Language learners often observe a breakthrough moment when they suddenly see the world as never before. Reading enables them to discern information and operate within systems that had previously been gibberish. In this text-heavy digital age, words are the gateway to critical information and to remarkable affective experiences. Reading is essential to participation in myriad community systems. Writing, likewise, enables one to organize and express complex, creative ideas in enduring form. It is essential to innumerable personal and professional activities.
20.4% of IL residents aged 16 to 74 (2.5 million people) have low literacy. They cannot consistently determine the meaning of sentences, read short texts to locate a single piece of information, or complete simple forms.
52% of IL residents (6.5 million people) lack basic proficiency. Struggling to navigate denser texts of multiple sentences or paragraphs, to make inferences, or to filter irrelevant content, these readers have not yet passed about a 6th grade standard for reading.
Low literacy is an equity issue. Not long ago, anti-literacy laws actively discouraged literacy among Americans of color. Disparities in the quality of schools have perpetuated inequalities for those from low-income neighborhoods. The numbers show us that even those who have attended school − even those who have graduated from high school − may have trouble reading and writing.
Improving literacy promises remarkable economic benefits. In 2022, the World Literacy Foundation estimated the annual cost of low literacy in the United States at $330.80 billion. In 2020, the Barbara Bush Foundation projected the economic benefit of 100% literacy in just Chicagoland at over $70 billion annually. Literacy rates have also been correlated with improvements in health, crime, public safety, ecology, and civic engagement.
Literacy bestows pride and feelings of self-worth. An adult who can write and read is empowered to become informed, advocate for themselves and their family, discover opportunities, and take advantage of them. Frederick Douglass said, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”
The benefits are intergenerational. The single most reliable predictor of a child’s literacy is the literacy of a caregiver. When adults read, children do too.