The Literacy Crisis
Research demonstrates that having access to a wide variety of reading materials is essential if a child is to grow and develop into a strong reader. The majority of children from low-income families have no books at all in their homes or classrooms, and as a result, direct access to books is extremely limited for these children.
- A recent study (included in the Handbook of Early Literacy Research, Vol. 2 edited by Susan Neuman and David Dickinson) shows that while in middle income neighborhoods the ratio of books per child is 13 to 1, in low-income neighborhoods, the ratio is 1 age-appropriate book for every 300 children.
- Over 80% of preschool and after-school programs serving children from low-income families have no age-appropriate books for their children.
- Children from low-income families have been exposed to an average of only 25 hours of one-on-one reading time compared to an average of 1,000 to 1,700 hours for children from middle-class families.
- The National Center for Education Statistics' evaluation of No Child Left Behind reading proficiency scores in 2005 found that:
- 36% of all 4th graders scored in the "Below Basic" proficiency level
- 54% of 4th graders eligible for school lunch program scored in the "Below Basic" proficiency level.
- According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, reading skills among middle school students have remained virtually unchanged for 15 years, improving by only two points between 1992 and 2005.
The Impact on Our Children, Families and Communities
- Among adults at the lowest level of literacy proficiency, 43% live in poverty. Among adults with strong literacy skills, only 4% live in poverty.
- More than one million children drop out of school each year, costing the nation over $240 billion in lost earnings, forgone tax revenues, and expenditures for social services.
- According to the U.S. Census Bureau, workers 18 and over without a high school diploma earn an average of $18,734; those with a high school diploma earn $27,915 and those with a bachelor's degree earn an average of $51,206 a year.
- Twenty-five percent of all U.S. students who do not receive a high school diploma have received government assistance.
- American business currently spends more than $60 billion each year on employee training, much of that for remedial reading, writing, and mathematics.
- Annual health care costs in the U.S. are four times higher for individuals with low literacy skills than they are for individuals with high level literacy skills.
- One-half of all adults in U.S. federal and state correctional institutions cannot read or write at all.
- Eighty-five percent of juvenile offenders have reading problems.
- Illiteracy and low literacy in adults can be linked to almost every socioeconomic problem in the United States and abroad. Low literate adults:
- Do poorly in the job market;
- Lack the skills to help their children be successful in school;
- Are more likely to suffer from poor health; and
- Are more likely to receive public assistance.
Access to Books is Essential to Reading Development
- The only behavioral measure that correlates significantly with reading scores is the number of books in the home.
- The more types of reading materials there are in the home, the higher students score in reading proficiency.
- Students who do more reading at home are better readers and have higher math scores.
- For many children, the home environment is the place they are introduced to books and reading. Children who have been exposed to a number of reading experiences at an early age are given the chance to learn to love books and stories - a love that they often take into adulthood.
Children in Poverty are Most at Risk
- There are currently 26 million children living in poverty in the United States.
- Children from low-income families enter school at a disadvantage. The gap between children from low and high-income families on reading comprehension scores is more than 40 points.
- On average, children from low-income families have far fewer literacy and language experiences at home than their classmates.
- Children from low-income families are 50% more likely than children from high-income families to be seven years old or older and still in the first grade.
- Children from low-income families are less likely to attend pre-kindergarten programs, more likely to have trouble with their schoolwork and more likely to repeat grades in school.
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