The Nation

• In a study of literacy among 20 ‘high income’ countries; US ranked 12th
• Illiteracy has become such a serious problem in our country that 44 million adults are now unable to read a simple story to their children
• 50% of adults cannot read a book written at an eighth grade level
• 45 million are functionally illiterate and read below a 5th grade level
• 44% of the American adults do not read a book in a year
• 6 out of 10 households do not buy a single book in a year

The Economy

• 3 out of 4 people on welfare can’t read
• 20% of Americans read below the level needed to earn a living wage
• 50% of the unemployed between the ages of 16 and 21 cannot read well enough to be considered functionally literate
• Between 46 and 51% of American adults have an income well below the poverty level because of their inability to read
• Illiteracy costs American taxpayers an estimated $20 billion each year
• School dropouts cost our nation $240 billion in social service expenditures and lost tax revenues

Impact on Society:

• 3 out of 5 people in American prisons can’t read
• To determine how many prison beds will be needed in future years, some states actually base part of their projection on how well current elementary students are performing on reading tests
• 85% of juvenile offenders have problems reading
• Approximately 50% of Americans read so poorly that they are unable to perform simple tasks such as reading prescription drug labels

(Source: National Institute for Literacy, National Center for Adult Literacy, The Literacy Company, U.S. Census Bureau)

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