Norwegian children have the lowest reading enjoyment among all 65 countries in the PIRLS 2021 study, and 1 in 5 Norwegian students in 5th grade showed very poor reading performance. This is shocking for a country with Norway's prerequisites and is not just a skills crisis, but a motivation crisis that requires new solutions.
The Labour Party's recent reading enthusiasm strategy focuses primarily on traditional measures such as more physical books and increased reading time, while largely ignoring innovative solutions that see great success in other countries. For while Norway struggles, countries with the world's best reading instruction have taken a different path – they combine traditional learning with smart digitalization.
These findings support why AI-generated, personalized stories have proven particularly effective in reading instruction. A systematic literature review from 2025 found that AI-driven storytelling has significant potential to improve children's language learning and early reading skills. When children are offered texts adapted to their interests and reading level, cognitive capacity is freed up that would otherwise go to decoding difficult words, providing better deep understanding of the content.
The Labour Party's recent reading enthusiasm strategy focuses primarily on traditional measures such as more physical books and increased reading time, while largely ignoring innovative solutions that see great success in other countries. For while Norway struggles, countries with the world's best reading instruction have taken a different path – they combine traditional learning with smart digitalization.
The World's Best Reading Education Countries Invest in Smart Digitalization
Ireland, Estonia and Singapore stand out as leading examples of countries that have integrated digital tools into their reading programs with great success, and rank among the three best countries in the world for reading skills. Ireland has through its "Digital Strategy for Schools" significantly improved its PIRLS results, and even during the covid pandemic, students' reading skills increased. Estonia has focused specifically on AI through initiatives such as AI Leap 2025, which offers advanced, AI-driven educational tools to students and teachers, contributing to Estonian students now ranking among the best in Europe in reading according to PISA results. Singapore, which tops the PIRLS ranking, has through its Smart Nation Initiative managed to adapt teaching to individual students' needs using advanced technology, which will be necessary to master in a classroom of diverse needs.Research Supports Digital Learning
Research is clear on why personalized, digital learning produces better results than static physical books. A study that examined AI-based intervention in reading comprehension documented significant improvements in both self-regulated learning and reading comprehension compared to the control group. Similarly, an experimental study with an AI-guided reading platform showed a statistically significant increase in reading comprehension after just a few weeks of intervention, measured with standard tests like DRP, with clearly higher scores in the intervention group. Furthermore, a global meta-analysis shows that personalized and adaptive learning has a significant positive effect compared to traditional teaching methods, with an effect size of g = 0.29 (about 61%). Such adaptation cannot be achieved in today's school everyday life without AI tools that support this.Neuroscience and Motivation
Neuroscientific research shows that the brain responds more strongly to stories than to pure fact communication, because narratives activate multiple brain areas simultaneously and thereby reduce cognitive noise and distractions. Additional research has documented that when learning content is integrated in a narrative form, the brain's emotional centers are stimulated and the information sticks stronger in long-term memory.These findings support why AI-generated, personalized stories have proven particularly effective in reading instruction. A systematic literature review from 2025 found that AI-driven storytelling has significant potential to improve children's language learning and early reading skills. When children are offered texts adapted to their interests and reading level, cognitive capacity is freed up that would otherwise go to decoding difficult words, providing better deep understanding of the content.