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fliptop [soylentnews.org] writes:

A growing number of college professors are sounding the alarm over a quiet but accelerating crisis on American campuses, as Gen Z students are arriving at universities unable to read at even a basic level [slaynews.com]:

According to a report [fortune.com] by Fortune, professors across the country say students are struggling to process written sentences, complete assigned reading, or engage meaningfully with texts that were once foundational to higher education.

The problem is not confined to remedial courses or underperforming schools.

Faculty say it is widespread, structural, and getting worse.

[...] Timothy O’Malley of the University of Notre Dame said students often have no idea how to approach traditional reading assignments and instead turn to artificial intelligence tools for summaries.

“Today, if you assign that amount of reading, they often don’t know what to do,” O’Malley told Fortune.

[...] Professors say it is the predictable outcome of a K–12 system that no longer ensures basic competence.

Standards were lowered, accountability eroded, and reading increasingly treated as optional.

The result is a generation arriving at adulthood unprepared for rigorous work, real expectations, and the responsibilities that come with them, and universities now face the consequences.

Has AI become the modern equivalent of Cliff Notes?

Original Submission