Illiteracy By The Numbers

The Literacy Project addresses illiteracy at its earliest stage by teaching at-risk second-graders how to read. The statistics on literacy underscore the critical need to address illiteracy in the United States:

• Currently, 45 million Americans are functionally illiterate and cannot read above a fifth-grade level
• 50% of adults cannot read a book written at an eighth-grade level
• 57% of students failed the California Standards Test in English
• 1/3 of fourth-graders reach the proficient reading level
• 25% of students in California school systems are able to perform basic reading skills
• 85% of juvenile offenders have problems reading
• 3 out of 5 people in American prisons can’t read
• 3 out of 4 people on welfare can’t read

(Sources: National Institute for Literacy, National Center for Adult Literacy, The Literacy Company, U.S. Census Bureau)

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