Adult Literacy Rates are Falling; New Literacy Study Shows Big Problems
Literacy Buffalo Niagara calls on WNY leaders to tackle this easily solvable crisis.
“Improving adult literacy rates boosts economic mobility, health outcomes, and children’s academic achievement; while decreasing healthcare costs and recidivism rates. While our nation is divided on many issues, people and policy influencers across the aisle agree that adult literacy must be a priority.”
— The Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network (ALL IN)
Amidst the busy holiday season, the U.S. Department of Education (through its National Center for Education Statistics) announced that adult literacy rates continue to decline and that 28% of adults in the U.S. ranked at the lowest levels of literacy — approximately a 3rd grade reading level — compared to 19% in 2017.
In all, 54% of Americans — over 130 million people — read below a 6th grade level. In WNY, there are hundreds of thousands of residents in this category. With people of color three times more likely to struggle with literacy issues, adult literacy is a matter of racial, social and economic justice.
Low literacy is a crisis in America and in our region, underscoring a bitter reality; the gap between the high-skilled and low-skilled keeps growing. Lower literacy means lower paying jobs and less economic mobility. The overall economic impact is costing the U.S. as much $2.2 trillion a year. Raising all American adults to a 6th grade reading level would recoup this $2.2 trillion in economic growth. Current conditions are bad and getting worse; the literacy crisis is overlooked by economic and government leaders despite being one of the great solvable problems of our time.
The solution is more services, greater access, and higher visibility. In our region and across the U.S., adult education programs currently serve fewer than 10% of those who need literacy services.
“The overall lack of awareness about free adult literacy programs and access to resources and services is the No. 1 barrier,” said Sarah Cacicio, Director of ALL IN. In a survey of adults with low literacy, 80% didn’t know about available programs in their area, but 84% said they would like to enroll in a program.
The WNY region has very few programs that provide instruction for adults with low literacy. Literacy Buffalo Niagara is the community’s best tool for improving the region’s literacy abilities. For the past 60 years, LBN has worked to increase the community’s literacy skills and generate positive community and economic development.
LBN is the region’s sole provider of free, one-on-one adult literacy services, filling a critical void. By using trained community volunteer tutors, we provide accessible reading and English language learning to approximately 350 adults per year. LBN has increased literacy for thousands of Erie and Niagara County residents for almost 60 years: teaching them to read, write, speak English, and most recently, digital skills.
Improved literacy for adults has an enormous impact on their children. Parents with low literacy often raise children who struggle. Educating parents directly correlates to children with higher literacy levels and a future generation that can break through the barriers stacked against them to achieve financial security and upward mobility. Parents with high levels of literacy read to their children, help them with homework, and use a higher level of vocabulary in the home.
And while LBN has helped thousands to read, we are missing way too many people in need of help. As we recognize our sixty years of work, we appeal for help directly to elected officials, local leaders, opinion-shapers, residents, and particularly the economic development community.
“It begins with literacy. The inability to read is a slamming economic door. On one side is the possibility of success, while on the other is a guarantee of failure. Illiteracy makes prosperity all but impossible, taking with it the likelihood of good nutrition, good health and general stability.
State and local governments, economic developers and the private sector need to make a mission of focused job training and […] they need to begin that work with literacy. That requires funding and commitment.
It’s not as though the area is unequipped to provide that help. While job training programs in the area attract millions of dollars, little of it goes to literacy programs such as Literacy Buffalo Niagara. It’s time for such organizations to be brought in. Their role is too important to be neglected. Achieving that goal requires leadership which, thus far, is lacking.”
— The Buffalo News
Literacy Statistics
Low literacy affects every area of life:
- 43% of adults with the lowest literacy skills live in poverty.
- 50% of the chronically unemployed are functionally illiterate.
- 76% of adults on public assistance are illiterate or unable to read more than simple text. Welfare recipients with the lowest literacy skills stay on welfare the longest.
- 85% of juvenile offenders have reading problems.
And low literacy’s effect on children is catastrophic:
- Two of the greatest low literacy risk factors for children are poverty and living in a single-parent family.
- Children whose parents have low literacy levels have a 72% chance of being at the lowest reading levels.
- The mother’s literacy level is a child’s single best predictor of success.
What happens when there is an investment in literacy? We have the opportunity to build:
- A stronger economy — Helping all adults reach the equivalent of a 6th grade reading level could generate an additional $2.2T (10% of GDP) annually.
- Healthier families — By improving adult literacy rates, the U.S. could save up to $238B in healthcare costs each year.
- Opportunities to break multigenerational cycles of poverty — A mother’s education level is the single greatest predictor of her children’s future success, outweighing other factors such as neighborhood and family income.
- Safer communities — Adult education helps reduce recidivism, prevent future crime costs, and improve community wellness.
- Increased civic engagement — Boosting adult literacy can help increase voter turnout — especially in local elections.
Adult Education strengthens our community and improves many determinants of health. When adults consistently attend literacy programs, their children have fewer nutrition and health problems, drop out of school less and have fewer teen pregnancies, less unemployment, and less social alienation.
How LBN is Making a Difference
LBN’s tutoring programs help participants boost employability, attain high school equivalency, and achieve better internal and external outcomes. We train diverse volunteers to work with those needing help with literacy, engaging members of the community to work with other members. A community solution for a community problem.
When we increase literacy, we increase income. There is much evidence showing that literacy instruction pays off. 80% of literacy programs reported a reduction in welfare dependence among their students — and Adult Education students earned 53% more per year than adults not enrolled in programs. Students attending 100 hours or more of programming made $10,000 per year more in annual income.
Anyone Can Help
LBN encourages the entire Buffalo Niagara region to work together to increase adult literacy in our community. There are certain simple actions that people can take that will make a significant difference. One concrete way to help is to become a volunteer tutor and collaborate with adult learners, donating your time to help improve their reading and/or language skills. Tutors receive full training and there is flexibility with time and location. Those interested in tutoring can call us or visit our Volunteer page to learn more.
There are other ways to support adult literacy, and we are open-minded to your new ideas and thoughts — please reach out to Tara at tara.schafer@literacybuffalo.org.
