Business losses due to basic skill deficiencies run into hundreds of millions of dollars because of low productivity, errors and accidents . . . Peg Price of the Literacy Volunteers of America, a national nonprofit educational organization which delivers tutoring services through a network of more than 50,000 volunteers nationwide, says the reasons are varied. The adult non-reader many have left school early, may have had a physical or emotional disability, may have had ineffective teachers or simply have been unready to learn at the time reading instruction began. Additionally, according to the 1990 Census, more than 14 million people age five and older in the U.S. speak English poorly or not at all. Some 19.8 million immigrants enter American communities every year and 1.7 million of these, age 25 and older, have less than a fifth grade education.
Illiteracy is an intergenerational problem.
Poor school achievement and dropping out of school are commonplace among children of parents with low literacy levels. In contrast, preschoolers who are read to by their parents do better when they start school. Improved literacy skills could make these people more employable. Only about one-third of those in prison have completed high school. The typical 25-year old inmate functions two or three grade levels below the level actually completed.