Marti failed the test, and her dream of becoming a nurse ended. The reason she couldn't read well was because she never read. People who read quickly and well do so because they read often . Marti isn't an extreme case. I worked with three other adults in the past year who were having difficulty achieving their goals because of poor reading skills.
Reading plays a large role in other learning areas.
People who do not read regularly often have a weak vocabulary because they are exposed to fewer words. Their spelling is poor because they see fewer words in print. Students who read for pleasure usually have good writing skills because, while reading, they see examples of effective writing. The same goes for punctuation, grammar and usage. They haven't seen what the words actually look like, so they write them the way they sound.