Study: One in three St. Louis adults is functionally illiterate

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1998 NALS Synthetic Estimates of Adult Literacy Study: One in three St. Louis adults is functionally illiterate
	FROM: Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc. 635 James St. Syracuse, NY 13203-2214
	CONTACT: LVA Communications Director 315-472-0001, x205 [email protected]
SYRACUSE, NY April 22, 1998 -- Thirty-five percent of St. Louis adults--and a whopping 56 percent in East St. Louis, Ill.--struggle to understand simple printed material--or can't read it at all, a national study shows. Those adults are among the 40 million to 44 million Americans termed "functionally illiterate," according to The State of Literacy in America, a National Institute for Literacy report by Portland (OR) State University Ph.D. Stephen Reder ([email protected]). Both cities have the poorest literacy rates in their respective states. The 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 everyone in St. Louis and across the nation with the skills they need to become better parents, workers and citizens." For each city, the report lists the percentage of adults at Level 1, the lowest of 5 levels of literacy (the ability to read, write and compute.) These adults struggle with tasks like completing bank deposit slips, or reading bus schedules. Miami, at 63%, has the nation's highest illiteracy rate. Twenty percent of Illinois' adults and 17 percent in Missouri are functionally illiterate, Reder's study shows. (The illiteracy rate is about 22% nationally.) The rate for St. Louis County, Mo., is 16%. Area cities with rates above the national average are Berkeley (33%) and Jennings (31%). 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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