Reaction to Adult Literacy in the U.S.A

Reaction to Adult Literacy in

the U.S.A

By

Kevin J. Lawrence

Fordham University

Foundations of Adult Education, CTGE 5925

April 07, 2010

The adult literacy issues in the United States have received its share of attention

within the last 30 years of media coverage. There is also the argument that media

coverage of adult literacy has been misleading; the movements that address adult literacy

in this country usually lose steam and come to an abrupt stop while many adults still

remain illiterate. The media has dubbed illiteracy as “a crippling limitation, a barrier to

individual and social advancement and as a problem to be fixed” (Guy, T., 2005). Despite

the exposure adult literacy has received; there still remains an issue of illiterate adults in

the U.S.; the adult literacy issues in this country appear to fade away each time there are

programs developed to address the problem. It is usually tossed aside by socially

conscious elites, government officials, the media and philanthropists who no longer find

interest in adult literacy programs over time (Chisman, F., 2002).

There are also many contributing factors that cause illiteracy among adults; it affects

families and people from all walks of life. There is no profile that can fit an individual of

being illiterate. The low literacy proficiency is relatively common, with between one in five

and one in three adult Americans has sufficient difficulty in reading or computation. The

most common cases of adult illiteracy is found in the African-American, and Hispanic

community; it affects the poor and undereducated (Guy, T., 2005).

The reason stemming for the high illiteracy rate with in these groups is based

upon the demand for high literacy education and skills for employment. The productivity-

enhancing technology and competition for low wages in countries like China and India,

has led many industries and corporations to downsize their work force; though

technology has created jobs; it requires the worker to learn new information and skills

that will keep them employed (Merriam, Caffarella, Baumgartner, 2007). The effect of

the global economy and technology has had a major influence on adult literacy; there is a

desire and need for adults to stay employed and support their families, but the literacy

programs that are needed sometimes fall victim to non-funding by public and private

sources (Chisman, 2002). The presence of the inequality educational system still

affect the African-American, Hispanic and the poor. The last study of illiteracy conducted

by the U.S. Department of Education showed that from 1998-2003, African-Americans

and Hispanics accounted for more than half of the enrollments in adult literacy; the

Hispanics made up 12.9% of the population in the U.S. and the African-American 12.3%.

If you compare these figures to the total U.S. population, it can be seen that the African-

Americans and Hispanics are clearly over represented in the adult literacy proficiency

levels. As noted by Chisman, (2005):

The distribution of literacy proficiency among adults in the American population

clearly reflects the structure of economic, political, and social inequality in American

society.

In 2003, the Department of Education released the President of the United States blueprint for the Reauthorization of Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Title II of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998. It outlined key changes that needed to be made in the law to provide adults better access to improve their skills through high quality research, based programs. Federal funded adult literacy programs are represented and characterized on several grade levels which include:

1. Adult Basic Education (ABE): Grade levels 1-8.

a. Low-level Literacy: Grade levels 1-4.

2. Adult Secondary Education (ASE): Grade levels 9-12 or:

a. General Education Diploma (GED).

3. English as a Second Language (ESL): Teaches the basics of the English language.

The instrument used to test the evaluation of adult’s literacy skills is the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE), which indicates the current grade level equivalent the adult measures (Chisman, 2002).

It was stated by Guy, T. (2005), that most national leaders and ordinary citizens believed that the way to address adult illiteracy and undereducated adults in this country is to improve the education of children. The issues arises were million of adults with educational problems have been tossed aside-with the focus on improvement of public schools for children. This new shift in momentum has caused the adult literacy programs to suffer from funding and exposure today. There is a shortage of well trained and compensated educators of appropriate programs, of accountability measures, and of stable commitment. The field of adult education and literacy is missing all the great forms of educational achievement and excellence that nations looks for in elementary and secondary education (Guy, T., 2005).

The loss of visibility in the public and private eye, the adult education and literacy has almost disappeared from the national priority list; as a result the literacy field is frustrated in its efforts to make major advancements. The adult literacy and education program in the U.S. has been given a small claim on public resources and is left to fend for its self (Guy, T., 2005). The current trend in the job market requires the individual adult to have higher than a secondary level of education; with the added pressure of today’s recession many undereducated and illiterate adults need adult education and literacy programs in order to compete for jobs heading across the globe.

Reference:

Chisman, F.P. 2002, February, Adult Literacy & The American Dream. New York, New

York, Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy.

Guy, T.C. 2005, The adult literacy education system in the United States. Paper

commissioned for the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2006, Literacy for Life.

Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001462/146281e.pdf

Merriam, S.B., Caffarella, R.S., Baumgartner, L.M. (2007). Learning in Adulthood: A

COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Boss.