Here are some facts about literacy in South Carolina and its impact.
- 15% of adults in South Carolina (1 in 7) have below basic literacy skills. This means they can read just a few words but not entire sentences or paragraphs. They can't read a newspaper story written at the 8th grade level, fill out a job application, follow the directions on a medicine label, fill out a bank deposit slip, read to their children or help their children with schoolwork.
- In the tri-county (population approximately 600,000) there are approximately 400,000 people over the age of 25. About 60,000 of them do not have a high school credential. About 20,000 have less than a 9th grade education.
- Children whose parents or caregivers have low literacy skills will also have low literacy skills and will be behind before they even get to kindergarten. They often never catch up. Research shows that the single most important factor to a child's success in school is the education level of the primary caregiver.
- In the U.S., 30 million adults lack basic literacy skills. Another 63 million have only slightly better than that. So - more than 90 million adults in our country are illiterate.
- 774 million adults in the world are illiterate and two out of three are women.
- Low literacy costs the U.S. $225 billion or more each year in non-productivity in the workforce, crime, and loss of tax revenue due to unemployment.
- The average cost to taxpayers is $292,000 over the working life of each high school dropout, in terms of lost earnings and therefore lower taxes paid, and higher spending for social sots including incarceration, healthcare and welfare.
- Low literacy is the root cause of poverty and many social ills, such as increased incidences of incarceration, increased welfare dependency, and increased medical costs.
- 78% of Charleston County Detention Center inmates have low literacy skills.
- At least 43% of adults with low literacy skills live in poverty.
- Low health literacy costs up to $238 billion each year in the U.S.
- MUSC provides $130 million of unfunded health care annually.
