SYRACUSE, NY
April 21, 1998
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Approximately three in 10 adults in Buffalo, Rochester and Niagara Falls are functionally illiterate--the highest rates in Upstate New York, a National Institute For Literacy study shows.
In Buffalo, 30 percent of the adults read at the lowest literacy levels, according to "The State of Literacy in America," a report for NIFL by Portland State University Ph.D. Stephen Reder ([email protected]). In Rochester, 29% of adults are at the lowest level--a level commonly referred to as "functionally illiteracy." The NIFL report, which uses census data to estimate literacy rates in 7,500 municipalities, is based upon the U.S. government's 1993 National Adult Literacy Survey.
"This should be a wakeup call," said Marsha L. Tait, national president of Literacy Volunteers of America. "For 36 years, LVA has helped adults and their families acquire literacy skills, but our efforts must be combined with a commitment from government, corporations and private citizens to solve this problem. With a united effort, we can provide every Western New Yorker
--every American--with the skills they need to become better parents, workers and citizens."
Functional illiteracy rates for Western New York counties are: 19 percent for Erie, 13 percent for Genesee and Livingston, 17 percent for Monroe, 16 percent for Niagara (25 percent for the city of Niagara Falls), and 18 percent for Orleans and Wyoming. Nationally, the figure is about 22%.
For each municipality, the NIFL report lists the percentage of adults at "Level 1," the lowest of the five levels of literacy. These adults struggle with tasks like completing bank deposit slips, or reading bus schedules. ("Literacy" today is defined as the ability to read, write and do math, and sometimes to operate a computer.) Miami, at 63%, has the nation's highest illiteracy rate.
LVA, founded in 1962, is a volunteer not-for-profit organization managed by professionals. The LVA network consists of 390 community-based programs in which more than 50,000 volunteer LVA tutors help adults and their families acquire literacy skills. Last year, LVA volunteers tutored 68,000 adults in Basic Literacy and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).
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