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THE NEED

One out of five adult Americans (27 million) cannot read or write well enough to function in today's world. They are functionally illiterate. In Waukesha County that could be as many as 60, 000 people.

Another 45 million Americans are marginally competent.

The problems of illiteracy are not limited to the individual. They can affect everyone in the following ways:

• Increased welfare costs

• Higher crime and prison costs

• Reduced business productivity

• Unearned tax revenues

• Remedial business and military training 

Facts About Literacy in Wisconsin from the 2000 U.S. Census:

• 7.3%, or 368,712 residents over the age of 5, speak a language other than English at home.

• 21% of Wisconsin’s population growth from 1990 - 2000, or 99,727 of the state’s 471,906 new residents, came from Latino immigrants or their children.

• 7.6% of this state’s population growth in the last decade, or 35,928 new residents, came from Asian immigrants or their children.

• 15 % of Wisconsin’s adults age 25 and older, or 518,417 residents, do not have a high school diploma or its equivalent.

From the National Adult Literacy Survey

The last national survey of adult literacy was conducted in 1992.  Another was scheduled to be completed in 2003.  These surveys assess adults’ actual ability to perform real life document, prose, and computational literacy tasks.  Scores are given based on a 5-point scale, with 1 being the lowest level of literacy and 5 being the highest.  

According to the 1992 survey, 39% of Wisconsin’s adult population functions in the 2 lowest levels of literacy:

• 14% of Wisconsin’s adult population functions in Level 1, the lowest level of literacy.

That means 14% of Wisconsin’s adults:

Can                                              

+ Identify a country in a short article           

+ Locate an expiration date                       

But Cannot

-Locate an intersection on  a street map

- Enter information on a social security card application

•  25% of Wisconsin’s adult population functions in Level 2, the second lowest level of literacy.

Adults functioning at Level 2: 

Can                                                       

+ Locate YTD gross pay on a paycheck         

But Cannot

-Identify the type of sandpaper to buy from a table listing the types of grains on the horizontal axis and the types of applications on the vertical axis