US literacy rates
this is a topic that gets a good deal of discussion, but i basically only see the overall 54% figure thrown around so i wanted to make a page that highlights some more interesting information about US literacy rates.
PIAAC
The PIAAC is an OECD project that uses a test to assess the literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills of teens and adults (16+) in participating countries (currently over 30).
There are 6 levels (0-5) of Literacy and Numeracy and 3 levels (1-3) of Problem-Solving.
Note 1: The PIAAC levels do not directly correspond to US grade levels, but most US publications will talk about these statistics in terms of grade levels (i.e., PIAAC Level 2 is equated to "sixth-grade reading ability").
(see more detailed explanation of levels below)
Note 2: The PIAAC statistics do not account for the fact that many people who live in the US are non-native English speakers, which may cause the scores to be a bit lower, especially for older people.
Data
The following figures are taken from the NCES Skills Map. They are statistical estimates extrapolated from the raw test scores. The data was collected in 2012, 2014, and 2017, so I'm including birth years based on 2017 for the age group data.
overall literacy
Level 0-1 22%
Level 2 32%
Level 3+ 46%
The majority of US adults (~54%) are at or below a Level 2 / elementary literacy level, including a substantial number of people at or below a Level 1 / lower elementary level.
overall numeracy
Level 0-1 32%
Level 2 32%
Level 3+ 36%
An even greater majority (~64%) have only elementary-level math literacy.
age groups
( Level 0-1 -- 2 -- 3+ )
16-24 (1993-2001) Zillennials / older Gen Z
Lit. 17 -- 38 -- 45
Num. 27 -- 38 -- 35
25-34 (1983-1992) Millennials
Lit. 16 -- 30 -- 54
Num. 21 -- 31 -- 48
35-44 (1973-1982) younger Gen X / oldest Millennials
Lit. 22 -- 31 -- 47
Num. 26 -- 30 -- 45
45-54 (1963-1972) older Gen X / youngest Boomers
Lit. 25 -- 31 -- 44
Num. 30 -- 31 -- 40
55-64 (1953-1962) Boomers
Lit. 25 -- 35 -- 40
Num. 29 -- 35 -- 36
65-74 (1943-1952) younger Silent / older Boomers
Lit. 32 -- 37 -- 32
Num. 37 -- 35 -- 29
There's a clear trend of improving literacy over time, with the Millennials being the only age group with a majority of people actually at or above Level 3. Unfortunately literacy levels start to decline again in the youngest age group, a situation I can only imagine has gotten worse since 2017...
There's a similar trend with numeracy levels, though the backsliding with the youngest generation is much worse, putting them basically at the same level as the Boomers.
However, the Zillennial/Gen Z group does have the widest band of people at Level 2 (38%), meaning they didn't quite slide all the way back into illiteracy and their average level is still higher than the older groups.
education levels
( Level 0-1 -- 2 -- 3+ )
did not finish high school
Lit. 55 -- 31 -- 15
Num. 50 -- 24 -- 26
high school / ged
Lit. 31 -- 42 -- 27
Num. 41 -- 37 -- 22
some college
Lit. 14 -- 38 -- 48
Num. 23 -- 40 -- 37
bachelor's or higher
Lit. 5 -- 21 -- 74
Num. 7 -- 26 -- 67
There's a pretty clear difference in literacy rates among education levels, which isn't too surprising. Even so, it implies that a college education is necessary to get people beyond what should be elementary skill levels! One other surprising thing is that the least educated group is the only group where low math literacy is not as high as low English literacy. Perhaps it's due to a larger percentage of immigrants?
Levels - Definitions and Examples
my summary of how I understand the levels - the official, but not very concrete, definitions are listed on the wikipedia page
it's difficult to compare PIAAC levels to school levels because most of the questions reflect real-world information and scenarios that adults would encounter rather than material geared towards children. however, given that there are 6 levels and level 2 is usually equated with 6th grade, I think it makes sense to think of them as corresponding to 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grade abilities
main source for examples (.pptx)
English Literacy Levels
Level 0 - very low literacy / functionally illiterate
Knows some basic words. May or may not understand full sentences. Can answer questions that require simple location of specific bits of information.
example 1: "Alice was born in 1990. Bob was born in 2000. What year was Bob born?"
example 2: [shows a simple advertisement with an obvious phone number]
What is the phone number?
Level 1 - low literacy
Can read short simple sentences and paragraphs. Can answer simple informational questions and follow basic instructions.
example 1: [list of a few 1-paragraph job descriptions]
Which company is looking for a night worker?
example 2: [short news article listing percentage of female teachers in different countries]
How many teachers are female in Greece?
Level 2 - medium literacy
Can read and understand multiple paragraphs. Can understand simple vocabulary and grammar. Can answer questions that involve low-level reasoning.
example 1: [web page with several links such as "Contact Us" and "FAQs"]
Which link should you click to find the phone number?
example 2: [short news article with "Why" question that requires the reader to recognize "because" statements in the article]
Level 3+ - high literacy
Can process longer texts and displays of information. Can understand standard adult level of vocabulary and grammar. Can use higher levels of reasoning.
Level 3 examples: find sentence that compares/contrasts two things, find specific book author on the second page of search results
Level 4 examples: find sentence critical of product in news article, find result of action in report
Level 5 examples: look at list of books with descriptions and decide which one is least relevant to a given topic
Math Literacy (Numeracy) Levels
Level 0 - very low literacy / functionally illiterate
May be able to do basic tasks involving counting, sorting, and basic arithmetic wtih whole numbers.
example 1: identify which of two dates is earlier
example 2: identify (by counting or multiplication) how many water bottles are in two packs
Level 1 - low literacy
Can complete math problems involving counting, sorting, simple arithmetic, and percents.
example: [shows top of box containing 105 candles arranged in 5x7 rows]
How many layers of candles are in the box?
Level 2 - medium literacy
Can complete math problems involving decimals, fractions, measurements, estimation, and simple data or statistics. Can complete problems that involve multiple steps.
example 1: [shows table accompanied by bar graph]
Find the bars that do not match the numbers in the table.
example 2: [shows log of worker's vehicle mileage and rate of compensation]
Calculate the total that will be paid for the mileage.
example 3: [shows a gas gauge that is 3/4 full and holds 48 gallons]
How many gallons are left in the tank?
Level 3+ - high literacy
Can understand higher-level mathematical concepts. Can use problem-solving strategies to figure out what steps need to be done to arrive at an answer. Can recognize patterns in data. Can analyze and reason about data.
Level 3 examples: calculate total price for buy one, get one half off sale; find number of tiles required to cover kitchen floor; find missing price of a season ticket given a list of prices where a season ticket is always 4.5x the price of a single ticket
Level 4 examples: calculate average monthly expenses given a table showing income and expenses for 3 months, find a percentage in a grouped bar graph, calculate compound interest
[no examples given for level 5]
Problem Solving Levels
Level 1 - low problem-solving ability (complete moron)
Can complete tasks with explicit instructions and familiar technology. Can solve problems that involve a small number of steps, limited range of "operators" (i.e., tools? buttons?), and little to no critical thinking.
example: move emails to folders
Level 2 - medium problem-solving ability (average dumbass)
Can be given instructions that express a general goal and come up with the steps necessary to achieve the goal. Understands basic usage of common technology. Can solve problems that involve multiple steps, operators, and some critical thinking.
example 1: use a website to contact customer service to return a product
example 2: find entries in a spreadsheet that match two criteria, requires sorting the spreadsheet
Level 3 - high problem-solving ability (more than two brain cells)
Can solve problems involving a greater number of steps and tools. Can discover ways to do things in a new environment. Can come up with a plan to achieve a goal. Can use critical thinking to find one's way around obstacles.
example: read emails requesting meeting room reservations, assign the rooms to the meetings, and decline the request for a room that is already taken