Why read? Check out these scary Literacy Facts



If these literacy facts don't scare you into reading or encouraging your children to read, nothing will...

    85% of juvenile offenders have reading problems. --Us Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

    More than three out of four of those on welfare, 85% of unwed mothers and 68% of those arrested are illiterate. About three in five of America's prison inmates are illiterate. --Washington Literacy Council

    Among adults at the lowest level of literacy proficiency, 43% live in poverty. Among adults with strong literacy skills, only 4% live in poverty. --US Department of Education

    At least 50% of the unemployed are functionally illiterate. --U.S. Department of Labor

    It is estimated that $5 billion a year in taxes goes to support people receiving public assistance who are unemployable due to illiteracy. --Laubach Literacy Action

    In 1998, 10 million American school children were considered “poor readers”. --NAEP 1998 Reading Report Card

    The percentage of children who read well has not improved substantially for more than 25 years. --NAEP 1996 Trends Report

    A startling 88% of children who have difficulty reading at the end of the first grade display similar difficulties at the end of fourth grade. --Dr. Connie Juel

    Three-quarters of students who are poor readers in third grade will remain poor readers in high school. --Sally E. Shaywitz, et al

    Students who do not learn efficient reading skills are blocked from every other subject in their schooling. --National Center to Improve the Tools of Educators

    The top achieving 5% read 144 times more than the lowest achieving 5%. --Terrence Paul, Institute for Academic Excellence

    The more types of reading materials there are in the home, the higher students are in reading proficiency. --U.S. Department of Education

    Students who do more reading at home are better readers and have higher math scores. --Educational Testing Service






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