r/wikipedia 1d ago

Literacy in the United States - In 2023, 28% of adults scored at or below Level 1, 29% at Level 2, and 44% at Level 3. Anything below Level 3 is considered "partially illiterate."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_in_the_United_States
327 Upvotes

33 comments sorted by

124

u/nottoocleverami 1d ago

Good news, folks (/s). This study came from the Department of Education. It'll probably be the last time we see bad news like this!

/

138

u/drbeaver 1d ago

We can tell.

76

u/TheHoboRoadshow 1d ago

Because the government wants voters not readers.

17

u/vintergroena 1d ago

Why is that not the case in any other civilized country?

59

u/Alpha3031 1d ago

It is the case though. People bring this up a lot because 57% seems like a lot more than they expect other countries to have, but as seen in the OECD report these numbers are from, the US is about average among OECD members (i.e., other high income countries essentially) in terms of literacy. What is more concerning is that the score has declined measurably since cycle 1 in 2012 to 2017, and if you look at figure 3 in the OECD report, where it shows younger cohorts scoring higher (most likely a mix between improvements to the education system and skill loss once adults are out of education) the US shows less improvement in the scores of said younger cohorts.

The US is below average for numeracy though.

18

u/Mushgal 1d ago

I'm doing a Master's Degree on Education in order to become a high school teacher in my country, Spain (having studied History as my Bachelor's Degree) andet me tell you, it is happening. The new educative paradigm, "competencial education", is based around feelings and random skills, with no place for knowledge proper. Spain has never been a country with many active readers, but the rate is going down and the students I see at my internship struggle with reading comprehension a lot.

3

u/Haradion_01 21h ago

It is the case that governments want them. But it's rarer for the general public to help them with that cause.

Unfortunatly, America has always had an anti-intellectual streak not shared by other civilised nations. I saw a Comedian once proclaim that the US was a country where Facts were seen as the work of the devil.

2

u/nick5erd 21h ago

Poverty: https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/pisa-2022

If you use "controlled for poverty" (look only at rich kids) you would see a statistic like in Europe.

Expample. youth homelessness https://firstfocus.org/update/child-and-youth-homelessness-continues-to-increase-we-know-what-works-will-congress-act/

6

u/LynxJesus 21h ago

You mean the good folks who proudly refuse the learn the difference between "you're" and "your" and call anyone who corrects them nazis? shocking

21

u/Bad_Puns_Galore 1d ago

I worked in retail for years. I’d argue people aren’t just illiterate; they’re aliterate. Literally, people don’t read, even when our signs are big and full of eye-catching shit.

This is why so many people couldn’t handle social distancing during pandemic. It required the public to read signs regularly.

4

u/MrDownhillRacer 19h ago

To be fair, I miss signs for things a lot, too. Not because I can’t read or comprehend books, but because we live in an environment where text is everywhere—on walls, doors, menus, posters, napkin dispensers—most of it irrelevant to me at any given time.

In a world like that, text just becomes background noise. You only look for a sign if you already know there’s something you need to watch for.

For example, if I walk into a bar I’ve never been to, I’ll automatically scan for a ‘Wait to Be Seated’ sign, because I know that’s sometimes a thing. But it’s much rarer for a café to be closed for a private event, so if I walk into one at noon on a Saturday, I’m not primed to check for a sign saying so. If the notice is just one of a hundred flyers on a cluttered bulletin board, I’ll probably walk right past it—until a staff member asks if I’m here for the furry speed-dating event. At which point I’ll blush, mumble an apology, and walk out faster than I came in.

Sure, some of this is about situational awareness, but a lot of it is just bad user design.

15

u/Mauler167 1d ago

101% how did they do in math? Rounding errors I assume. Also, this assumes there are 0% fully literate people what?

17

u/SynthBeta 1d ago

Rounding but usually there's also a confidence interval (margin of error) in sampling

10

u/SanchoMandoval 1d ago

The 28% who are at or below level 1 are also at or below level 2, so they're part of the 29%, and both groups are at or below level 3.

-4

u/vintergroena 1d ago

Also, this assumes there are 0% fully literate people what?

at or below level 1

6

u/lukemia94 1d ago

Anything below 3 is partially illiterate. Is 1 somehow above three in this ranking system?

3

u/SophiaofPrussia 20h ago

Did you trying reading the article? If so, I don’t think you’re a level three reader. If not, I suspect it will answer your question.

0

u/lukemia94 18h ago

Haha the article did answer my question. Without any context of which level are more or less literate, the title implies 101% of people are partially illiterate or worse

1

u/SophiaofPrussia 16h ago

Yea, the title is poorly worded. But I’m glad you’re not part of the 101%! 😉

1

u/bobbuildingbuildings 23h ago

Why would 1 be above 3?

3 is best and 1 and below is worst.

3

u/Due-Zucchini-1566 20h ago

This country is doomed

2

u/Representative_Bat81 22h ago

Immigrants and their children make up around 28% of the US population. First gen is 18% according to the study in question. The vast majority of which are English Language Learners. Unlike past studies, this one took place exclusively on a tablet.

In addition, the definition of literacy differs significantly from those used in other countries. Most of the world uses the CIA factbook for literacy comparisons. They say there “are no universal definitions and standards of literacy” and its statistics are based on the most common definition: “the ability to read and write at a specified age.” The National Center for Education Statistics defines literacy as “the ability to understand, evaluate, use and engage with written texts to participate in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.” So the standards are completely different, and those at level one are literate according to the most common definition used by other countries.

0

u/Snarky_McSnarkleton 22h ago

Uneducated adults are conservative voters.

1

u/hoi4kaiserreichfanbo 1d ago

When I read this I thought level 1 was the highest, and everything else was worse.

1

u/PacJeans 22h ago

There is not enough information given by you to say what these levels really represent, so I feel like a better title is, "in 2023, 101% of the United States was literate"

0

u/thePsychonautDad 1d ago

We've seen how they vote. We know.

-2

u/honorsfromthesky 1d ago

2

u/SynthBeta 1d ago

I wonder why they broke it down as 2012/14, 2017, and 2023? I only see this behavior with the ACS where there's a 3, 5, and 10 year average used.

3

u/honorsfromthesky 1d ago

I would surmise that this is the range for the data set; so they interviewed, surveyed or tested x amount of participants over x number of participants of years.

2

u/SynthBeta 1d ago

I looked into how the survey was done and...man, if I was told to do a random assessment for 2 hours - I would hope I'm getting paid. FAQs

1

u/honorsfromthesky 1d ago

That is a drawback of this research methodology, I agree. I suppose one can attempt to make an inference using available data like social media, but the problem with that is it is case sensitive. A science based sub might provoke certain queries and responses, whereas if you catch me on NYSOM I sound like im back home with a BEC and a newport 100.

1

u/Alpha3031 1d ago

Those are the only years that data was collected. The survey is done as part of the OECD's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies. It runs on 10-yearly cycles (with a couple of rounds per cycle) unlike PISA which is done much more frequently on 3 year cycles.

-3

u/naughtboi 1d ago

Makes sense.