TX Students Read More this Summer than Any Other State - Survey

With a summer overshadowed by social distancing and closed summer camps, many U.S. kids spent more time reading books for pleasure. Parents and teachers, rejoice!

According to a recent survey of 1,600 U.S. students conducted by the online learning community Brainly, 74% of students nationwide said they read more unassigned books during the 2020 summer vacation than they did last year.

The top 5 states where students spent more time reading this summer:

1. Texas - 83%
2. New Jersey and Illinois - 82%
3. Georgia - 79%
4. Michigan - 78%
5. Ohio - 77%

While an increase in time spent reading is certainly praiseworthy, Brainly wanted to know just how much reading students actually did over summer break this year. Not including any required reading, here’s what was discovered:

• 40.2% of students read between three to six full-length books
• 31% of students said they read seven or more full-length books
• 11% read at least one or two full-length books

Students’ most-read book genres this summer were dystopian fiction/science fiction (36%), followed by mystery/crime thrillers (13%), romance novels (10%), and graphic novels (9%).

“Despite canceled trips COVID-19-related closures, it’s wonderful to learn that many more students were able to find a healthy mental escape with literary adventures in books this summer,” says Patrick Quinn, Parenting Expert at Brainly. “The students who spent more time reading over the summer are likely to have an academic edge and experience less learning loss this school year than their peers who didn’t read as much.”

Good news for Texas parents, indeed. Clearly we're doing something right!