report, only 31% of eighth graders across the country read at or above the level they should. The numbers got even worse after COVID lockdowns. Students who were already behind before the pandemic fell even further behind afterward.
One teacher who is from Mexico shared her experience of teaching American students in the comments, and it also painted a scary picture.
“I’m a Mexican teacher in Mexico. I have two students from the USA and I have noticed that they almost never follow the instructions; it’s like they are only suggestions, not steps to follow,” they wrote. A college teacher rang the alarm bells as well: “I teach at the college level. We should be WAAAAAY more scared then we are right now.”
Experts say increased screen time is part of the problem. Kids today spend more time on their phones and tablets than reading books for fun. Many people responding to Ms. L’s video agreed that screens and a culture that doesn’t value learning are hurting young people. Texas has been dealing with various challenges lately, including a rancher being sued by State Farm.
Published: Dec 30, 2025 04:45 pm