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Percentage of Students Ages 9, 13, and 17, by Frequency of Reading for Fun

Age 9
Almost every day Once or twice a week Once or twice a month A few times a year Never or hardly ever
1984 53% 28% 7% 3% 9%
1999 54 26 6 4 10
2004 54 26 7 5 8
Age 13
1984 35 35 14 7 8
1999 28 36 17 10 9
2004 30 34 15 9 13
Age 17
1984 31 33 17 10 9
1999 25 28 19 12 16
2004 22 30 15 14 19
Source: National Endowment for the Arts, To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence, November 2007.

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