Summer reading is optional at most public schools -- and may not require actual reading

Ninety percent of D.C.-area private schools require incoming ninth graders to read a book (or several) over the summer, writes Liz Cohen, vice president of policy at 50CAN, on The 74. Only 38 percent of public schools she surveyed have a reading requirement, and not all of those require reading a book. Or anything.

Watching Moana counts as summer reading for new students at a Newark high school.

"Albert Einstein High School in Kensington, Maryland, requires completion of one of four tasks: watching a documentary, listening to a music album, or reading an article or a six-page short story," writes Cohen. Catonsville High School in Baltimore County assigns a brief article titled Zombie Apocalypse. "Gifted" students read The Life of Pi.

Holton-Arms, a girls' private school in Bethesda, asks students to read four books over the summer. Nearby Whitman High School, which is public, tells students to read any book that is at least 150 pages and to take notes in the margins or on sticky notes.

"Just 14% of 13-year-olds reported reading daily for fun in 2023, compared with 37% 30 years earlier," Cohen reports. "Children ages 8 to 18 spend 7.5 hours per day, on average, on screens."

Public schools in more affluent communities are more likely to require summer reading, she found. "Highland Park High School, outside Dallas (no low-income students), requires incoming ninth-graders to read Paulo Coehlo’s The Alchemist."

At Newark's East Side High School, incoming ninth graders are expected to watch a TED talk on heroism, and watch a movie showing a "hero's journey." The list of recommended movies includes The Lion King, Moana, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,The Lego Movie and more. Or they can watch something else.