Tennessee Literacy Coalition

Literacy Statistics

18 million adults in the United States do not read well enough to earn a living wage.

In the U.S., 30 million people over age 16 — 14% of the country’s adult population — do not read well enough to understand a newspaper story written at the eighth grade level or to

fill out a job application. - Proliteracy

774 million adults around the world are illiterate in their native languages.

- Proliteracy

Over 70% of inmates in America's prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level.

- Begin to Read

Low literacy costs the United States $225 billion or more each year in non-productivity in the workforce, crime, and loss of tax revenue due to unemployment.

- Proliteracy

44 million adults in the United States are unable to even read a simple story to a child.

- The Literacy Company

National Surveys

Two main surveys have been done to measure literacy in the United States. The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) latest survey has been done in 2003, along with additional interpretations of the survey. The National Adult Literacy Survey (NASL) has latest taken place in 1992, also coming with further interpretation. These surveys and interpretations are listed below.

2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy: These preliminary results were released in December 2005. The NAAL survey and the literacy levels described have been redesigned for better analysis. Synthetic estimates of adult literacy skills by state and county are expected to be published later. To access the complete report, click on the link above. To see a brief synopsis, click here.

State and County Adult Literacy Statistics: The National Center for Education Statistics released in January 2009 estimates by state and by county for adults at the lowest (Below Basic) literacy level, based on the 2003 NAAL.

NAAL Health Literacy Report: Released in September 2006, this report analyzes the capabilities of American adults in reading and understanding health related information in English.

1992 National Adult Literacy Survey: A technical description of the 1992 national survey and assessment conducted among a randomly selected national population of over 13,000 individuals, another 1000 individuals from 11 participating states, and another 1100 federal prison inmates. The report describes how the survey was designed and implemented.

CASAS Adult Literacy Estimates: This site allows the user to search by State, City or County for literacy and education statistics based on the 1992 NALS survey and the 1990 census.

Adult Literacy and Education in America: An interpretation of the results from the 1992 NALS. The Executive Summary is especially helpful in describing the survey findings.

Teaching Tennessee Adults: This March 2004 report from the office of the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury assesses state and county adult literacy levels based on data from the 1992 NALS, and "considers the groups of adults who access education in Tennessee, how service is provided to them, and the role that various state agencies play in providing adult education."

State of Literacy Reports

"The number of functionally illiterate adults in US is growing." This is a series of annual addresses by Robert Wedgeworth, then President of ProLiteracy. In these reports, Wedgeworth makes some predictions on the results of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (unpublished at the time), successor to the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey.

2006 State of Literacy Report 2005 State of Literacy Report

2004 State of Literacy Report 2003 State of Literacy Report