New York Schools Shift From Novels to Excerpts, Citing Exam

New York City teacher Nicole Radosti Pipia says her fifth- and sixth-grade students no longer read full novels in class. Instead, they work with excerpts and short stories to prepare for standardized exams, a shift she attributes to a mandated reading program that leaves no time for longer works.

Another anonymous middle school teacher in the city said her school, which taught novels before the pandemic, now requires half of each 40-minute class for an online reading intervention program. The program is often ignored by students, who are mostly English learners and struggling readers, she said. Her classroom library is now decorative, and unused books are being discarded. "Half of them have never read a book," the teacher stated. "In 10 years, we went from kids reading multiple novels in class to them having never opened a book."

Curriculum Choices and Official Response

New York City elementary and most middle schools use one of three approved reading curricula. Two include full-length books, while the HMH Into Reading and Into Literature programs do not. In a statement to New York Focus, NYC Public Schools Press Secretary Nicole Brownstein said literacy is foundational and that students have access to whole books in classrooms and via a digital library, which saw a 14 percent increase in checkouts last school year.

Statewide data on in-school reading is limited, with curriculum varying by district and classroom. For over a decade, a shift from full books to shorter works has been driven by alignment with state standards and assessments. Teachers interviewed lament that teaching novels has become harder due to lower student stamina and interest.

Teacher Accounts of Declining Engagement

Lori Atkinson, a 37-year high school English teacher in the rural Copenhagen Central School District, said she teaches fewer novels because students cannot handle them. She cited the impact of the Common Core standards, which emphasized analyzing short, complex passages. "I believe the decline in reading happened when we were forced to excerpt everything," Atkinson said, linking it to a focus on standardized test proficiency.

Atkinson primarily blames technology, social media, and AI for eroding reading skills and concentration. She said teenagers seek instant gratification and use AI for book summaries. Where she once taught five novels and a Shakespeare play yearly in the 1990s, she now considers three books a success. Book lending has dropped from 20 weekly to one or two monthly. She reported that half her class stops reading a two-page article within three minutes, and students lost interest in a five-minute movie trailer.

Adapting Instruction in the Classroom

In the Saranac Lake Central School District, high school teacher Kelsey Francis said her district still encourages full-length texts, but the number of books completed has dropped dramatically. She attributes this partly to AI's impact, leading her to stop assigning homework for fear of AI use. Students now do most work by hand in class, reducing time for reading. Francis noted a major post-pandemic decline in vocabulary and stamina, saying students "fatigue after more than a few pages" and find 30 minutes of independent reading tough.

Education consultant Emily Aierstok, a former Capital Region teacher, said she has slowed reading assignments due to shorter attention spans, assigning one chapter instead of two for homework. She now starts each class with five minutes of reading to support struggling readers. However, last school year, her seventh graders read eight books, the most in her 26-year career, which she achieved by giving students agency in book selection.

State Standards and Literacy Concerns

New York's English Language Arts standards require reading both shorter texts and full-length works. State Education Department spokesperson JP O'Hare told New York Focus the agency is committed to skilled instruction but noted local districts are responsible for curriculum selection. The department's statement emphasized exposing students to grade-level materials with complex ideas is critical for success.

Fewer than half of New York students in grades 3-8 are proficient in reading, according to state data. Jeff Smink, deputy director of EdTrust-New York, said lack of exposure to full-length books contributes to the state's literacy crisis. He argued full books build stamina, context, and a love for reading, but also noted that students without foundational skills may become disengaged if simply given a book. Atkinson concluded it is critical for teachers to continue teaching full-length texts to students.