The following lists statistics regarding literacy and aliteracy from a diverseness of administrative sources:

U.S. Students Who Read for Fun on Their Own Time, by Race and Ethnicity
Chart from the Pew Research Eye commodity "Amid many U.S. children, reading for fun has become less common, federal data shows" by Katherine Schaeffer. November 12, 2021.

"The shares of American ix- and 13-year-olds who say they read for fun on an most daily basis have dropped from nearly a decade agone and are at the lowest levels since at least the mid-1980s, according to a survey conducted in late 2019 and early 2020 by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Among both age groups, the percentages who said in the 2019-xx school yr that they 'read for fun on [their] own time almost every twenty-four hour period' were at their everyman points since the question was outset asked in 1984, according to the survey, which was fielded among U.Due south. public and individual school students before the COVID-nineteen outbreak. It is unclear whether the pandemic may have changed these patterns." – Pew Research Center, "Among many U.S. children, reading for fun has become less common, federal data shows," Nov 2021.

The 2013 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) reading test results demonstrate that far too many young people keep to read beneath grade level. Sixty five percent of all U.Southward. fourth graders scored "below proficient," which means that they are not reading at grade level. Only 35 per centum of fourth graders are reading at or above grade level. In improver, 64 percent of eighth graders are reading below grade level, whereas 36 percent are reading at or to a higher place course level. Still, these statistics do show an improvement at both grade levels. In 1992, 72 percent of fourth graders and 71 percent of 8th graders were reading beneath grade level.  – U.S. Department of Educational activity, "The Nation's Report Card," 2013.

In the Usa, 14 pct of the adult population—a staggering 32 million adults—cannot read.  "What'south more shocking is that we haven't moved that needle in 10 years.  We know that literacy helps people escape the bonds of poverty and live longer.  We know that people who are literate are more than inclined to vote, take part in their customs, and seek medical assistance for themselves and their families. They're too better equipped to take advantage of knowledge jobs, which are growing at explosive rates."  – Marcie Craig Post, Executive Director of International Literacy Association, in a console discussion at the Institute of International Education in New York Urban center, April 2015.

"Over the past four decades, the share of jobs requiring some grade of postsecondary education continued to rise, while the literacy performance of American thirteen- and seventeen-yr-olds remained flat, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).  More threescore percent of twelfth-grade students scored below the good level in reading achievement, and 27 percent scored below the basic level in reading. This means these lowest-performing loftier school seniors practise not even have fractional mastery of the advisable grade-level knowledge and skills.

Low reading achievement does non every bit bear upon all students. More than than a tertiary of Hispanic and African American twelfth graders read below bones level. Many students who struggle to read and write well brand up a substantial portion of the 1.2 million students who leave loftier school each year without a diploma. The consequences for the individual and the costs to the nation are staggering in terms of lost wages and earnings over a lifetime. Estimates for dropouts, who typically have depression literacy skills, are on the order of near $335 billion per year. For those who gain entry into the workplace, private industry spends an estimated $three.1 billion annually to bolster the literacy skills of entry-level workers." – Mariana Hayes, Brotherhood for Excellent Didactics, "Nascency-Through-Class-Twelve Comprehensive Literacy Program" published on All4ed.org website, April 2015.

"The above-boilerplate performance of U.S. students on international comparisons does not necessarily hateful that their literacy skills are adequate or satisfactory for the demands of the mod economy and modernistic republic. …about 2-thirds of all students do non attain proficiency in knowledge-based literacy and comprehension skills by the end of centre school. To the extent that high school success, also as after educational and economical success, depends on the acquisition of these college-order skills in middle school, many U.S. students enter high school in demand of substantial improvement in literacy." – Sean Reardon, Rachel Valentino, and Kenneth Shores in "Patterns of Literacy amidst U.Southward. Students" in "Literacy Challenges for the Twenty-First Century," The Hereafter of Children, Volume 22, Number 2, Fall 2012.

"…about 2-thirds of 4th graders, 3-fourths of eighth graders, and iii-fourths of twelfth graders were reading at a "basic" level in 2011. Near one-third of students at each grade level were reading at a "proficient" level. Over the past twoscore years literacy skills scores on assessment tests have non improved much—in sharp dissimilarity to sizable increases in math scores over this same menstruum. The gaps in literacy skills by socioeconomic status and race are hitting. Throughout elementary and middle school, girls consistently score nearly 0.ii standard divergence above boys; the blackness-white and Hispanic-white gaps are each near 0.6 standard deviation; and the income gap (10th vs. 90th percentile of family unit income) is larger still. – Richard Murnane, Isabel Sawhill, and Catherine Snow in "Literacy Challenges for the Twenty-First Century: Introducing the Issue," The Time to come of Children, Volume 22, Number 2, Fall 2012.

Readers play a more active and involved role in their communities. The reject in reading, therefore, parallels a larger retreat from participation in civic and cultural life. The long-term implication of this report non but affects literature but all the arts – as well as social activities such equally volunteerism, philanthropy, and even political appointment. – Dana Gioia, Chairman, NEA, "Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America," June 2004.

The literacy proficiency of a substantial proportion of the U.S. labor strength is express, and only a small proportion of workers perform at a high literacy level. Workers with higher literacy scores are unemployed less and earn more than workers with lower literacy scores. Growth in education has historically been an of import source of growth in worker productivity. – "Report on Pedagogy and the Economy," National Center for Education Statistics, 1996.

Less than one-half of the adult American population at present reads literature. (Literature is defined as novels, curt stories, plays and/or poetry.)  –NEA, "Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America," June 2004.

The percentage of the U.S. adult population reading whatever books has declined past seven percent over the past decade. – NEA, "Reading at Adventure: A Survey of Literary Reading in America," June 2004.

Of adults 18 to 24 years of historic period, the literary reading rate decreased from nearly 60 pct in 1982 to 43 per centum in 2002 – a drop of 17 percentage points. Young adults are reading much less than they used to. Making literary reading appeal to teenagers also appears to exist a significant problem. Long-term reading assessments, summarized by the National Institute for Literacy, show that:

  • A smaller per centum of 13- and 17-year-olds read for fun daily in 1999 than in 1984.
  • A smaller percentage of 17-year-olds saw adults reading in their homes in 1999 than in 1984.

– NEA, "Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America," June 2004.

Reading proficiency scores for 9, 13, and 17 year olds take not significantly risen since 1971. – U.S. Department of Teaching, "Assimilate of Pedagogy Statistics," 1998.

According to the contempo findings of three statewide studies in Colorado, Alaska, and Pennsylvania, strong library media centers and programs help students acquire more than and score substantially higher on standardized accomplishment tests than their peers in library impoverished schools.

Literature now competes with an enormous array of electronic media. While no single action is responsible for the decline of reading, the cumulative presence and availability of these alternatives have increasingly drawn Americans away from reading. – NEA, "Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America," June 2004.

The average kid spends about 38 hours a week exposed to media outside of school. – Children'south Defense Fund, "State of America's Children," 2000.