Literacy in America

 

  • Twenty-five million children in the U.S. can not read proficiently. (RIF)
  • 34% of children entering kindergarten lack the basic skills needed to learn to read. (RIF)
  • Nationally, only 33% of fourth-grade students performed at or above the  NAEP Proficient level on the reading assessment in 2022. This percentage was 2 percentage points lower compared to 2019. (The Nation’s Report Card)
  • 63% of 4th graders in the U.S. performed at or below the NAEP Basic reading level in 2022, 4 percentage points lower compared to 2019. (The Nation’s Report Card)
  • 32% of fourth-grade students in North Carolina performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level on the reading assessment in 2022 with only 61% scoring at or above the NAEP Basic level in 2022. (The Nation’s report card)
  • Only 37% of twelfth-grade students performed at or above the the NAEP Proficient level on the 2019 reading assessment. (The Nation’s Report Card)
  • In 2021, there were 2.0 million (5.2%) dropouts between the ages of 16 and 24. (National Center for Education Statistics)
  • In 2021, among those who lived with at least one parent, the poverty rate for children under age 18 was highest for those in households in which no parent had completed high school (43 percent) and lowest for those in households in which the highest level of education attained by either parent was a bachelor’s or higher degree (4 percent). (National Center for Education Statistics)
  • The children of better educated parents are more educationally successful themselves, and less likely to end up in poverty or prison. (NCAL)
  • 75% of state prison inmates and 59% of federal inmates did not complete high school and are considered low-skilled. (NCAL)
  • Children whose parents have low skill levels have a 72% chance of being at the lowest reading levels themselves. (NCAL)

 

Quick Facts

  • 43 million adults in the United States cannot read, write, or do basic math above a third-grade level. (ProLiteracy)
  • 130 million adults between the ages of 16 and 74 (54%) have low literacy skills reading below a sixth-grade level. (Gallup analysis)
  • 21% of the population in North Carolina has a literacy proficiency at or below Level 1. (APM Research Lab)
  • Nationwide, on average, only 79%of adults in the U.S are literate with 21% considered illiterate. (PIACC)
  • 34% of adults who lack proficiency in literacy were born outside the US. (PIACC)
  • The U.S. has the world’s largest immigrant population with one-in-five of world’s immigrants. (ProLiteracy)
  • Only 53% of immigrants are proficient English speakers. (ProLiteracy)
  • 41 percent of immigrant adults score at or below the lowest level of English literacy, and 28% have not completed high school.  — a level variously described as “below basic” or “functional illiteracy”. (Center for Immigration Studies)
  • Hispanic immigrants struggle the most with English literacy. Their average score falls at the 8th percentile, and 63 percent are below basic. (Center for Immigration Studies)
  • The cost of low health literacy to the U.S. economy is estimated to be between $106 billion and $238 billion per year. (ProLiteracy)
  • Adults with low literacy skills are 4 times as likely to have poor or fair health. (NCAL)
  • 1 in 4 parents have low health literacy, greatly affecting their ability to use health information to make health decisions for their child. (American Academy of Pediatrics)
  • Nationally, limited literacy skills cost business and taxpayers $225 billion annually in lost wages, profits, and productivity. (NCAL)
  • One-third of American workers lack digital literacy skills for employment. (National Skills Coalition)
  • Low levels of literacy costs the US up to 2.2 trillion per year. (ProLiteracy)