Facts
Facts About Literacy
- 69% of Cleveland residents are functionally illiterate
- Some Cleveland neighborhoods have an illiteracy rate as high as 95%
- Functional illiteracy is defined as reading on a 4th to 6th grade level
- At this level, people may struggle to read a bus schedule, medicine bottle or job application
- Illiteracy annually costs taxpayers an estimated $20 billion in lost wages, profits and productivity
- An adult without a high school diploma earns 42% less than an adult with a diploma
- Illiteracy is one of the root causes of poverty
- Children’s literacy levels are strongly linked to that of their parents
- As literacy levels rise, so does the likelihood of getting off welfare
Sources: Center for Urban Poverty and Social Change, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University; National Assessment of Adult Literacy, Ohio Literacy Resource Center