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Literacy Crisis in U.S. Among Hispanics

"The U.S. Department of Education National Assessment of Adult Literacy supplemental reports underscore the need for Congress and the President to address the adult literacy crisis in America to help more people move out of poverty and improve job skills important for the country's competitiveness," said David C. Harvey, president & CEO, ProLiteracy.

"The fact that 32 million adults lack basic literacy skills to read medicine bottles or utility bills or fill out job applications should set off alarm bells. This latest report estimates that there are 11 million adults living in the U.S. who are nonliterate in English -- the equivalent of the populations of Connecticut, Oklahoma and Oregon combined. We need to help more of these Americans -- a majority of whom are Hispanic -- get into English as Second Language programs."

The report also notes that adults with vision, hearing or learning disabilities are more likely to be at the lowest levels of literacy, making it important to address the learning needs of this group of Americans.

ProLiteracy works with adult new readers and learners in partnership with local, national and international organizations, providing training, professional development and advocacy.