OPINION: High Schoolers with poor reading skills can vote?!

High schoolers are graduating with poor reading skills. So the problem is when high schoolers turn 18 they won’t know what they’re voting on. People need to read not only the basic ideas on the ballot, but the whole thing. If they don’t they won’t get the whole picture and they’ll only get snippets of what they’re reading. 

Then when they’re voting on something they might not know what their voting for. A below basic reader doesn’t know how to read the ballot language. Words like ad valorem, valuations, amended, fiscal confuse them. If they’re trained to read at a low level, they can’t interpret what its saying. If they can’t read, they can’t make their own decisions. So they vote based on what other people say. 

The National Assessment of Educational Progress made this graph.

https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reports/reading/2024/g12/national-trends/#achievement-level-trends

Over time the below basic level group is getting bigger and the other groups are getting smaller. People are becoming less knowledgeable when it comes to reading. The advanced group is getting smaller. People are not thinking as deeply in reading and are just absorbing the easy to understand ideas.See for yourself, reading levels explained: https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/reading/achieve.aspx#grade12 

Basic means they understand the easy ideas, and figure out the simple ideas. If they read the ballot language for Prop Q, they would get the basic concepts:…approving the tax rate of the city of Austin to pay for stuff…Proficient means they understand more. They make smarter guesses about the thing they’re reading on the ballot:…like parks and helping homeless people and put money in the general fund to pay for stuff in this year’s budget…Advanced means they can understand a lot and can simplify it into what matters….if you vote yes on Prop Q your taxes are going to go up, which means you will have less money to spend on yourself, and who knows where those taxes will be spent. 

If people can’t read this (basic English) and can’t understand it, should they be voting? People need to get better at reading in order to understand the ballot language and have their own opinions when voting. Don’t make your choices on what one person tells you or what you want to hear. Base your choices on true information.

Hera Sophia Robichaux is an Austin resident and a 12-year-old in 7th grade.