Number of kids who like to read in Ontario drops 25%: report

A new report finds fewer children in Ontario are choosing to read on their own these days.

A survey by people for education suggests the number of children in grades 3 and 6 who enjoy it, has dropped by up to 25 percent over the past 10 years.

The survey of 240 thousand kids in grades 3 and 6 found just half of them enjoy reading, which is a a drop of 15 to 25 percent from a decade ago.

"The importance of literacy programs must go beyond a narrow focus on test scores," Sam Hammond with the elementary teachers federation of Ontario said.

Just over half of all elementary schools in this province have teacher-librarians.

"Parents need to read to their kids and they need to show kids that reading is important," Patsy Aldana with the national reading campaign said.

Reading scores are going up despite the lack of interest, but Aldana said students who enjoy doing it will be more successful in school.