Literacy in America

1. Two-thirds of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of 4th grade will end up incarcerated or on public assistance. Over 70% of America’s inmates cannot read above a 4th grade level.
2. 1 in 4 children in America grow up without learning how to read.
3. As of 2011, America was the only free-market OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) country where the current generation was less well educated than the previous.
4. Literacy is a learned skill. Illiteracy is passed down from parents who can neither read nor write.
5. Nearly 85% of the juveniles who face trial in the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate, proving that there is a close relationship between illiteracy and crime. More than 60% of all inmates are functionally illiterate.
6. 53% of 4th graders admit to reading recreationally “almost every day,” while only 20% of 8th graders say the same. (2009 study)
7. 75% of Americans who receive food stamps perform at the lowest 2 levels of literacy, and 90% of high school dropouts are on public assistance.
8. Teenage girls ages 16-19 who live at or below the poverty level and have below average literacy skills are 6 times more likely to have children out of wedlock than girls their same age who can read proficiently.
9. Reports show that low literacy directly costs the healthcare industry over $70 million every year.

Sources: Huffington Post, Begin to Read, RIF, SCI Learn