How is it possible that roughly 50% of Americans can’t read above a 6th grade level and how are 21% just flat out illiterate?
How is it possible that roughly 50% of Americans can’t read above a 6th grade level and how are 21% just flat out illiterate?
Question above is pretty blunt but was doing a study for a college course and came across that stat. How is that possible? My high school sucked but I was well equipped even with that sub standard level of education for college. Obviously income is a thing but to think 1 out of 5 American adults is categorized as illiterate is…astounding. Now poor media literacy I get, but not this. Edit: this was from a department of education report from 2022. Just incase people are curious where that comes from. It does also specify as literate in English so maybe not as grim as I thought.
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No single answer is comprehensive enough to explain the low literacy levels in the US. That’s because some of the contributing factors include:
- Parents with little schooling.
- Lack of books and reading encouragement at home.
- Dropping out of school.
- Difficult living conditions – including poverty.
- Learning disabilities.
Each of these topics has social and political implications and we, as a society, have made choices that privilege the rich and the least vulnerable. Our immediacy leads us to focus on inflation rates, employment, and reelection (don’t get me wrong, these are essential points). But we should also seek solutions to bring parents back to school, campaign for more books at home, and improve schooling to prevent dropout.
The discussion of U.S. illiteracy gets gloomier when we consider the differences between “literacy” (reading, writing, and math skills) and “functional literacy” (the practical use of these skills to manage daily life and improve socioeconomic well-being).
There’s a long and rocky road to reverse this picture, and some of the possible solutions to promote higher levels of literacy in society should take into account:
- low income resources
- stigma and shame
- lack of awareness
- limited access to education
- technological barriers
- limited funding for literacy programs.
So, how is it possible that roughly 50% of Americans can’t read above a 6th grade level and how are 21% just flat out illiterate?
All of the above, and probably more!
Your response is definitely the best one here. There’s just so many factors at play, and Covid was the perfect storm that amplified all of them.
COVID-19 turned into a perfect storm as most schools were unprepared for remote learning. Add to that the fact that many students had no access to a reliably fast internet connection and the whole literacy picture gets rather bleak. Thanks for sharing your views on my perspective.