alt Hacker NewsIronically the National Literacy Institute is making me feel illiterate trying to parse their stats.
>On average, 79% of U.S. adults nationwide are literate in 2024.
>21% of adults in the US are illiterate in 2024.
>54% of adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade level (20% are below 5th-grade level). [1]
the 54% doesn't include the 21% does it? otherwise no-duh 20% are below 5th grade, 21% in fact. Which would make it 54% of the 79% who are literate? I come up with ~43% there plus 21% illiterate would be 64% of all US adults with some literacy deficiency?
https://www.thenationalliteracyinstitute.com/2024-2025-liter...
Replies
spicymaki • today at 7:44 PM
I would love to see the sources for those statistics. I am not going to hold my breath.
> the 54% doesn't include the 21% does it? otherwise no-duh 20% are below 5th grade, 21% in fact
No, not in fact. Literacy is typically defined to an age level. A third grader could be literate while an adult reading at their level is not.