Kids are literally busier than they've ever been. Some HS students I talk to that would be labeled the "highest achieving" have their days scheduled from sunrise to sundown and beyond, and to maximize instructional time, schools have cut books from the curriculum.

The cost of higher education and the stakes of educational achievement have never been higher, so if reading for fun doesn't show up on a performance metric and isn't systemically valued, why would strategic students also value it with their time and effort?

It’s also, unfortunately, probably a correct assessment to behave this way in the winner-takes-all society they exist within

Is no one actually stepping back and looking at the big picture?