Illiteracy in the US
If you care about literacy ...
Illiterate Digest Index
1. Miami FL: 63%
2. East LA CA: 57%
3. East St. Louis IL: 56%
4. Compton CA: 55%
5. Newark NJ: 52%
6. Brownsville TX: 50%
7. Union City NJ: 50%
8. San Fernando CA: 49%
9. Camden NJ: 49%
10. Detroit MI: 47%
11. Laredo TX: 47%
12. East Orange NJ: 46%
13. Gary IN: 46%
14. East Palo Alto CA: 45%
15. Orange NJ: 45%
16. Passaic City NJ: 45%
17. Paterson NJ: 45%
18. Augusta GA: 43%
19. Elizabeth NJ: 42%
20. Atlantic City NJ: 42%
21. Miami Beach FL: 41%
22. Hartford CT: 41%
23. East Chicago IN: 41%
24. South Miami Heights FL: 40%
Specifics about US illiteracy:
- Four percent of [American] adults could not perform even the simplest literacy tasks on the survey. This represents millions people who have voting rights; a number large enough to make a significant impact at the ballot box. Literacy skills are required for personal development through improved participation in society and the labor market.
- Other studies conducted by non-US agencies have placed the estimate of adult illiteracy at closer to 10%. Across the country, adult literacy classes are jammed beyond capacity.
- The Outreach Programs of the New York Public Library enrolls around 1,000 adults per year in their literacy-tutoring program, mentored by volunteers, with another 500 accessing their self-paced digital lessons via computer. A further 2,000 are in group tuition with professional language teachers. Almost every major city has similar programs, often facilitated by the district library system. About 60% of those enrolling in these programs come from non-English speaking backgrounds.
- Knoxville, Tennessee, is not noted for a high percentage of immigrants. But their “Mom, Dad and Me” literacy program which addresses literacy for whole families - for whom English is their first language - is also filled beyond capacity.
- In Britain, one study on 16 to 65-year-olds found 22% of the population in England and Wales to be functionally illiterate, compared to 25% in Ireland and 20% in France. These figures are still higher than US estimates. Across Europe, around 10% of the population falls into the low skills category.
- The National Institute for Literacy's activities to "strengthen literacy across the lifespan" are mandated by the U.S. Congress under two laws: the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) in the Workforce Investment Act and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This is the organization that claims there is no illiteracy in the USA. However, according to the National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools and Colleges, nearly half of high school seniors are unable to compose a paragraph of prose.
- In Britain, the 2003 testing results reported that students with a non-English speaking background (NESB) outperformed their native-speaking counterparts, which apparently baffled a number of academics. Dr Maureen Walsh, a senior lecturer in literacy education at the Australian Catholic University, proposed that children who spoke another language at home had a cognitive advantage with literacy skills. Other theorists postulated that the intensive language training provided to NESB students accounted for their outstanding results.
Illiterate Digest Index
1. Miami FL: 63%
2. East LA CA: 57%
3. East St. Louis IL: 56%
4. Compton CA: 55%
5. Newark NJ: 52%
6. Brownsville TX: 50%
7. Union City NJ: 50%
8. San Fernando CA: 49%
9. Camden NJ: 49%
10. Detroit MI: 47%
11. Laredo TX: 47%
12. East Orange NJ: 46%
13. Gary IN: 46%
14. East Palo Alto CA: 45%
15. Orange NJ: 45%
16. Passaic City NJ: 45%
17. Paterson NJ: 45%
18. Augusta GA: 43%
19. Elizabeth NJ: 42%
20. Atlantic City NJ: 42%
21. Miami Beach FL: 41%
22. Hartford CT: 41%
23. East Chicago IN: 41%
24. South Miami Heights FL: 40%
Specifics about US illiteracy:
- Four percent of [American] adults could not perform even the simplest literacy tasks on the survey. This represents millions people who have voting rights; a number large enough to make a significant impact at the ballot box. Literacy skills are required for personal development through improved participation in society and the labor market.
- Other studies conducted by non-US agencies have placed the estimate of adult illiteracy at closer to 10%. Across the country, adult literacy classes are jammed beyond capacity.
- The Outreach Programs of the New York Public Library enrolls around 1,000 adults per year in their literacy-tutoring program, mentored by volunteers, with another 500 accessing their self-paced digital lessons via computer. A further 2,000 are in group tuition with professional language teachers. Almost every major city has similar programs, often facilitated by the district library system. About 60% of those enrolling in these programs come from non-English speaking backgrounds.
- Knoxville, Tennessee, is not noted for a high percentage of immigrants. But their “Mom, Dad and Me” literacy program which addresses literacy for whole families - for whom English is their first language - is also filled beyond capacity.
- In Britain, one study on 16 to 65-year-olds found 22% of the population in England and Wales to be functionally illiterate, compared to 25% in Ireland and 20% in France. These figures are still higher than US estimates. Across Europe, around 10% of the population falls into the low skills category.
- The National Institute for Literacy's activities to "strengthen literacy across the lifespan" are mandated by the U.S. Congress under two laws: the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) in the Workforce Investment Act and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This is the organization that claims there is no illiteracy in the USA. However, according to the National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools and Colleges, nearly half of high school seniors are unable to compose a paragraph of prose.
- In Britain, the 2003 testing results reported that students with a non-English speaking background (NESB) outperformed their native-speaking counterparts, which apparently baffled a number of academics. Dr Maureen Walsh, a senior lecturer in literacy education at the Australian Catholic University, proposed that children who spoke another language at home had a cognitive advantage with literacy skills. Other theorists postulated that the intensive language training provided to NESB students accounted for their outstanding results.