Literacy Facts

Wisconsin Facts

  • Approximately 1 million Wisconsin adults qualify for adult literacy and English language services (U. S. Census 2000 and NALS 1992). Only 75,000 (or less than 10%) of adults in need of services are currently receiving them.
  • 18.93 %, or 785,682, Wisconsin adults, age 16 and older are not enrolled in school and do not have a high school diploma.
  • 7.3%, or 368,712, residents over the age of 5 speak a language other than English at home.
  • From 1990 to 2000, the Hispanic or Latino population in Wisconsin more than doubled (107% increase) (U.S. Census 2000).
  • Wisconsin has the worst graduation rate (50th out of 50 states) for African Americans (Center on Wisconsin Strategy 2002).
  • 47% of adult females and adult males incarcerated in Wisconsin lack either a high school diploma or its equivalent. 49% read below the ninth grade level.  74% perform math below the ninth grade level (Wisconsin Department of Corrections 2006).
  • More than 14,500 basic skills and ESL learners are instructed annually by Wisconsin Literacy member agencies in community, corrections, workplace, family and faith-based literacy settings. (Wisconsin Literacy 2007)
  • Nearly 3,500 trained volunteer tutors provide individualized, goal-oriented adult literacy instruction per year at Wisconsin Literacy member agencies throughout the state. (Wisconsin Literacy 2007)

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Wisconsin Literacy Member Facts

The following data pertains to 54 Wisconsin Literacy member agencies that were able to complete a demographics survey for fiscal year 2008-2009:

  • 27 out of 54 members have a waiting list.
  • 637 learners are on a waiting list.
  • Total literacy programs’ annual budget:  $7,880,704
  • # of paid administrators (FTE):  106
  • # of paid instructors:  154
  • # of active volunteer tutors:  3,260
  • # of volunteer tutor hours:  203,586
  • # of active other volunteers, including office volunteers and Board members:  3,720
  • # of other volunteer hours:  21,254
  • Of the 54 respondents, the following offer:
    ABE classes:  17       ABE one-to-one tutoring:  46      ABE small group:  14
    ESL classes:  31        ESL one-to-one tutoring:  52      ESL small group:  25
    Citizenship:  18          GED:  30                                  Math:  28  
    Family literacy:  16     Financial literacy:  19                 Workplace literacy:  16  
    Health literacy:  19     Computer literacy:  17                Corrections program:  12
  • Literacy programs that have a referral process with their local technical college:  36 out of 54
  • Learners from these programs referred to a local technical college in fiscal year 2008-2009:  211
  • Learners from technical colleges referred to these programs in fiscal year 2008-2009: 243
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National Facts

  • 42% of adults between the ages of 25 and 67 have, at most, a high school education (U.S. Census 2000).
  • 20% of preschool aged children live in poverty and are likely to be part of families where the parent with the highest education has less than a high school education (National Institute of Family Literacy).
  • 2/3 of all jobs, and the majority of jobs that pay wages sufficient to support a family, require skills associated with at least some education beyond high school (Carnevale & Derochers, 2003).
  • In 2004, high school graduates earned 38% more than those with less than a high school education.  The average annual earnings for full-time workers 25 or older without a high school diploma were $22,232, while those with a high school diploma made $30,640, those with some college made $35,970, those with an associate’s degree made $37,480 and those with a bachelor’s degree made $53,581.
  • The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) estimates that 30 million adults in the U.S. –14% of the country’s adult population – have only the most minimal ability to read and write in English.
  • 22.2% of the foreign-born population had less than a 9th grade education, compared to 4.7% of the native population (Current Population Survey, U.S. Census Bureau 2000).
  • Americans spent $64.38 per taxpayer on video games in 2002.  The federal government spent $3.56 per taxpayer on adult basic education and literacy instruction in the same period.
  • 66% of high school graduates do not have the skills and qualifications necessary to attend college (Center for Civic Innovation at the Manhattan Institute, 2005).
  • 46% of prison inmates do not have a high school diploma (NCFL, 2002).
  • One in five adults – over 40 million Americans – has pressing literacy needs (NALS).
  • Almost 50% of adults on welfare do not have a high school diploma or GED (National Institute for Literacy).
  • 43% of people with the lowest literacy skills live in poverty, 17% receive food stamps, and 70% have no job or a part-time job (National Institute for Literacy).
  • American businesses are estimated to lose over $60 billion in productivity each year due to employees’ lack of basic skills (National Institute for Literacy).
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International Facts

  • When compared to five other industrialized nations in the Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey (2003), the U.S., ranked fifth in prose and numeracy literacy behind Bermuda, Canada, Norway, and Switzerland, but ahead of Italy.
  • The United Nations estimated that in 2005, there were 785 million illiterate adults in the world (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
  • Women account for two out of three illiterate adults.  In 2000 there were 236 million more illiterate women than men.
  • From 1980 – 1995, the illiterate population of men fell from 327 million to 318 million, while the numbers of illiterate women grew from 551 million to 565 million (Aksornkool, 2001).
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