What percentage of American adults are unable to read above the 8th grade level?

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A) 49% [1]

More:

  • More than 20% of American adults cannot read above a 4th-grade level (functional illiteracy). [2] .
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  • More than 50% of students at four-year colleges, and more than 75% at two-year colleges, lacked the skills to perform complex but common literacy tasks, such as:
    – Understanding the arguments of newspaper editorial
    – Comparing the cost per ounce of food, or credit card offers with different interest rates and annual fees
    – Interpreting a table about exercise and blood pressure [3]

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See related data in Litigation Media Research.

See my Litigation Media Portfolio and Advocacy Media Portfolio for examples of my ability to translate complex data and arguments into graphics and visualizations that the average American finds persuasive – in the courtroom, and in the court of public opinion.

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FOOTNOTES
1.  National Center for Education Statistics; U.S. Department of Education’s 2003 report, “A First Look At The Literacy Of America’s Adults In The 21st Century.”
2.  National Institute for Literacy; National Assessment of Adult Literacy; cited in 4th Annual E-Government Survey by Brown University (2004).
3.  National Survey of America’s College Students, Pew Charitable Trusts; cited in “Many College Students Poor On 3 Rs,” (AP) 1/19/06.

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