The Wrongologist

What’s
Wrong Today:

Low literacy is a persistent problem
among adults in the US. Results from the National Assessment of Adult
Literacy (NAAL), available through the National Center for Education Statistics, found that more than 32 million adults have “Below Basic”
literacy skills. That means they can’t read. This translates to nearly
1 out of every 6 adults, age 25 and older. 

The methodology used to determine reading
levels measures the percentage of adults who perform at each of four
achievement levels: Below Basic, Basic, Intermediate, and Proficient. 13%
percent of adults were at or above Proficient (indicating they possess the
skills necessary to perform complex and challenging literacy activities) while
22% of adults were Below Basic (indicating they possess no more than the most
simple and concrete literacy skills).

This has profound implications for our
economy, both in its impact on social safety net costs, and on long-term unemployment
in America. Here are a few facts about illiteracy in America:

• Percent
  of US adults who can’t read: 14%
• Number of US adults who can’t
  read: 32 Million
• Percent
  of US adults who read below a 5th grade level: 21%
• Percent
  of high school graduates who can’t read: 19%
• Percent of prison inmates who
  can’t read: 63%

According
to Begin
to Read, there is also a linkage between illiteracy and poverty. 43% of
adults at the Below Basic literacy skills level live in poverty compared to
only 4% of those at the Proficient skill level. Moreover,
3 out of 4 food stamp recipients perform in the lowest 2 literacy
levels, while 90% of welfare recipients are high school dropouts. Consider that
49% of 4th graders eligible for free
and reduced-price meals scored below “Basic” on the NAEP reading test,
while 40% of 8th graders eligible for free and reduced-price meals scored below
“Basic” on the test.

It gets
worse. Illiteracy is highly correlated with criminal behavior:

• 85%
  of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally
  illiterate. (Functional illiteracy
  is reading and writing skills that are inadequate to manage daily living
  and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level)

• More
  than 60% of all prison inmates are functionally illiterate

• Inmates
  who receive literacy help have a 16% chance of returning to prison, while 70%
  who receive no help are recidivists. This equates to taxpayer costs of $25,000
  per year per inmate and nearly double that amount for juvenile offenders

• Over
  70% of inmates in America’s prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level

Finally, we
are not improving. The
US is the only country among 30 OECD free-market countries where the current generation is less well
educated than the previous one. Consider these facts:

• More than 1.2 million people drop
  out of high school each year

• 16
  to 19 year old girls at the poverty level and below, with below average reading
  skills, are 6 times more likely to have out-of-wedlock children than their
  reading counterparts
• Among 4th graders, 53% of African
  American students, 52% of Hispanic students, and 48% of American Indian
  students scored below the “Basic” level on the NAEP reading test
• Among 8th graders, 44% of African
  American students, 41% of Hispanic students, and 37% of American Indian
  students scored below the “Basic” level on the NAEP reading test
• The number of high school seniors
  who read at or above “Proficient” has been declining since 1992

According to Reading is Fundamental:

According to Begin to
Read, 66% of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of the 4th
grade will end up in jail or on welfare. 78% of them will not catch up by the
time they graduate.

The problem isn’t
simply that the Internet and TV have supplanted books in the lives of children
and adults. To a great degree, this is
a class and income inequality problem. If not fixed, the government will feed
40+% of Americans for the rest of their lives, since in the 21st
century economy, there are no jobs for people who cannot read. A more literate (and
better educated) population will improve our standard of living. Solving illiteracy also offers
other benefits:

• Higher rates of employment and
  better wages
• Increased voter participation,
  volunteerism and civic engagement
• Better health and more effective
  healthcare, since more people will be able to read and follow doctors’
  instructions and prescription directions

Many organizations,
both government and non-government, are working the problem, but are falling further
behind each year. It’s time to realize there is a linkage among illiteracy, income
inequality and low economic growth, all of which disproportionately impact the
poor. These factors are part of a negative feedback loop, reinforcing each
other, while sustaining a huge drag on our economy, our international
competitiveness, and our standard of living. If you compare and contrast our struggles with data from websites similar to upskilled.edu.au you can see that more needs to be done to improve the education system in the US.

It’s time we move aggressively
to solve income inequality as part of solving illiteracy.