Literacy Facts

Fewer adults and children are reading for pleasure than ever before even though those who read less, don’t read as well and have lower reading proficiency scores. That may not be surprising, but current statistics also show that those who don’t read for fun do poorly in every academic subject. How serious are the effects of this drop in pleasure reading? By conventional standards, less than one third of all high school seniors can now read proficiently. Click here to read “Whatever Happened to Reading for Fun” by Jerry Griswold, Professor, National Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, San Diego State University.

• More than 20% of adults read at or below a fifth grade level, far below the level needed to earn a living wage.
• The National Adult Literacy Survey found that over 40 million Americans, age 16 and older, have significant literacy needs.
• A number of national and state organizations in the United States have identified Level 3 reading proficiency as a minimum standard for success in today’s labor markets.
• Findings from the IALS assessment indicate that only half of the U.S. adult population between the ages 16 and 65 has reached Level 3.

Source: National Institute for Literacy

Literacy and Children

• Helping low-literate adults improve their basic skills has a direct and measurable impact on both the education and quality of life of their children.
• 46% of parents read to their children every day.
• 62% of parents with a high socio-economic status read to their children daily compared to 36% with low socio-economic status.
• Children who are read to at least three times per week by a family member are almost twice as likely to score in the top 25% in standardized reading exams as children who are read to less than three times per week.

Source: National Institute for Literacy

Literacy and Poverty

• 43% of people with the lowest literacy skills live in poverty.
• 17% of people with the lowest literacy skills receive food stamps.
• 70% of people with the lowest literacy skills have no full or part-time job.
• Workers who lack a high school diploma earn a mean monthly income of $452 compared to $1,829 for those with a college degree.

Source: National Institute for Literacy