Six additional ways adult basic skills influence society
1. K-12 EDUCATION
There is a lot of focus on how early childhood education and the Common Core State Standards in K-12 are meant to better prepare students for success in college, career, and life. But research shows that focusing on educating kids without adequately addressing adults will not solve the skills gap. Children whose parents have low literacy levels have a 72 percent chance of being at the lowest reading levels themselves. These children are more likely to get poor grades, display behavioral problems, have high absentee rates, repeat school years, or drop out. Low-literate parents who improve their own skills are more likely to have a positive impact on their children’s educational achievements.
2. HEALTH LITERACY
An excess of $230 billion a year in health care costs is linked to low adult literacy skills. Nearly half of American adults have difficulty understanding and using health information. Lack of understanding impedes adults’ abilities to make appropriate health decisions and increases the likelihood that they’ll incur higher health costs. When one accounts for the future costs of low health literacy to taxpayers, the real present-day cost of low health literacy is in the range of $1.6 trillion to $3.6 trillion.
3. IMMIGRANTS
About 2 million immigrants come to the U.S. each year seeking better jobs and better lives. About 50 percent of them lack high school education and proficient English language skills, severely limiting their access to jobs and job training, college, and citizenship. This increases their vulnerability to unemployment and living in poverty. Not only are the adults at risk, but so are their children. Poverty in immigrant populations adds to the strain on the U.S. society, which is already dealing with a significant percentage of impoverished citizens.
4. JOBS
There has been much discussion lately about the “skills gap,” or disconnect between available jobs and qualified workers. We cannot have a conversation about improving our country’s workforce without first talking about the long-term economic impact of low literacy. Individuals at the lowest literacy and numeracy levels have a higher rate of unemployment and lower wages than the national average. Low literacy costs the U.S. $225 billion or more each year in non-productivity in the workforce, crime, and loss of tax revenue due to unemployment.
5. HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY/CAREER AND COLLEGE READINESS
High school dropout rates are staggering. Every year, one in three young adults—more than 1.2 million—drop out of high school. Recent data shows that nearly 30 percent of adults with household incomes at or below the federal poverty line do not have a high school credential. The key to financial success is a viable career path and adequate education to seek meaningful, family-supporting wages. The value to our economy in additional wages and the reduction in costs for various support programs is estimated at more than $200 billion a year.
6. TECHNOLOGY AND DIGITAL LITERACY
To be successful in today’s digital world, literacy goes beyond being able to read and write. Digital literacy includes the ability to use technology such as computers, smartphones, and the Internet—and low-literate Americans are disproportionately finding themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide. We are now not only looking at equity of access to technology, but also at how people are able to use that access. As a result we now are referring to the digital use divide, emphasizing how important it is for adults to know how to use digital access to find information, apply for jobs or driver’s licenses, bank online, access social networks, and protect their personal information. While national efforts to address affordable access to information technology and broadband are being achieved, efforts to improve e-skills are struggling to keep pace with demand. Learning basic skills is essential for all adults.
*Statistics and information provided by ProLiteracy.Org