Chapter 21 Summary and Analysis

From one of the highest literacy rates in the world at the time of the American Revolution, the United States has slipped into an embarrassingly high illiteracy rate of 40 million or more barely literate adults. There is a direct correlation between functional literacy and income. With only 3 or 4 percent of the American population scoring in the highest of five national reading levels, the remaining majority are unaware of just how poor their reading skills are.

The difference in literary translates into an income disparity in favor of those who read well of $12,000 a year at the lowest of the five reading levels and $34,000 per year at the highest. This means that the vast majority of Americans with poor reading skills are challenged to understand an election ballot, a home mortgage, or even a daily newspaper. Perhaps these are some of the...