The Age The quiet process of upper-level illiteracy. (2005).
Microsoft Word - Hempenstall, K. (2005). The quiet crisis of upper-level illiteracy..doc
My paper first – then followed by the work of a number of researchers.
“There is a belief in education that problems in being able to identify words are resolved by middle primary school and that any subsequent difficulties at upper-primary and secondary levels must relate to problems with the understanding of what is being read.
In Australia it has been reported that 30 per cent of students enter secondary school unable to read or write sufficiently well to adequately cope with the curriculum, and also 30 per cent do not complete their schooling. That is a sad symmetry. For disadvantaged students, the illiteracy figure may be as high as 60 per cent.
Surprisingly to many, research with secondary students has found real deficiencies in word-level reading, even for many students not considered slow or learning disabled. Though most of these students can recognise common words in print, they are not sufficiently competent with irregularly spelled or unfamiliar words. Their reading is often slow and their understanding is impeded by this lack of fluency.
A prerequisite of adequate comprehension is that text is read accurately and rapidly, indicating that getting the words off the page is largely automatic. Humans have limited available attention, and when they expend much of it in simply identifying the words, there is correspondingly less attention available for comprehension.
The complexity of words increases markedly in upper-primary grades, and even more dramatically in the specialised subjects at secondary level. For many students, their capacity to identify words falters under the challenge of these more unusual, often multi-syllabic, technical and abstract words.
Labored word identification leading to comprehension failure is a classic sign of the need for a strong phonics emphasis in the instructional process. The aim of phonics teaching in a code-emphasis program is to make explicit to students the alphabetic principle. Despite the inconsistencies in the English language, there are great benefits for students in understanding how letters map onto sounds. A big obstacle to developing an appreciation of this alphabetic principle is a failure of teaching to be explicit and unambiguous, and of neglecting the students' needs for a strong oral reading component to develop fluency.
Unless careful attention is paid to regularly assessing reading accuracy and rate, it is possible to incorrectly assume that an older student's problem is simply one of comprehension.
Focusing instruction solely on comprehension activities (such as how to extract the main idea) misses an underlying cause of the problem - inadequate word-level skills. There may well be language-based comprehension deficits to address additionally with some students, but alone such assistance is insufficient.
Several recent government and independent reports have pointed to a research consensus that teaching phonics strategies explicitly and systematically is crucial in ameliorating the high rate of reading failure, whether for beginners or the perennially struggling. The critical variable is not age but stage - whether child or adult, the path to facile reading is similar.
The problem should not be underestimated. Older students and adults may have unproductive habits strongly engraved by years of practice. Their lack of reading experience may have limited their vocabularies. Many may be resistant to again addressing the skill area that has proved elusive in the past, and provided for them only frustration and humiliation. Their progress is usually slower than for young children, requiring greater amounts of instruction and practice than is available to them within a typical secondary timetable.
It is apparent from research that early intervention (preschool, kinder, year 1) holds the greatest hope for reducing the effects of serious reading failure.
However, older students should not be ignored simply because early intervention is easier to implement and promote. Social justice requires us to provide for those students whom our system has failed in their earlier years.
Compromising effective assistance in secondary and primary schools is the lack of adequate training for teachers in the most effective, research-supported approaches to teaching reading at their level.
Of course, schools have limited financial and teaching resources. A belief that student literacy problems should be resolved during students' primary years can also lead to mere token assistance and to short-term programs vulnerable to premature discontinuation.
Until serious policy commitment and effective training become the norm, too many of our secondary students will suffer from the gradual loss of contact with the curriculum that eventuates when their basic skill deficits go unremarked or are addressed in a well-intentioned but ineffectual manner.”
End of my piece – below is more recent work from researchers:
Low literacy achievement for some: A persistent and pernicious problem in Australian education (2025).
Abstract
“The reading literacy skills of Australian adolescents, as measured in successive PISA waves, have declined since 2000. Literacy achievement is not low by international standards, but it is lower in Australia than it is in Anglophone countries with which we compare ourselves, e.g. Canada. Using PISA 2018 and PIRLS 2021 data, we investigated both individual and school-level factors that influence adolescent reading literacy achievement, finding that student-level factors accounted for 80% of variance with only 20% related to schools.
Of the school effects, we find a substantial proportion of that variance is related to student peer influences. Among the individual influences, low SES, male, and language background other than English (LBOTE) status are associated with lower levels of achievement. We find that SES operates at both the individual and the school-level to explain variation in achievement. School average SES has a much stronger influence than does individual SES. It is worth noting that differences in student-perceived (PISA) and self-reported (PIRLS) teacher practices were not identified as factors associated with reading achievement gaps. We explore policy implications of our findings, including school funding arrangements. While the main individual-level factors that influence achievement are not directly amenable to policy interventions, they do suggest categories of students for whom additional support would likely generate improvements and help close the reading achievement gap.”
Curtis, D. D., & Nielsen, P. (2025). Low literacy achievement for some: A persistent and pernicious problem in Australian education. Issues in Educational Research, 35(1), 101-125. https://www.iier.org.au/iier35/curtis-abs.html
Saving Money by Spending: Solving Illiteracy in Australia (2023)
“Summary: A national study into Australia’s literacy standards by Equity Economics has found that four in ten 15-year-old students are not meeting reading benchmarks. The cost of lost lifetime earnings for those who fall behind is estimated at over $12 billion alone. This doesn’t even begin to account for the emotional costs to individuals or costs to our economy in terms of lost productivity and poorer health and wellbeing outcomes.
We looked at each state and territory’s performance in national and international assessments and attempts by jurisdictions to implement evidence-based practices. We found that all states need to do better.
Too many Australian adults and children can’t read. Almost half of Australian adults struggle with reading. This has a devastating impact on their lives. It is an impassable barrier to opportunity and success. Unfortunately, our younger generation is facing similar challenges. Over four in 10 15-year-olds in Australia did not attain the Australian National Proficiency Standard in reading in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), with rates declining over past decades. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, students from disadvantaged backgrounds and from non-metropolitan areas are less likely to be literate than their peers. In 2022, Year 9 students from these cohorts were around three years of schooling behind the average Australian student in terms of their National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) reading scores.”
Del Rio J, Jones K. (2023). Saving money by spending: Solving illiteracy in Australia. Equity Economics. Saving Money by Spending: Solving Illiteracy in Australia — Equity Economics
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A Quiet & Destructive Illiteracy Crisis (2020)
“Adult and child illiteracy rates, especially in low-income populations, are already too high. Imagine what the pandemic is doing to that.
It’s not a prominent headline as it should be, but America is facing an illiteracy crisis. As if there aren’t enough crises to manage already. But, the crisis of illiteracy - particularly adult functional illiteracy - is a problem that eats away at the very core of any civic society struggling to achieve a democratic normalcy. If a nation’s people cannot read, how do they contribute to society? How productive can they be? Employers aren’t in the habit of employing illiterate employees, and those who are functionally illiterate (who are able-bodied, but can’t read) have effectively locked themselves out of most, if not all, marketplaces. If that’s happening at a mass scale, that’s a recipe for broader societal breakdown.
Yet, currently, an estimated 54 percent of adults between the ages of 16 to 65 are reading below a 6th grade level - nearly 20 percent of that number are at “the lowest levels of literacy,” according to U.S. Department of Education data. In fact, the number of adults reading above a 6th grade level actually declined by two percentage points between 2014 and 2017. A deeper glimpse into these numbers show a crisis brewing at an exponential rate policymakers either continue to ignore or are aware of yet fail to highlight.”
the B|E note.. (2020). A Quiet & Destructive Illiteracy Crisis - by B|E strategy
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The Silent Crisis: The Threat of Mass Illiteracy (2020)
“Despite enormous efforts, despite a battery of programs and remedial regimes and the emergence of an entire sub-industry of school consultants and marketeers, the capacity to read and write across the English-speaking world shows evidence of steep decline.
This should be a cause for community concern. Poor literacy is strongly associated with anti-social behaviour. Very literate people seldom enter the prison system, which suggests that widespread literacy is part of a good inoculation against criminality.
IQ correlates positively with literacy, and negatively with criminality. Those correlations are stronger than that between literacy and criminality, suggesting that IQ is the root cause of both. This trend points to a developing ideocracy.
In most Western societies, the prison population has the highest concentration of illiteracy. … 50 per cent of British prisoners are functionally illiterate. The Literacy Project Foundation in the United States estimates 85 per cent of juvenile offenders have trouble reading, while other research estimates the illiteracy rate in American jails to be at least 75 per cent.
In 2015, the ABC reported that only 40 per cent of Victoria’s prison population had sufficient literacy to cope independently in the workforce. Or, put around the other way, 60 per cent of Victoria’s prisoners cannot read and write well enough to cope in most workplaces.
Lower literacy is related to poorer life choices, worse health, shorter lifespans and poverty. On a grander measure of human value, illiteracy denies people the ability to participate fully in their society. For at least a hundred years, basic literacy has been the necessary qualification for virtually all useful employment and for meaningful community involvement. …
Fluent literacy is essential for citizens in any intellectual democracy that wishes to flourish. Since the beginning of popular democracy, the system has been safeguarded by vigilant citizens. The strength and stability of a democracy rest on the ability of its citizens to debate, understand and engage with complex ideas. Such engagement requires literacy above a basic standard.
If much of modern political discourse seems to be emotional, visceral and simplistic, it may well reflect the inability of many in the electorate to handle complex ideas.
While the properly literate segment of society is shrinking across the Western world, vast “islands of illiteracy” have started to swell and spread. In some cities, entire suburbs and street blocks are now occupied by people who cannot read. In these places, virtual hieroglyphics take the place of text in corner stores and local businesses.
How serious is the problem? In the United States the Washington Post reports that 20 per cent of the adult population of Washington state cannot read. …
- In the United Kingdom, it was shown in 2001 that illiteracy had exceeded 1912 levels. … The United Kingdom is the only OECD country where the literacy of sixteen-to-twenty-four-year-old people is below that of people aged fifty-five and over. …
- Canadian police services … estimate that 42 per cent of the working Canadian population have “lower literacy than is needed to cope with the increasing information demands in our society” … “two out of every five Canadian adults—9 million people—can’t read well enough to do everyday tasks”. …
- In a guide book … produced by the West Australian government, landlords are advised, “Your explanation about the tenancy is likely to be important too as half of Australians aged between 15 and 74 years have ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ literacy skills.”
These figures stand in stark contrast to official statistics in many Western countries that typically claim literacy rates around 99 per cent. How could this be when it runs counter to the research of many academics and the experience of so many people?
The answer is that official statistics are often compiled from the results of national testing regimes that measure students against “national standards”. These standards are typically set low and the vast majority of students are able to pass them.
Society’s evolutionary arc is showing increasing signs of dumbing down:
All of this has long-term implications for the economic and social future of Western nations. The uncomfortable truth is that mass illiteracy — either outright or functional — is slowly returning to the prosperous First World, even as it is being slowly stamped out in the developing world.
Any sustained rise in illiteracy presents serious implications for crime rates, the quality of civic participation, the level of intelligent political discourse, economic growth, the mobility of class groups, and even levels of religious observance. Worse still, governments seem able to do little to stem the decline. …
It is not an issue of government competence or teacher ability. Teachers in Western nations do exactly what is required of them: they work hard, are supportive of students who present an array of social and behavioural problems, and try hard to engage their students. Governments in Western countries fund clean, safe schools.
But culture is something else entirely. Literacy and intelligence have been routinely ridiculed in youth culture for decades. Televisual entertainments have eroded the need for people to read in order to amuse themselves or to learn about a topic. Text-to-speech technologies can make reading unnecessary. It is not surprising, then, to discover that among the two social groups that have experienced the steepest declines in literacy — the working and lower-middle classes — research tends to find that entertainment is increasingly more valued than education.
It’s politically incorrect, and no one wants to talk about it.”
Jason Landless. (2020). The Silent Crisis: The Threat of Mass Illiteracy. The Wentworth Report.
The Silent Crisis: The Threat of Mass Illiteracy |
One in three Aussie kids can’t read this headline: Grattan (2024)
“Only 12 per cent of Australian 15-year-olds are able to read at an advanced level with children from poor families 10 times more likely to have deficient reading ability compared to their richer peers.
A report from the Grattan Institute says Australia is in the midst of a reading crisis. A third of children cannot read at the level expected of them at their age and too often when they fall behind, there are few or inadequate measures to help get them back to where they should be.
Australia needs a massive systemwide approach to boosting reading ability for all students. Quentin Jones. It says there needs to be a national, system-wide approach to how schools teach reading, how they identify students who are falling behind and then remediate them.
Jordana Hunter, the institute’s education program lead, says substandard reading leads to a vicious cycle of falling even further behind, disruptive behaviour, disengagement and dropping out prematurely.
Australian students’ performance has continued to go backwards, even after the introduction of the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy in 2008. Its fundamental goal was to identify and intervene as early as possible to address the needs of those students not making sufficient progress by testing every student in the country in years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
Dr Hunter said teachers had been trained in a “whole-of-language” approach to literacy since the 1970s, which assumes that reading is an easy, natural and unconscious process.
However, mounting evidence proved this approach was inappropriate for too many children, leading to a lifetime of inadequate reading, spelling and comprehension skills.
Six-step reading guarantee
“Its remnants should be banned from all schools,” Dr Hunter said.
While some states, including Tasmania, NSW and South Australia, were pushing ahead with teaching reading by phonics and explicit instruction, Victoria and the ACT were laggards, she said.
Dr Hunter said state and Catholic education systems and independent schools should commit to a six-step reading guarantee, including a pledge that at least 90 per cent of students should be proficient readers.
It would also require schools to screen all students for literacy skills and provide additional resources to those who are not at their grade levels.
The Grattan Institute also wants the introduction of a nationally consistent year 1 phonics screening check.
“Australia needs a reading revolution,” Dr Hunter said. “We need to transform the way we teach reading in school so that every child gets their best chance in life.”
Dr Hunter said a high-quality, evidence-based professional development program for all teachers was critical to improving reading skills.
Many students are not helped, particularly if they are in high school, because it is assumed they have already learned basic foundational skills.
“Australia has too many ‘instructional casualties’ – students who should read proficiently but haven’t been taught well,” the report says.
“In 2022, only 12 per cent of Australian students were good performers in reading, compared to 22 per cent in Singapore.”
That same data, from the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment, found that nearly 60 per cent of 15-year-olds from the poorest families were not proficient readers.
Research shows that in 2012, students in year 9 whose parents did not complete high school were about four years and seven months behind in reading than those whose parents when to university. But 2022, the gap had widened to five years and two months.
Half of all students in regional and remote areas do not read at their grade level. Boys consistently perform worse than girls and Indigenous students are far behind their non-Indigenous peers.
Despite concerns raised by business groups that too many employees do not have adequate literacy or numeracy, and with adult illiteracy rife, Dr Hunter said most governments had shown too little ambition to change the status quo.
However, individual schools, such as Churchill Primary School in Victoria, had shown how results can be turned around.”
Julie Hare. (2024). One in three Aussie kids can’t read this headline: Grattan. Financial Review Australia's adult literacy crisis - Adult Learning Australia.
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Can schools and libraries curb the functional illiteracy crisis? (2024)
Abstract
“Increasing parts of the world population have rudimentary reading and writing skills but limited command of grammar, syntax and spelling. This functional illiteracy has detrimental effects on labor market participation, population health and political stability. Geographies of illiteracy also include affluent societies like the Netherlands, a country that is not only illustrative of a widespread phenomenon, but arguably also a bellwether of things to come elsewhere in the world if these developments are not reversed. This exploratory paper focuses on two institutional spaces where the literacy crisis is conventionally addressed: schools and public libraries. We argue that while each has a contribution to make, neither institution is currently able to curtail the trend, partially because preferred literacy promotion methods are incongruent with rapidly evolving changes in the literacy landscape, especially regarding youth communication. We consider three possible responses to our current literacy crisis and conclude that efforts to curb functional illiteracy require a pragmatic and multi-pronged approach, and perhaps even some counterintuitive strategies.
Conclusion
With growing parts of the world population becoming less – rather than more – capable of reading and writing, FI is turning into a major concern, also in affluent countries. Our exploratory paper has illustrated that common institutional spaces to facilitate literacy – schools and public libraries – will continue to play an important, albeit inadequate, role. Using the Netherlands as our example, we have demonstrated that the available evidence suggesting that either is likely to curb the FI crisis does not inspire confidence, notwithstanding greater state investment in both schools and libraries. Indeed we suggest that the weight of the evidence points away from either being adequately equipped to the task.
Comparing schools and libraries, we provided four explanations that best explain the ongoing FI crisis. First, much of the additional spending is used to repair what had already been lost. Recent investments in public libraries, for example, might suggest that libraries are no longer in dire straits, and can perform extra tasks such as providing language instruction or homework support, when in fact they are recovering from years of disinvestment and closures. Second, there often is either too much or too little accountability of the allocated funds. While the former is undesirable as it results in institutions merely complying with stipulations imposed by their benefactors, the latter might lead to money not being spent on literacy promotion but on other facilities (e.g. new shelves, printers, toilets, curtains). Third, personnel in both schools and libraries are increasingly asked to do more than they possibly can. This not only refers to their limited time available to perform additional tasks, but also their own educational training that not always adequately prepares teachers and librarians. Lastly, there is a tendency among influential decision-makers, educational professionals, school administrators and even certain parents to resist more radical, structural change, as this might threaten (the operation of) ‘their’ institutions. This does not mean that decision-makers are disingenuous or indifferent. However, the similarity in background may limit one’s ability to think outside-the-box.
As we have seen, a number of scholars have been engaged in thinking outside-the-box concerning the meanings and applications to which FI can be enlisted. We follow Cherinet (2018) in emphasizing the importance of ‘multiliteracy’, where certain kinds of literacy may be more apt depending on the context and activity taking place. For example, older citizens may exhibit higher rates of civic literacy, having had more time to acquire the knowledge of one’s rights and responsibilities and an understanding of the electoral process. Meanwhile, younger people may be more digitally literate, having been immersed from a young age in myriad kinds of technologies and social media spaces. At the same time, neither demographic may exhibit impressive levels of media literacy, including the capacity to comprehend and decode a barrage of information thrown at consumers in an algorithmic age of false advertising, cunning political campaigns, and deep fakes. In other words, people may be literate in one or more domains while being functionally illiterate in others.
This example illustrates our paper’s contribution to these larger debates. First, we argued for the importance of recognizing different conceptions of literacy, as well appreciating the merits of different ways of thinking about the current literacy crisis. Our paper showed that the structural critique, for all of its historical and sociological accuracy concerning assimilationism and rule compliance, offers little that is constructive in moving forward. The meliorist approach, on the other hand, does provide a number of creative and experimental strategies that can be implemented within existing school and library structures; at the same time, we have questioned whether many of these piecemeal approaches will reach those who arguably need it most.
Second, our paper’s contribution has been to join critical pedagogues who insist that we interrogate the skills-based approach to literacy, but to push the envelope further concerning the need to fundamentally rethink what a literate person is. This is particularly important in the digital economy, where traditional modes of reading and writing are no longer reliable indicators concerning whether one is able to access, understand and use important information. On this point, however, we recommend the urgency of improving media literacy; both schools and libraries might be recruited in this endeavor. Lastly, in order to highlight the formidable challenges of FI around the world, our contribution has been to examine a small, affluent and administratively centralized country, yet where the FI crisis has already taken hold and presently shows little signs of improving, this despite billions in extra state investments whose purpose is to curb the trend.
Our exploratory paper is not based on a structured content analysis of all available government and media sources within a specific time frame, or interviews with policy-makers, educational professionals and school or library managers. Instead, we drew upon more than fifty recent online sources (see references) and our earlier (empirical) work (Merry & Boterman, 2020; Van Melik & Merry, 2023) to formulate some first explanations for the inverse relationship between investments and returns. Based on our analysis, we conclude that merely investing in schools and libraries is not the solution to combat the illiteracy crisis. That said, it is not our view that schools and libraries have become irrelevant, or that they should receive less funding. Instead, we have argued that the FI issue is so colossally complex that we need to: (a) recognize that investments alone will not yield different results in the absence of a more diverse leadership and more radical structural changes; (b) stretch the geographies of literacy beyond these conventional institutional domains and encourage innovations and experiments in other para-educational places; and (c) foster more discussion concerning what it means to be (il)literate in the digitized 21st century. After all, conventional spaces of literacy have become moving targets and our literacy landscape, too, is rapidly evolving in response to these changes.”
Michael S. Merry and Rianne van Melik. (2024). Can schools and libraries curb the functional illiteracy crisis? Insights from the Netherlands. Critical Studies in Education, Ahead-of-print, 1-20.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17508487.2024.2418105
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Abstract
“Increasing parts of the world population have rudimentary reading and writing skills but limited command of grammar, syntax and spelling. This functional illiteracy has detrimental effects on labor market participation, population health and political stability. Geographies of illiteracy also include affluent societies like the Netherlands, a country that is not only illustrative of a widespread phenomenon, but arguably also a bellwether of things to come elsewhere in the world if these developments are not reversed. This exploratory paper focuses on two institutional spaces where the literacy crisis is conventionally addressed: schools and public libraries. We argue that while each has a contribution to make, neither institution is currently able to curtail the trend, partially because preferred literacy promotion methods are incongruent with rapidly evolving changes in the literacy landscape, especially regarding youth communication. We consider three possible responses to our current literacy crisis and conclude that efforts to curb functional illiteracy require a pragmatic and multi-pronged approach, and perhaps even some counter-intuitive strategies.
Conclusion
With growing parts of the world population becoming less – rather than more – capable of reading and writing, FI is turning into a major concern, also in affluent countries. Our exploratory paper has illustrated that common institutional spaces to facilitate literacy – schools and public libraries – will continue to play an important, albeit inadequate, role. Using the Netherlands as our example, we have demonstrated that the available evidence suggesting that either is likely to curb the FI crisis does not inspire confidence, notwithstanding greater state investment in both schools and libraries. Indeed we suggest that the weight of the evidence points away from either being adequately equipped to the task.
Comparing schools and libraries, we provided four explanations that best explain the ongoing FI crisis. First, much of the additional spending is used to repair what had already been lost. Recent investments in public libraries, for example, might suggest that libraries are no longer in dire straits, and can perform extra tasks such as providing language instruction or homework support, when in fact they are recovering from years of disinvestment and closures. Second, there often is either too much or too little accountability of the allocated funds. While the former is undesirable as it results in institutions merely complying with stipulations imposed by their benefactors, the latter might lead to money not being spent on literacy promotion but on other facilities (e.g. new shelves, printers, toilets, curtains). Third, personnel in both schools and libraries are increasingly asked to do more than they possibly can. This not only refers to their limited time available to perform additional tasks, but also their own educational training that not always adequately prepares teachers and librarians. Lastly, there is a tendency among influential decision-makers, educational professionals, school administrators and even certain parents to resist more radical, structural change, as this might threaten (the operation of) ‘their’ institutions. This does not mean that decision-makers are disingenuous or indifferent. However, the similarity in background may limit one’s ability to think outside-the-box.
As we have seen, a number of scholars have been engaged in thinking outside-the-box concerning the meanings and applications to which FI can be enlisted. We follow Cherinet (2018) in emphasizing the importance of ‘multiliteracy’, where certain kinds of literacy may be more apt depending on the context and activity taking place. For example, older citizens may exhibit higher rates of civic literacy, having had more time to acquire the knowledge of one’s rights and responsibilities and an understanding of the electoral process. Meanwhile, younger people may be more digitally literate, having been immersed from a young age in myriad kinds of technologies and social media spaces. At the same time, neither demographic may exhibit impressive levels of media literacy, including the capacity to comprehend and decode a barrage of information thrown at consumers in an algorithmic age of false advertising, cunning political campaigns, and deep fakes. In other words, people may be literate in one or more domains while being functionally illiterate in others.
This example illustrates our paper’s contribution to these larger debates. First, we argued for the importance of recognizing different conceptions of literacy, as well appreciating the merits of different ways of thinking about the current literacy crisis. Our paper showed that the structural critique, for all of its historical and sociological accuracy concerning assimilationism and rule compliance, offers little that is constructive in moving forward. The meliorist approach, on the other hand, does provide a number of creative and experimental strategies that can be implemented within existing school and library structures; at the same time, we have questioned whether many of these piecemeal approaches will reach those who arguably need it most.
Second, our paper’s contribution has been to join critical pedagogues who insist that we interrogate the skills-based approach to literacy, but to push the envelope further concerning the need to fundamentally rethink what a literate person is. This is particularly important in the digital economy, where traditional modes of reading and writing are no longer reliable indicators concerning whether one is able to access, understand and use important information. On this point, however, we recommend the urgency of improving media literacy; both schools and libraries might be recruited in this endeavor. Lastly, in order to highlight the formidable challenges of FI around the world, our contribution has been to examine a small, affluent and administratively centralized country, yet where the FI crisis has already taken hold and presently shows little signs of improving, this despite billions in extra state investments whose purpose is to curb the trend.
Our exploratory paper is not based on a structured content analysis of all available government and media sources within a specific time frame, or interviews with policy-makers, educational professionals and school or library managers. Instead, we drew upon more than fifty recent online sources (see references) and our earlier (empirical) work (Merry & Boterman, 2020; Van Melik & Merry, 2023) to formulate some first explanations for the inverse relationship between investments and returns. Based on our analysis, we conclude that merely investing in schools and libraries is not the solution to combat the illiteracy crisis. That said, it is not our view that schools and libraries have become irrelevant, or that they should receive less funding. Instead, we have argued that the FI issue is so colossally complex that we need to: (a) recognize that investments alone will not yield different results in the absence of a more diverse leadership and more radical structural changes; (b) stretch the geographies of literacy beyond these conventional institutional domains and encourage innovations and experiments in other para-educational places; and (c) foster more discussion concerning what it means to be (il)literate in the digitized 21st century. After all, conventional spaces of literacy have become moving targets and our literacy landscape, too, is rapidly evolving in response to these changes.”
Rianne van Melik, Friederike Landau-Donnelly, Lisa Engström, Alexa Färber, Marion Hamm, Jamea Kofi & Johanna Rivano Eckerdal. (2024). Infrastructuring the policymaking, funding and positioning of libraries: unpacking tensions in public library policies in three European cities. International Journal of Cultural Policy 0:0, pages 1-19.
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Illiteracy: A Silent Crisis in Our World (2024)
“Illiteracy is one of the greatest challenges that humanity still faces today. It quietly holds millions of people back, locking them in cycles of poverty, limiting opportunities, and affecting their quality of life. While many of us may take reading and writing for granted, the harsh reality is that these basic skills are out of reach for a significant portion of the global population.(illit)
This blog explores the meaning of illiteracy, its causes, how it affects individuals and society, and the steps we can take together to address this critical issue. Let’s dive in and understand why the fight against illiteracy matters and how each of us can play a role in creating a more educated world.
What Is Illiteracy?
Illiteracy means not being able to read or write at a basic level. It’s more than just a lack of skills—it’s about missing out on opportunities to learn, grow, and connect with the world. Imagine not being able to read road signs, fill out a job application, or even help your child with homework. That’s what life is like for people who struggle with illiteracy.(illit)
There are different kinds of illiteracy too:
- Basic Illiteracy:When someone cannot read or write simple sentences.
- Functional Illiteracy:When a person knows basic reading and writing but cannot use these skills effectively in everyday life.
Being literate is more than just understanding letters and words; it’s about empowerment, independence, and the ability to make informed decisions.
How Big Is the Problem?
The problem of illiteracy is bigger than most people realize. According to global statistics:
- Over 770 million adults worldwide cannot read or write.
- Two-thirds of these individuals are women.
- Many children in developing countries drop out of school without learning basic literacy skills.
Illiteracy is not just a problem in poorer countries. Even in developed nations, many adults struggle with literacy due to gaps in their education, learning disabilities, or personal circumstances.(illit)
Why Does Illiteracy Happen?
Illiteracy doesn’t happen out of nowhere. There are often many underlying reasons that keep people from learning to read and write. Let’s explore some of the most common causes:
1. Poverty
Poverty and illiteracy go hand in hand. When families are struggling to afford food and shelter, education often takes a backseat. Children from poor families may have to work instead of going to school.
2. Lack of Access to Schools
In some parts of the world, schools are far away or don’t exist at all. Even when schools are nearby, they may not have trained teachers, enough books, or proper classrooms.(illit)
3. Cultural Barriers
Cultural beliefs sometimes prevent children, especially girls, from attending school. In some societies, girls are expected to stay home and help with chores or get married at a young age instead of continuing their education.
4. Wars and Conflicts
In places affected by war or natural disasters, education is often disrupted. Schools may be destroyed, and families forced to flee their homes often lose access to education altogether.(illit)
5. Learning Disabilities
Some people struggle with conditions like dyslexia or other learning disabilities that make reading and writing difficult. Without the right support, they may fall behind in school and never catch up.
How Does Illiteracy Affect People?
The impact of illiteracy goes far beyond not being able to read a book. It touches almost every aspect of a person’s life and even affects the broader community.
1. Poverty and Employment
Without literacy skills, finding a good job becomes almost impossible. Many jobs require filling out forms, reading instructions, or writing reports. Illiteracy keeps people stuck in low-paying, unstable jobs, making it harder to escape poverty.
2. Everyday Challenges
Imagine trying to navigate the world without being able to read. Whether it’s following a recipe, understanding a prescription, or even reading a text message, illiteracy makes life much harder.(illit)
3. Health Risks
People who can’t read may not understand important health information. They might misuse medication or miss out on preventive care, leading to worse health outcomes for themselves and their families.
4. Impact on Families
Illiterate parents may struggle to support their children’s education. This can create a cycle where illiteracy is passed down from one generation to the next.
5. Society as a Whole
Communities with high illiteracy rates often struggle with poverty, crime, and limited economic growth. Literacy is not just a personal skill—it’s a cornerstone of a thriving society.
What Can We Do to End Illiteracy?
The good news is that illiteracy is a solvable problem. Here are some of the ways we can work together to tackle it:
1. Invest in Education
Governments and organizations must prioritize funding for education. Building schools, training teachers, and providing free education can make a huge difference.
2. Adult Literacy Programs
It’s never too late to learn. Programs designed for adults can help people gain the skills they missed out on as children, opening up new opportunities for work and personal growth.
3. Leverage Technology
Technology is a game-changer in the fight against illiteracy. Mobile apps, online courses, and e-books can bring education to people in even the most remote areas.
4. Community Efforts
Local communities can play a big role in promoting literacy. Volunteer programs, book drives, and community learning centers can help spread education.
5. Focus on Girls and Women
Educating girls and women has a ripple effect on families and communities. When women are literate, they are better able to take care of their families and contribute to society.
Real Stories of Hope
Stories of people overcoming illiteracy are a powerful reminder of what’s possible when we give people a chance to learn. For example:
- A grandmother in India learned to read at the age of 60 so she could read the Bible.
- A young boy in Kenya, who used to skip school to work, now attends classes and dreams of becoming a teacher.
These stories show that with the right support, anyone can change their life through literacy.
How You Can Help
Even small actions can make a big difference:
- Donate books to schools or libraries.
- Volunteer to teach reading at a local literacy center.
- Support organizations working to fight illiteracy.
- Spread awareness about the importance of literacy.
Conclusion: A World Without Illiteracy
Illiteracy is more than just a personal struggle—it’s a barrier to a better world. By addressing its root causes and working together, we can ensure that everyone has the chance to learn, grow, and live a fulfilling life.
Let’s imagine a future where every child has a book in their hands, every parent can help with homework, and every person has the skills they need to achieve their dreams. Together, we can make that future a reality.”
Jatin. (2024). Illiteracy: A Silent Crisis in Our World. Breaking Down Illiteracy: Causes, Impacts, and Solutions
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Lifelong learning for a fairer Australia (2021)
“Rugby league star turned actor Ian Roberts recently hit the news when he confessed he had only properly learned to read at the age of 36. Roberts, the first openly gay player in the league said coming out as gay was a breeze in comparison to publicly admitting how much difficulty he had with reading and writing.
‘I was so ashamed and embarrassed about it. I was basically illiterate,’ he told ABC radio interviewer Julian Morrow recently.
Luckily for Roberts, a teacher found him help.
Roberts’ story and the statistic that around 44% of Australian adults don’t have the literacy skills needed for everyday life was no doubt shocking to many but it’s no surprise to people involved in teaching adults. And experts agree that this statistic is most likely higher because literacy levels in remote parts of Australia are not included in the data.
Poor reading and writing skills are a hidden epidemic amongst Australia’s adult population.
The national Reading Writing Hotline which refers adults for help with literacy and numeracy saw a spike in calls during COVID. Vanessa Iles, Manager of the service says the 4000 callers to the Hotline each year are just the tip of the iceberg. ‘There are a lot of people out there who are flying under the radar.’
Jo Medlin, President of the Australian Council for Adult Literacy agrees. ‘I think a lot of people are not putting their hand up to having problems because of the social stigma. It takes a lot of courage to admit that you’ve been through the school system in Australia and you can’t read and write. That’s a huge step.’
Shame prevents people getting help
This sense of shame is the reason people keep their secret to themselves and often develop creative ways of avoiding exposure.
‘You notice examples of people hiding their difficulties all the time. For example simple things like using public transport. if you’re waiting at a bus stop sometimes people will say “Excuse me, I can’t read the 24-hour timetable, is this the right bus?” And of course the standard is “Can you read this for me? I have forgotten my glasses” – that’s common too,’ Jo says.
COVID was a confronting event for people with low literacy. Forced into isolation and with community services closed, many people were cut off from helpers. ‘Before COVID people would go to the local library or community centre and get assistance. But during COVID it was like “What do I do now?”‘, Jo says.
‘Learning how to write and read was almost like a rebirth. This whole other world opened up. It was incredible.’ Ian Roberts
Vanessa Iles says that fear of exposure of a problem they had worked hard to hide prompted many callers to seek help. ‘We got calls from a lot of people who had managed to keep their inability to read and write secret from their families and kids, who rang us panicstruck because suddenly they were expected to be involved in home schooling.’
Workers are expected to have higher level of literacy than in the past. Photo: Workers by IFAteched CC BY 2.0
In non COVID times, triggers include the birth of a child, the prospect of a promotion at work or death or separation from a helper. Vanessa says that rising standards of literacy required at work is a common reason for people to call for help. ‘For example, someone who has been a truck driver for 20 years who when they started didn’t need to do much more than sign their name will ring because they find that now they are expected to take part in very complex online processes and complete mandatory safety training. So the requirements for the job have changed.’
For Ian Roberts the trigger was the realisation that if he wanted to be an actor, he would have to learn his lines. And for that he needed to be able to read.
Myths about adult literacy
There’s a common misconception that the only people with literacy problems are new migrants. But in 2020, 68% of callers to the Reading Writing Hotline were from English speaking backgrounds and went through school in Australia. Another mistaken belief is that it is young people who don’t have the literacy skills for work and study. ‘If you listen to talk back radio you hear people reminiscing about a golden age where everyone learned to read and write at school. But I’ve taught people in their 60s who never went to high school,’ Jo says.
The PIAAC data bears this out with older Australians 60+ with the lowest literacy rates. And 60% of callers to the Reading Writing Hotline are men, mostly in the 44–65 age group.
So how is it that so many people who went through school in Australia are struggling to read and write?
Research has found a range of reasons why people don’t develop the skills they need — particularly in the crucial years between 5 and 9 when most kids develop reading skills. Parents with low literacy; disrupted schooling, poverty, learning difficulties, eyesight or hearing problems, and family breakdown are some of the reasons why children can grow into adults without reading and writing skills.
National Rugby League star Ian Roberts said it was easier to come out as gay than to publicly admit he couldn’t read and write properly. Photo: Nathan Hopkins/NRL Photos
Limited adult literacy services
Asking for help is one thing, getting it is another. Government funded adult literacy services are available for jobseekers in the form of the ‘Skills for Employment and Education’ (SEE) program. But 82% of callers to the Reading Writing Hotline are stay-at-home parents, already working, retired or carers, so are not eligible for free adult literacy help, Vanessa Iles says.
Getting help is also complicated by where you live. Services across Australia are often piecemeal and patchy outside of metropolitan areas with some states having little or no provision. ‘If someone is calling from Melbourne they have lots of options. If they’re calling from a rural area it’s a very different story’, Vanessa says.
The existence of a national Hotline sets up expectations that help will be available. ‘The model of a hotline implies that you take calls and plug people into services. But we’ve had a huge increase in people we can’t find classes for, up from 4% to 13%.’
‘It can take people 10–15 years to call us and they finally ring thinking “OK I’m ready to unburden myself and deal with the embarrassment and shame.” We hate saying “Sorry there’s nothing for you,”’ Vanessa Iles says.
‘Some people develop fantastic strategies for coping and can lead what look like successful lives. For example, tradies who rely on their wife or their partner to do the paperwork. But if they’re separated all that falls apart.’ Jo Medlin, President, ACAL
Everyday adult literacy focus first. Ros Bauer, Adult Learning Australia (ALA) Board, says that the recently convened parliamentary inquiry into adult literacy is an opportunity to influence public policy.
‘Formal and accredited VET training incorporating foundation skills and offering pathways for work or further study are important but they presuppose that learners already have the literacy skills needed. How can you develop a resume or write a job application if you don’t have those basic reading and writing skills?
‘The kind of everyday reading and writing that people who have lower levels of literacy need — how to read a school newsletter or an electricity bill, for example — are not the focus of accredited training.’
Successful adult literacy programs are learner centred and develop reading and writing skills that adults want for everyday life.
Using successful programs as models
Learner centered programs are key. ‘For people who left school early or had bad experiences of school it’s a big step to come back to learning. They often come in with a mistrust of the system so programs that are going to be effective are ones where the learner feels safe and supported and where the emphasis is not on pushing them through a curriculum but helping them to learn what they want to know.
‘We know that some of the most successful initiatives, ones that work for people who are hard-to-reach and disengaged, are delivered through community education programs. These kinds of face to face, non-threatening and non-accredited programs are suited to people with low level skills and tailored to their needs.’
Mapping current adult literacy services
Ros says the first step in developing suitable services across Australia would be to find out what is available. Currently, adult and community education (ACE) literacy and numeracy programs are offered by a range of different organisations, for different purposes, by a mix of paid and volunteer staff. Mapping this would enable us to get a good picture of what’s on offer, identify gaps and look for opportunities for partnerships.
Supporting those organisations who are doing it well is crucial, Ros says. And while the ACE sector is well placed to offer programs for people with low literacy, in some states and territories the sector has been dismantled. ‘Support and development for not-for-profit community education would be key to any national strategy.’
Training for adult literacy teachers is crucial
But the urgent and unacknowledged issue is the lack of training available for the adult literacy workforce. And it is a problem made worse by the imminent loss of experienced and qualified teachers who are reaching retirement age.
‘We really need to focus on developing the skills of the whole gamut of practitioners working in this space — from ACE and VET teachers to volunteers and everyone in between — so that we have people on the ground who can respond and assist in a meaningful way.
‘ALA’s vision is to deliver tailored professional development that addresses individual needs, which is crucial for a workforce that is highly casualised and under-resourced. An online professional development portal would enable practitioners to connect with others working in the field, share resources and forge links and develop a national community.’
History of public awareness of adult literacy
The prevalence of poor literacy amongst Australians first entered the public consciousness during World War 2. Officers in the Australian army were surprised and troubled by the rate of ‘illiteracy’ amongst their men. Deprived of the helpers and scribes who covered for them back at home — the wives, mothers, and siblings — and posted overseas, the numbers of Australian soldiers who had difficulty reading and writing were suddenly exposed.
The army established an Adult Education Unit to deal with the problem and noted ‘how grateful the illiterates were to get this assistance.’ But the benefits went both ways. An army that could read documents, decipher maps, understand navigation and follow written orders was crucial.
Australia’s troubling adult literacy rates first entered public consciousness during World War 2 when the army became aware of the number of soldiers who struggled to read and write. Photo: Museums Victoria, Unsplash.
After World War 2, adult literacy education continued in a different form. Returned servicemen could attend Workers Education Associations, libraries and local organisations for the purposes of self-education.
Public awareness of just how many Australians had fallen through the education cracks grew in the decades that followed. Adult education advocates like Arch Nelson successfully pitched adult literacy into the government and public consciousness in the 1970s. But it wasn’t until the 1980s and 1990s that adult literacy in a more organised form took off in Australia. In the process the field’s early emphasis on social justice narrowed to a purely vocational focus.
From social justice to workplace training
According to Pamela Osmond, adult literacy teacher and author of a recently published book about the history of adult literacy education in NSW, the early decades of the adult literacy field were founded on ideals of social justice. Whatever reason someone wanted to improve their literacy — for work, social or personal reasons — all were equally valid.
But by the late 1990s, the global economic crisis had shifted the narrative so that anything that didn’t contribute to economic prosperity was deemed irrelevant. ‘With the economic downturn TAFE and adult basic education and adult literacy services were coopted into the process of industrial reform and became part of the mainstream. Once adult basic education was assimilated into the National Training Reform Agenda the rest of the role was forgotten. The focus of adult literacy became workplace and training,’ Pamela says. And we’ve been stuck in that narrative ever since.”
See the full issue of Quest 1, 2021
Lifelong learning for a fairer Australia. (2021). Australia’s adult literacy crisis. Australia's adult literacy crisis - Adult Learning Australia
The Silent Crisis in American Classrooms: Unraveling the Roots of Widespread Illiteracy (2023)
“In a nation celebrated for its technological innovation and global influence, a troubling reality persists: millions of American students struggle to read or write at basic proficiency levels. Despite decades of reform efforts, illiteracy remains stubbornly entrenched in schools across the country. To understand why, we must peel back the layers of systemic challenges, societal inequities, and educational missteps that perpetuate this crisis.
The Resource Gap: When Zip Codes Determine Destiny
Education in America has long been a tale of two systems. Schools in affluent neighborhoods boast well-stocked libraries, small class sizes, and specialized reading programs. Meanwhile, those in low-income areas often grapple with overcrowded classrooms, outdated materials, and a revolving door of underqualified teachers. According to a 2022 report by the National Center for Education Statistics, schools serving predominantly low-income students receive 15% less funding per pupil than their wealthier counterparts. This disparity directly impacts literacy rates, as struggling readers require individualized attention—a luxury many schools simply can’t afford.
The consequences are stark. Children who fall behind in early grades rarely catch up. By fourth grade, only 34% of students from economically disadvantaged families read proficiently, compared to 61% of their wealthier peers. Without intervention, these students face higher dropout rates, limited career prospects, and cycles of poverty that echo across generations.
The Teacher Shortage Dilemma
Imagine trying to learn piano from someone who’s never touched a keyboard. This analogy reflects the reality for many students taught by educators unprepared to address literacy challenges. A growing teacher shortage—particularly in high-poverty schools—has forced administrators to fill classrooms with underprepared substitutes or educators teaching outside their expertise.
Even qualified teachers often lack training in evidence-based reading instruction. Many education programs still emphasize outdated “whole language” approaches over phonics-based methods, despite neuroscience research showing phonics is critical for decoding words. A 2020 study found that 72% of elementary teachers felt ill-equipped to teach struggling readers, highlighting a disconnect between teacher preparation and classroom realities.
Curriculum Whiplash: The Pendulum Swing of Reading Wars
American schools have become battlegrounds in the decades-old “reading wars.” Shifts between phonics-heavy instruction and holistic literacy approaches have left teachers and students reeling. Each new administration or school board often brings radical curriculum overhauls, creating inconsistency that disproportionately harms at-risk learners.
The consequences of this instability surfaced dramatically during the pandemic. Remote learning exposed how many curricula failed to address foundational reading skills. Students without parental support or home resources fell further behind, widening the literacy gap. Post-pandemic recovery efforts have been uneven, with some districts prioritizing standardized test prep over addressing core skill deficiencies.
The Hidden Impact of Undiagnosed Learning Differences
Beneath surface-level statistics lies another layer of complexity: undiagnosed learning disabilities. Dyslexia affects approximately 20% of the population, yet many schools lack resources to screen students early. Without proper identification and support, these bright but struggling learners are often mislabeled as “lazy” or “unmotivated,” leading to disengagement from school.
Compounding this issue is the growing population of English Language Learners (ELLs). Nearly 10% of U.S. public school students receive ELL services, but many districts lack bilingual specialists trained in literacy instruction. These students frequently face the dual challenge of learning a new language while trying to meet grade-level reading benchmarks.
Beyond the Classroom: Societal Pressures on Learning
Literacy development doesn’t occur in a vacuum. The rise of digital media has reshaped how children process information, with constant screen time reducing opportunities for deep reading. A 2023 Common Sense Media study revealed that teens spend an average of 8.5 hours daily on screens—time that might otherwise be spent reading books or practicing writing skills.
Family dynamics also play a crucial role. Children from homes with limited access to books or low parental literacy themselves start school at a significant disadvantage. While programs like Reach Out and Read attempt to bridge this gap by providing free books to families, such initiatives remain underfunded and inconsistent across communities.
Pathways Forward: Reimagining Literacy Education
Addressing this crisis requires multifaceted solutions. Some districts are seeing success with early intervention programs that screen kindergarteners for reading difficulties. Mississippi’s “Literacy-Based Promotion Act,” which combines phonics training for teachers with intensive tutoring for struggling readers, helped the state rise from 49th to 21st in national reading rankings between 2013 and 2022.
Technology, when used strategically, offers promise. AI-powered tutoring systems can provide personalized reading support, while apps that gamify literacy skills make practice engaging. However, these tools must complement—not replace—human instruction, especially for students needing emotional support and encouragement.
Ultimately, solving America’s literacy crisis demands more than just classroom fixes. It requires confronting poverty, investing in teacher development, and fostering a culture that values reading as both a survival skill and a source of joy. As educator Maryanne Wolf reminds us, “Reading is the bridge from misery to hope.” Rebuilding that bridge for millions of students may be one of the most urgent challenges facing American education today.”
Eric Jones. (2023). The Silent Crisis in American Classrooms: Unraveling the Roots of Widespread Illiteracy.. The Silent Crisis: The Threat of Mass Illiteracy - Quadrant.
_______________________________________________ What is the place for national assessment in the prevention and resolution of reading difficulties.
The situation around the world is equally dire, with the phrase ‘silent crisis’ perhaps in need of a more global application. The United Nations notes that ‘more than 1.5 billion students and youth across the planet are or have been affected by school and university closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic’; at least 1 billion school children are at risk of falling behind in their studies. ‘[T]hose in poorer households’, the UN said, ‘do not have internet access, personal computers, TVs or even radios at home, amplifying the effects of existing learning inequalities’. Close to one third of all children – at least 463 million – do not have any access to technologies for remote education; three out of four of these children come from rural areas, most of them from the very poorest households. Because of the school closures during the lockdowns and the lack of infrastructure for online learning, many children ‘face the risk of never returning to school, undoing years of progress made in education around the world’.
In 2015, the 193 member states of the United Nations agreed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, setting seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be met within fifteen years. The entire SDG process, which began as the Millennium Development Goals to reduce poverty in 2000, had widespread consensus. The fourth SDG is to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’. As part of the process to advance this goal, the UN and World Bank jointly developed a concept called ‘learning poverty’, defined as ‘being unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10’. The ‘learning poverty’ measure applies to 53% of children in low and middle-income countries and up to 80% of children in poor countries.
Before the pandemic, it was clear that by 2030 the SDG aspirations would not have been met for 43% of the world’s children. The United Nations now reports that in 2020 an additional 101 million or 9% of children in classes 1 to 8 ‘fell below minimum reading proficiency levels’ and that the pandemic has ‘wiped out the education gains achieved over the past 20 years’. It is now universally recognised that the fourth SDG will be unrealisable for a very long time.
The UN and World Bank have sounded the Australia's adult literacy crisis - Adult Learning Australiarm that this ‘silent crisis’ will have a devastating impact on the economic future of students. They estimate that ‘this generation of children now risks losing $17 trillion in lifetime earnings in present value, or about 14% of today’s global GDP, because of COVID-19 related school closures and economic shocks’. Not only are the students going to lose trillions of dollars in lifetime earnings, but they are also going to be deprived of social, cultural, and intellectual wisdom and skills vital to the advancement of humanity.
Already, education institutions from the early years into college emphasize the commercialization of education. The decline of basic training in the humanities has become a global problem, depriving the world’s population of a grounding in history, sociology, literature, and the arts, which create a richer understanding of what it means to live in a society and to be a citizen of the world. This kind of education is an antidote to the toxic forms of jingoism and xenophobia that have us goose-stepping our way to annihilation and extinction.
Cultural institutions are in the deepest of trouble in the ‘silent crisis’. A UNESCO study on the impact of the pandemic on 104,000 museums around the world found that almost half of these institutions experienced a significant reduction in public funding in 2020, with limited gains the following year. Partly due to lockdowns and partly due to the funding problems, attendance at the world’s most popular art museums declined by 77% in 2020. In addition to the pandemic, the rise of platform capitalism – economic activity that is rooted in Internet-based platforms – has accelerated the privatisation of cultural consumption, with public forms of cultural exposure through public education, public museums and galleries, and public concerts unable to keep pace with Netflix and Spotify. That only 29% of the people in sub-Saharan Africa have internet access makes the inequities of cultural life an even more pressing concern.
The way teachers have been treated during the pandemic illustrates the low level of importance given to this crucial job and education more broadly in our global society. Only in 19 countries were teachers placed in the first priority group with frontline workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Over the course of the past few weeks, this newsletter has highlighted A Plan to Save the Planet, which we developed alongside 26 research institutes from around the world under the leadership of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP). We will continue to point to that text because it significantly challenges the status quo view of how we need to proceed in our shared global struggles. When it comes to education, for instance, we are building our framework for the planet based on the needs of teachers and students and not centrally on the GDP or the value of money. On education, we have a list of eleven demands – not comprehensive, but suggestive. You can read them here.
Please read the plan carefully. We look forward to your interventions, which we hope you will send to us at plan@thetricontinental.org. If you find these ideas useful, please circulate them widely. If you wonder about how we propose to finance these ideas, please have a look at the full plan (there is, by the way, at least $37 trillion currently sitting in illicit tax havens).
In Honduras, steps are being taken in this direction. On 27 January, President Xiomara Castro took the reins, becoming the first female head of government in the country’s history. She immediately pledged to give free electricity to more than one million of the nearly ten million people in Honduras. This will enhance the ability of the poorest Hondurans to expand their cultural horizons and increase the chances of children being able to participate in online learning during the pandemic. On the day of President Castro’s inauguration, I read the beautiful words of the Nicaraguan-Salvadorean poet Claribel Alegría, whose commitment to the advancement of the people of Central America comes across in her brilliant poems. In 1978, just before the Nicaraguan Revolution, Alegría won the Casa de las Américas Prize for her collection Sobrevivo (‘I Survive’). With D. J. Flakoll, she wrote the definitive history of the Sandinista Revolution, Nicaragua, la revolución sandinista: una crónica política 1855-1979 (‘The Sandinista Revolution – a Political Chronicle, 1855–1979’), published in 1982. The fragment of her poem Contabilizando (‘Accounting’) in her book Fugues (1993) teaches us of the importance of poetry and epiphany and of the importance that dreaming and hope hold for human advancement:
I don’t know how many years
dreaming of my people’s liberation
certain immortal deaths
the eyes of that starving child
your eyes bathing me with love
one forget-me-not afternoon
and in this sultry hour
the urge to mould myself
into a verse
a shout
a fleck of foam.
Vijay Warmly.
Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. (2022). Make Noise about the Silent Crisis of Global Illiteracy: The Fifth Newsletter (2022) | Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Taking action to transform adolescent literacy (2025).
“In the fall of 2009, an 11-year-old girl started her first day of middle school just north of here, in Lynn, Massachusetts. She had recently moved to the United States from Haiti. In her short time in the US, she had developed strong verbal communication. In the fall of 2009, an 11-year-old girl started her first day of middle school just north of here, in Lynn, Massachusetts. She had recently moved to the United States from Haiti.
In her short time in the US, she had developed strong verbal communication skills in English. But when it came to reading, she had fallen behind. Bottom of Form
And let’s face it, life as a middle schooler can be challenging under the best of circumstances. But imagine starting 6th grade while only being able to read at around a 1st grade level. And imagine your teacher hands you Hop on Pop because you can’t read the stories written for kids your age – the books you might be interested in reading.
This girl was my student, Ruth. Ruth was clever, brilliant, and wise beyond her years. In many ways, she was like any other teenager. But when she arrived in my classroom at KIPP Academy Lynn, her literacy skills were holding her back.
They impacted her ability to succeed across all subject areas… Preventing her from solving word problems in math class, or reading her textbook in social studies class. And they impacted her self-esteem: making her feel embarrassed, unmotivated, insecure. As a young, new teacher, I learned an important early lesson that year. This was not a Ruth problem.
Many of my middle school students could not read.
I knew my most important job was giving Ruth and her peers the ability to read… so that they could read to learn. And I knew that they needed to practice reading, in order to improve. But the books written at a first grade reading level were, of course, written for first graders. So Ruth and her friends would not read books like, “My Fluffy Bunny.” In 6th grade, would you?
No matter where I looked, I could not find choices to offer my students that were relatable, representative, intriguing; books they could read and wanted to read. And as it turned out, this was not a KIPP Academy or a Lynn, massachusetts problem either.
The most recent Nation’s Report card came out last month, showing that literacy rates in the US are still declining: 69% of today’s 4th graders and 71% of today’s 8th graders are behind in reading. This means that 2 out of every 3 students do not have the skills they need to access text: something that is required in every middle school and high school classroom, and in their daily lives. Think about all the times you’ve used reading in just the past 24 hours. Maybe you went out to dinner last night, and you had to read the menu to choose what you wanted to order. Or maybe this morning you were finishing your taxes, and you had to read the instructions on the form so that you could complete it accurately.
Reading is fundamental across so much of what we do every single day.
So with 130 million teens and adults in the US unable to read, we are in the midst of a national – and global – literacy crisis. With far-reaching effects across just about every area of life. The first question we need to ask ourselves is this: What’s being done about it?
In recent years, there has been a powerful movement in the world of literacy instruction. There was a discovery: We were teaching reading incorrectly for decades, using programs and strategies that were proven to be ineffective. This movement, referred to as ‘The Science of Reading’ became a nation-wide, and even international, call to action for revamping literacy instruction – across schools, teacher training programs, and state-wide policies. The result has been inspiring: entire approaches are being removed and replaced by new evidence-based programs and models.
Within this movement, there is focus, and a sense of urgency, around a singular goal: grade level reading by 3rd grade. Because we know that once students leave 3rd grade, if they can’t read proficiently, their life outcomes look different. They are 4X less likely to graduate high school, and 6X more likely to end up in prison, or on welfare. In a recent episode of Sold a Story, the podcast that in many ways inspired the birth of this movement, they said this:
“You may be worrying about high school, but if those kids aren't reading by third grade, then you've lost them. You have to do that early part really well.”
And yet, approximately 70% of 4th and 8th graders TODAY, aren’t reading proficiently. If we adhere to this thinking, that we’ve ‘lost them’ at third grade, when they’re a mere 9 years old, we will never reverse this trend. And we will be giving up on tens of millions of students, who are unlucky enough to have already gotten past that point. We will perpetuate the cycle of illiteracy.
The good news is that school does not end in 3rd grade. And literacy instruction does not need to either.
So here is the other key question, one that we must be asking: what are doing to support those millions of students who have moved past 3rd grade, and still can’t read? These students are not lost. We can still make them readers. Their lives are not ruined. We just must think about it differently. So why do we, as a society, want to double down on early literacy, at the expense of addressing literacy for older students? The answer is both complex, and simple.”
Top of Form
Louise Baigelman. (2025). Unveiling Hidden Solutions: Disrupting the Illiteracy Crisis and Breaking Cycles. Unveiling Hidden Solutions: Disrupting the Illiteracy Crisis and Breaking Cycles
Extras from Louise:
Bottom of Form
Siloed instruction: whose job is it to bridge intervention and core?
Louise Baigelman A newcomer’s experience in the big city reflects the intricacies of learning to read.
Small Group Reading in the Age of Structured Literacy
Louise Baigelman Did we throw out the baby with the bathwater?n
Part 1: Unveiling Hidden Solutions: Disrupting the Illiteracy Crisis and Breaking Cycles
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Illiteracy is becoming bigger!
