They are so ignorant, it is frightening. This does not bode well for the ultimate consumers of news, the public. This situation reaches into all aspects of life in America and particularly hits small businesses as well as big corporations who hire these college graduates. The greatest concerns of today s new hires are about vacation and sick time, plus whatever other perks are being offered. Training employees is a fulltime process for companies large and small.
Literacy is absolutely essential for the success of any society.
In America, however, one in five high school graduates cannot read his or her diploma. According to Empower America, our 12 th graders rank 19 th out of 21 industrialized countries in mathematics achievement and 16 th out of 21 nations in science. Since 1983, more than 10 million Americans have reached the 12 th grade without being about to read at a basic level. Over 20 million have reached their senior year unable to do basic math. Almost 25 million have reached 12 th grade without knowing the essentials of U.S. history.