Literacy Facts

1. 1. If all U.S. adults were able to graduate high school and begin college, it would generate an additional $2.2 trillion in annual income for the country, equal to 10% of the gross domestic product.

      Forbes. Low Literacy Levels Among US Adults Could Be Costing the Economy 22 Trillion A Year

   2. Increasing literacy rates leads to better paying jobs, adds to economic growth and builds social equity.

      *United Nations, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The Social and Economic Impact of Illiteracy: Analytical Model and Pilot Study. By Rodrigo Martínez and Andrés Fernández, Report no. OREALC2010-PI-H-12, Santiago, United Nations, Dec. 2010. Análisis de las consecuencias sociales y eco-nómicas del analfabetismo UNE08-001. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Digital Library

   3. More than 80% of jobs are now considered “skilled” meaning they require education and training beyond high school.

      *“Fast Facts – Adult Education and Literacy.” Literacy New York, Fission Content Management System

   4. The US can save more than $232 billion a year in health care costs that are directly related to low adult literacy skills.

      *Garcia, Valeria. “The problem with illiteracy and how it affects all of us.”

   5. Illiterate individuals have more workplace accidents, take longer to recover and more often misuse medication through ignorance of health care resources and because they have trouble reading and understanding the relevant information (warnings, dosage, contraindications, etc.).

      *Strauss, Valerie. “Hiding in plain sight: The adult literacy crisis. “The Washington Post [Washington, D.C.], 1 Nov. 2016, Answer Sheet sec.

   6. When people can read, they can better understand societal issues, increasing community involvement and civic participation.

      *Strauss, Valerie. “Hiding in plain sight: The adult literacy crisis.” The Washington Post [Washington, D.C.], 1 Nov. 2016, Answer Sheet sec.

   7. Statistically, poor families are far less likely to utilize public libraries, whether it’s because they’re not acclimated to using them or because they’re worried about being charged late fines, or because they’re skeptical of putting their name on a card associated with a government entity. Neuman has found that only 8 percent of such families report they have taken advantage of library resources.

      *Wong, Alia. “Where Books Are All But Nonexistent.”The Atlantic, 14 July 2016..The Atlantic

• Providing more access to books can mitigate the effect of poverty on reading achievement, leading to a more literate society.

  *Krashen, S., Lee, S., & McQuillan, J. (2012). Is the Library Important? Multivariate Studies at the National and International Level. Journal of Language and Literacy Education [Online], 8(1), 26-38.

• Children who say they own a book are 15 times more likely to read above the level expected for their age than their peers who say they don’t own a book.

  *Clark, Christina, and Anne Teravainen. Book ownership and reading outcomes. London, National Literacy Trust, 6 Dec. 2017. National Literacy Trust, literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/ book-ownership-and-reading-outcomes/.

Children who own books:

• • Read more frequently
  • Read for longer lengths of time
  • Have more positive attitudes toward reading
  • Have a higher literacy level than their peers

*Clark, Christina, and Lizzie Poulton. Book ownership and its relation to reading enjoyment, attitudes, behaviour and attainment: Some findings from the National Literacy Trust first annual survey. London, National Literacy  Trust, 2011.

• Home library size is more important than parents occupational status and parents wealth.

  *Sikora, Joanna, et al. “Scholarly Culture: How Books in Adolescence Enhance Adult Literacy, Numeracy and Technology Skills in 31 Societies.” Social Science Research, vol. 77, Jan. 2019, pp. 1-15. ScienceDirect, doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2018.10.003.

• Individuals who were surrounded by books from a young age- but did not attend university- were just as literate as someone who attended university, but didn’t grow up around books.

  *Sikora, Joanna & Evans, M.D.R. & Kelley, Jonathan. (2018). Scholarly culture: How books in adolescence enhance adult literacy, numeracy and technology skills in 31 societies. Social Science Research. 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2018.10.003.

• Only 43% of school-aged children have access to a classroom library, and only 33% say that it has enough of the types of books they’d like to read.

  Scholastic (2019). Kids and Family Reading Report. 7th Edition.

• Books expose children to 50% more words than prime time television.

  Toner Buzz. Book And Reading Statistics

• Adding 75 books to a low-income earning home enables a child to perform 1.5 grades better than a child living in a home without books.

  *Evans, M. & Kelley, Jonathan & Sikora, Joanna. (2014). Scholarly Culture and Academic Performance in 42 Nations. Social Forces. 921573-1605. 10.1093/sf/sou030

1. Reading can help avert or delay dementia. One study found that people who read later in life have a 32% lower rate of declining mental abilities.
2. Reading for 6 minutes can reduce stress levels by as much as 60%.

   *Mindlab International, Sussex University. (2009) Galaxy Commissioned Stress Research. Brighton: Sussex University.

3. Reading for 3 1/2 hours a week can increase your lifespan by more than 2 years and yield a 20% decrease in mortality.

   Science Direct

1. 1. Enhance social skills
   2. Boost intelligence
   3. Improve self esteem
   4. Build concentration
   5. Expand vocabulary
   6. Increase imagination
   7. Stronger memory skills
   8. Develop critical thinking skills
   9. Build empathy
   10. Slow cognitive decline