Why do millions of Americans struggle with reading and writing?

Christian Science Monitor by Stacy Teicher Khadaroo | May. 9, 2009 (Special Report)

For the first time, a detailed portrait of America's least literate adults is emerging.

About 30 million people – 14 percent of the US population 16 and older – have trouble with basic reading and writing. Correlating factors that were explored in a new government report include poverty, ethnicity, native language background, and disabilities.

Of these 30 million people, 7 million are considered "nonliterate" in English because their ... Full Story »

Posted by Kristin Gorski

More Info

3.5

by Kristin Gorski - May. 10, 2009

An important report is cited, and the reporter includes key insights from it. Heavy on statistics but light on context. Takes from key stakeholders are missing, leaving this article incomplete.

Adult literacy “is a core social issue that if we could fix as a nation, we would make inroads into fixing many other social problems,” says David Harvey, ... More »

Kristin posted this story.

See Full Review » (13 answers)

3.1

by William Hughes-Games - May. 9, 2009

It gives the situation in America but doesn't spread its net widly enough.

This is not a problem which is confined to America. It is world wide and exists in all the English speaking world and likely in the non English speaking world. Therefore it must have a world wide cause. One could hypothesize television, video games, a lack of discipline in the schools and so forth but I very much doubt if poverty, race or any of the other factors mentioned is the real cause. At the risk of sounding like an old fart, when I graduated from high school in the late ... More »

See Full Review » (7 answers)