I came across these statistics earlier and almost fell on my back. I knew that the picture was not that rosy, but this is a lot worse than what I believed.
* 20% of American adults can't make informed decisions because they can't read.
* 34 million U.S. adults ages 16-65 are functionally illiterate, including 1.5 million immigrants.
* A staggering total of nearly 25 million Americans (1 in 5 adults) lack the reading and writing abilities needed to handle the demands of daily living.
* An illiterate adult earns 42% less than a high school graduate.
* 50%-70% of the unemployed are in need of functional literacy skills.
* 85% of the juvenile offenders, 50% of the prison population, and 30% of welfare mothers are in need of functional literacy skills.
* The United States ranks 49th in literacy rates among all United Nations countries.
* Illiteracy costs the economy $225 billion annually in lost revenues, taxes, and decreased industrial productivity.
* 27% of army enlistees can't read training manuals written at the 7th grade level.
* Estimates show there are approximately two million people in Illinois who cannot read above a 5th grade level.
* Only 10% of the nation's population uses the local library.
* 5% of the population reads consistently.
* 39% of the population never reads.
* These two are unbelievable! Truly unbelievable!
o The number-one magazine in sales and readership is the TV Guide.
o The number-one newspaper in sales and readership is the National Enquirer.
The ones that really shocked me was that only 5% of the US population reads consistently and 39% never reads. 25 million Americans (1 in 5 adults) lack the reading and writing abilities needed to handle the demands of daily living.
I thought that at least 30% of the US population are regular readers of the WSJ and the FT.
How can this be? Who then is out there to do the work. Are these people allowed to vote and is so, how can make an informed decision?
This is terrible. How did we get here and what can be done to improve the situation?
*source
http://www.prophet-inc.com/literacy.html
* 20% of American adults can't make informed decisions because they can't read.
* 34 million U.S. adults ages 16-65 are functionally illiterate, including 1.5 million immigrants.
* A staggering total of nearly 25 million Americans (1 in 5 adults) lack the reading and writing abilities needed to handle the demands of daily living.
* An illiterate adult earns 42% less than a high school graduate.
* 50%-70% of the unemployed are in need of functional literacy skills.
* 85% of the juvenile offenders, 50% of the prison population, and 30% of welfare mothers are in need of functional literacy skills.
* The United States ranks 49th in literacy rates among all United Nations countries.
* Illiteracy costs the economy $225 billion annually in lost revenues, taxes, and decreased industrial productivity.
* 27% of army enlistees can't read training manuals written at the 7th grade level.
* Estimates show there are approximately two million people in Illinois who cannot read above a 5th grade level.
* Only 10% of the nation's population uses the local library.
* 5% of the population reads consistently.
* 39% of the population never reads.
* These two are unbelievable! Truly unbelievable!
o The number-one magazine in sales and readership is the TV Guide.
o The number-one newspaper in sales and readership is the National Enquirer.
The ones that really shocked me was that only 5% of the US population reads consistently and 39% never reads. 25 million Americans (1 in 5 adults) lack the reading and writing abilities needed to handle the demands of daily living.
I thought that at least 30% of the US population are regular readers of the WSJ and the FT.
How can this be? Who then is out there to do the work. Are these people allowed to vote and is so, how can make an informed decision?
This is terrible. How did we get here and what can be done to improve the situation?
*source
http://www.prophet-inc.com/literacy.html
Last edited by ATG (2007-03-04 00:20:10)
