In 2024, the U.S. Senate designated September as National Literacy Month with a resolution celebrating reading as a “cornerstone for personal growth, economic opportunity, and a strong society.”
It documented low reading proficiency among both children and adults and acknowledged some of the major causes and consequences of low literacy.
Most encouragingly, it emphasized the need for cross-sector involvement, calling for government entities, schools, nonprofits, businesses and individuals to participate in this month of observance.
What the resolution did not do, however, was promote any meaningful solutions to this multigenerational crisis. Since last September, new assessment data on both children and adults has shown increasing cause for concern.
The most recent international survey of adult skills revealed that 28 percent of U.S. adults aged 16-65 read below the equivalent of a third grade level — a 9 percent increase since 2017. The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress showed declines in reading scores for both fourth and eighth grade students.
While declining K-12 literacy scores are frequently attributed to lingering effects of the pandemic, the comparable data around adult literacy suggests that broader factors are at play. Scores have steadily declined across all ages for at least a decade.
Policy changes, curriculum debates, underinvestment and siloed approaches have contributed to the problem.
In the K-12 system, decreased federal funding for key literacy initiatives, which began when the No Child Left Behind Act was replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015, tracks with falling reading scores.
The “reading wars,” ongoing battles about how to teach children to read, have also driven inconsistencies in literacy instruction.
The adult education system is plagued by a lack of coordination, with delivery spread across local school districts, community colleges and community-based organizations.
At the same time, federal dollars invested have decreased when adjusted for inflation, while the share of adults with the lowest literacy levels has grown by more than 47 percent since 2012.
Low literacy threatens our economic growth, global competitiveness, public health and overall family well-being.
A 2020 Gallup study found that the U.S. economy could be losing up to $2.2 trillion annually due to low adult literacy rates. Our labor market faces a major skills gap, with just 68 qualified workers for every 100 open jobs, despite low unemployment.
One in 3 employers report that their average employee lacks the literacy skills needed to do their job effectively.
A recent U.S. Senate report noted that unless we improve student literacy rates, “we have no hope as a country to compete in a global marketplace.”
Low literacy rates impact our public health as well, costing our economy up to $238 billion every year. Adults with low literacy are hospitalized more frequently, and struggle with tasks like reading prescription labels and managing chronic health conditions.
The children of low-literate adults have a 72 percent chance of experiencing low literacy when they reach adulthood.
To break this multigenerational cycle, we must reinvest in family literacy. Funds spent on family literacy programming — which brings parents and children together to learn — are “double duty dollars.”
Results from a 5-year family literacy initiative in Arizona found that 92 percent of participating adults made progress on goals like earning a GED, and 88 percent gained increased confidence in supporting their child’s education.
Investments in family literacy drive both short- and long-term impact, giving parents the skills to achieve their workforce goals while supporting their children in becoming the workforce of tomorrow.
We must also move adult education and family literacy from the margins to the mainstream. The nation’s investment in adult education infrastructure must match the scale of the growing problem.
Reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act has bipartisan support and is a key first step in providing American workers with the tools they need to succeed.
Third, we must equip educators to implement evidence-based instruction and practice. Both K-12 and adult educators must have access to training on the most current, evidence-based instructional models.
More frequent participation in professional learning is linked to stronger instruction. Professional development opportunities are even more crucial for all educators, but especially for the 68 percent of adult educators who are part-time workers and the 12 percent who are unpaid volunteers.
We all stand to benefit from solving America’s literacy crisis, but change will require much more than a month of observance marked with story times and readathons. It will demand commitment and unprecedented collaboration across sectors and systems nationwide.
This National Literacy Month, let us resolve to act.
Andrew Roberts is president of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Felicia C. Smith, Ed.D. is president of the National Center for Families Learning.