American Literacy Rates

Sun Apr 20 13:57:43 UTC 2008

Lots of measurement disparity here.  I'm away from home so I can't get to my data.  One thing I remember is that over 50% of blacks and hispanics drop out of high school.  Another is that states data on reading proficiency can vary quite a bit.  One southern state said proficiency was at 70% for 12 graders, but when federally tested it was 30%.

Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL5+
See truespel.com - and the 4 truespel books plus "Occasional Poems" at authorhouse.com.

> Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2008 13:05:43 -0400
> From: RonButters at AOL.COM
> Subject: American Literacy Rates
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: RonButters at AOL.COM
> Subject: American Literacy Rates
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Well, see
> http://www.sltrib.com/midvalley/ci_8877834 and
>
> http://nuenglish.org/1-en-Testimonials.htm
>
> Cleckler turns out to be another spelling-reform nut, peddling a book that h=
> e=20
> has worked on for 23 years (or is it half a century?), and which is designed=
> =20
> to cure the "illiteracy problem" (sound familiar)?=20
>
> Note that no source is given for verifying the methodology or accuracy of th=
> e=20
> study reported below. The website incidated (
> http://www.jff.org/pressreleases/nelliemae.htm) does not exist, according to=
> my web browser. The idea that 96%=20
> of Americans in the 1880s were literate at the same level as today seems ver=
> y=20
> unlikely. For one thing, there were still a huge number of former slaves=20
> still alive in those days. Again, though, no source is given for this. But s=
> ee=20
> Cambridge History of American Literature (2005), vol. 3, p582: "By 1880, the=
> =20
> American illiteracy ratre had dropped to 17%. ..."
>
> According to one US Government wesbite, 99% of Americans over the age of 15=20
> in 2003 were literate; see
>
> https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/us.html
>
> Obviously, it all depends on what one means by "literacy" and how one=20
> interprets the figures. If you are trying to prove that American education i=
> s better=20
> than Cuba's you will go with the 99% figure. If you are trying to sell a boo=
> k,=20
> the 50% figure for current American "illiteracy" is a lot more dramatic.=20
> Without looking at the undocumented source on which Cleckler's assertions ar=
> e=20
> based, the 50% figure seems suspect.
>
> In a message dated 4/17/08 10:08:54 PM, wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM writes:
>
>
>> Hard for me to argue with those figures.
>>=20
>> =C2=A0 JL
>>=20
>> Tom Zurinskas  wrote:
>> =C2=A0 ---------------------- Information from the mail header=20
>> -----------------------
>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>> Poster: Tom Zurinskas
>> Subject: Re: Noah Webster's American Spelling Book (UNCLASSIFIED)
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ---
>> --
>>=20
>> A lot depends on what "functional illiteracy" is. But checking my files on=
> =20
>> USA literacy, I have below.
>>=20
>> http://www.educationnews.org/An_Interview_with_Bob_Cleckler.htm
>> An Interview with Bob Cleckler: About Our Literacy Crisis
>> Thursday, December 15, 2005
>> The most extensive study of adult illiteracy ever commissioned by the U.S.=
> =20
>> government was a five-year, $14 million study involving lengthy interviews=
> of=20
>> 26,700 adults, statistically balanced for age, sex, ethnicity, and=20
>> location-whether urban, suburban, or rural-in several states across the U.=
> S. The study=20
>> proved that more than 92 million people (more than 47% of U.S. adults) can=
> not=20
>> read and write well enough to hold an above-poverty-level-wage job. This=20
>> study also proved that more than 40% of employees in U.S. businesses are=20
>> functionally illiterate.
>>=20
>> The National Reading Panel in 2000 found that about 70% of minority fourth=
> =20
>> graders were sub-par readers. The Nellie Mae Education foundation found in=
> =20
>> 2002 that =E2=80=9CAbout 41% of all adults in New England lack the skills=20=
> they need to=20
>> succeed in today's knowledge-based society.=E2=80=9D See=20
>> http://www.jff.org/pressreleases/nelliemae.html.
>>=20
>> Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL5+
>> See truespel.com - and the 4 truespel books plus "Occasional Poems" at=20
>> authorhouse.com.
>>=20
>>> Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:26:20 -0500
>>> From: Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL
>>> Subject: Re: Noah Webster's American Spelling Book (UNCLASSIFIED)
>>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>>
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header=20
>> -----------------------
>>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>>> Poster: "Mullins, Bill AMRDEC"
>>> Subject: Re: Noah Webster's American Spelling Book (UNCLASSIFIED)
>>>=20
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> -----
>>>
>>> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
>>> Caveats: NONE
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: American Dialect Society
>>>> [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Tom Zurinskas
>>>> Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2008 1:48 PM
>>>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>>> Subject: Noah Webster's American Spelling Book
>>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Synthetic phonics is going back to this form of phonetics
>>>> first teaching. It works. It was said in the late 1800's
>>>> that maybe 4 in 1,000 couldn't read. Now its about 100 times that.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> You think 400 people out of a 1000 can't read? You're kidding, right?
>>> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
>>> Caveats: NONE
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>=20
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