In the 1991 National Literacy Act, Congress defined literacy as “an individual’s ability to read, write, and speak in English, and compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job and in society, to achieve one’s goals, and develop one’s knowledge and potential.” Two years later the Department of Education published the results of the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) that found that 21 to 23 percent (40-44 million) American adults fall at the lowest literacy level. The lowest literacy level means an individual is usually unable to do the following:
- Locate eligibility from a table of employee benefits
- Locate an intersection on a street map
- Locate two pieces of information in a sports article
- Identify and enter background information on a social security care application
- Calculate total costs of purchase from an order form
The NALS results also demonstrated how these low literacy skills are linked to social and economic disadvantage. Over 40 percent of adults with low literacy skills live in poverty. Those adults at the lowest literacy level work on average only 19 weeks per year and they make up seventy percent of prisoners.
Wow!
For more information on NALS and the findings go to: http://www.brainconnection.com
WOW! These statistics are incredible. It just reconfirms why reading is so important…from birth through adulthood.