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Original poster

To be shocked that the national average reading age is 9-11

353 replies

SailorSerena · 06/02/2025 22:54

I often think why are people finding this confusing? It's not difficult! Did any of these posters even read the OP!? When reading threads here. On another thread I saw someone say so you know what the national average reading age is? When peoples comprehension was criticised. So I googled it. And I'm appalled!

How on earth is the UKs reading ability so poor that the average adult has the reading ability of a 10 year old child!?

OP posts:
HangryLikeTheHulk · 06/02/2025 23:00

The UK is a deeply anti-intellectual country, and most people appear satisfied to gulp on the teat of mass market tv series and blockbuster movies instead of reading. A soothing audio-visual mogadon to help them deal with the grim decline all around them.

BuffaloCauliflower · 06/02/2025 22:59

Looking at the entire population of all ages I can believe this. I know of people my age (late 30s) at least 20% left primary school unable to read to an expected year 6 standard, with less reading support in secondary those children probably never improved much. So easily 20% of all those over 35 reading at that level forever, not to mention it’ll be lower the older you get above that. I don’t know about younger but a much smaller slice of the adult population are under 35 so that average sounds likely to me.

KetteringQueen · 06/02/2025 22:56

Do you have a source for this statistic? I find it quite hard to believe this is the average to be honest. How is it measured?