A Few Facts About
Literacy.
43% of adults with low literacy skills live in
poverty.
40% of children entering fourth grade are unable
to read at grade level.
50% of welfare recipients do not have a high
school diploma or GED.
70% of Alabama’s inmates are functionally illiterate.
75% of small business owners in Alabama report
that many applicants for job openings do not
have basic reading, writing and math skills.
Alabama’s Level 1 functionally illiterate rate
is 25%. In other words, one out of four people
function at the lowest literacy level in Alabama.
Rates in West Alabama: Tuscaloosa County – 23%;
Fayette County – 24%; Bibb County – 27%; Pickens
County – 35%; Hale County – 41%; & Greene
County – 51%.
Sources: Alabama Adult Education & Family
Literacy Plan; U. S. Department of Education;
The Literacy Council of Central Alabama.
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