11 Million Adults Illiterate in the USA

By now, most of you will have heard the disturbing news from a study (National Assessment of Adult Literacy) released by the US Department of Education yesterday that over 1 in 20 people in the United States are functionally illiterate. That is a staggering statistic.

It's also bad news... and sad news. Hard to believe, isn't it? And yet the findings are clear.

The majority of these people are immigrants, illegal or otherwise, but don't breathe a sigh of relief just yet.

Take a look at the results from International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) assessment, 1994-1998:

The average composite literacy score of native-born adults in the U.S. was 284 (Level 3); the U.S. ranked 10th out of 17 high-income countries.

Thus, many "average" US adults have low reading skills and there are those who are technically literate and educated but whose literacy levels have either fallen or flat-lined -- including college graduates.

Think about this. This means that despite the fact that more people are achieving the level of formal education, the literacy rate is not rising.

Please read the 4 articles below and support literacy efforts.

American Library Association (great resources and links)
The Literacy Site (help fund free books)
National Center for Family Literacy
National Coalition for Literacy
ProLiteracy Worldwide


Study: 11M U.S. Adults Can't Read English
By BEN FELLER, AP Education Writer -- Thu, Dec 15, 6:10 PM ET

Survey finds 1 in 20 lack basic English skills
By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY -- 12/15/2005 6:46 PM

Literacy Falls for Graduates From College, Testing Finds
By SAM DILLON, NY Times -- December 16, 2005

1 in 20 Americans Is Not Literate, a National Survey Suggests
By Liz Bowie, Baltimore Sun -- December 16, 2005