Functional illiteracy

Functional illiteracy consists of reading and writing skills that are inadequate "to manage daily living and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level".^[1] Those who read and write only in a language other than the predominant language of their environs may also be considered functionally illiterate in the predominant language.^[2] Functional illiteracy is contrasted with illiteracy in the strict sense, meaning the inability to read or write complete, correctly spelled sentences in any language. The opposite of functional illiteracy is functional literacy, literacy levels that are adequate for everyday purposes, and adequate reading comprehension, the ability to read collections of words (such as sentences and documents) and comprehend most or all of their meaning.

The characteristics of functional illiteracy vary from one culture to another, as some cultures require more advanced reading and writing skills than do others. In languages with phonemic spelling, functional illiteracy might be defined simply as reading too slowly for practical use, an inability to effectively use dictionaries and written manuals, and other factors. Sociological research has demonstrated that countries with lower levels of functional illiteracy among their adult populations tend to be those with the highest levels of scientific literacy among the lower stratum of young people nearing the end of their formal academic studies. This correspondence suggests that the capacity of schools to ensure students attain the functional literacy required to comprehend the basic texts and documents associated with competent citizenship contributes to a society's level of civic literacy.^[3]

A reading level that might be sufficient to make a farmer functionally literate in a rural area of a developing country might qualify as functional illiteracy in an urban area of a technologically advanced country. In developed countries, the level of functional literacy of an individual is proportional to income level and inversely proportional to the risk of committing certain kinds of crime.^[4] In Russia, where more than 99% of the population is technically literate, only one-third of high school graduates can comprehend the content of scientific and literary texts, according to a 2015 study.^[5] The UK government's Department for Education reported in 2006 that 42% of school children left school at age 16 without having achieved a basic level of functional English.^[6] Every year, 100,000 pupils leave school functionally illiterate in the UK.^[7] In the United States, according to Business magazine, an estimated 15 million functionally illiterate adults held jobs at the beginning of the 21st century. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics in the United States:^[8]

• About 70% of adults in the U.S. prison system read at or below the fourth-grade level, according to the 2003 National Adult Literacy Survey, noting that a "link between academic failure and delinquency, violence and crime is welded to reading failure."^[9]
• 85% of US juvenile inmates are functionally illiterate.^[8]
• 43% of adults at the lowest level of literacy lived below the poverty line, as opposed to 4% of those with the highest levels of literacy.^[8]

The National Center for Education Statistics provides more detail.^[10] Literacy is broken down into three parameters: prose, document, and quantitative literacy. Each parameter has four levels: below basic, basic, intermediate, and proficient. For prose literacy, for example, a below basic level of literacy means that a person can look at a short piece of text to get a small piece of uncomplicated information, while a person who is below basic in quantitative literacy would be able to do simple addition. In the US, 14% of the adult population is at the "below basic" level for prose literacy; 12% are at the "below basic" level for document literacy, and 22% are at that level for quantitative literacy. Only 13% of the population is proficient in each of these three areas—able to compare viewpoints in two editorials; interpret a table about blood pressure, age, and physical activity; or compute and compare the cost per ounce of food items.

A Literacy at Work study, published by the Northeast Institute in 2001, found that business losses attributed to basic skill deficiencies run into billions of dollars a year due to low productivity, errors, and accidents attributed to functional illiteracy. The American Council of Life Insurers reported that 75% of the Fortune 500 companies provide some level of remedial training for their workers. As of 2003^[update], 30 million (14% of adults) were unable to perform simple and everyday literacy activities.^[11]

Public Policy Addressing Functional Illiteracy

American Federal Policy to Address Adult Illiteracy  

Even Start Family Literacy Program  

In the 1980s, American government began to recognize that illiteracy in the population was an increasingly prevalent issue as adult and child literacy rates faltered. In 1988, the federal government instituted the Even Start Family Literacy Program to combat rising rates of illiteracy across the nation.^[12] This program took a holistic approach at illiteracy as an intergenerational problem, linking higher rates of adults with low literacy to an increase of children lacking literacy skills. The program addressed illiteracy by focusing their funding on the Adult Education, Early child education and Parenting education. The national policy implemented programs targeted at the adult and youth population, reaching peak public engagement in 2002. In 2010, the program was stripped of all funding after failing to meet its target goals under government evaluation that could not explicitly link the program to increased literacy rates in the United States.

Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA)

Since the end of the Even Start Family Literacy Program, federal policy aimed at reducing functional illiteracy has been spearheaded by the 1998 Adult Education and Family Literacy Act.^[13] Under this Act, Congress appropriates funds to be granted to qualifying states. From there, states formulate and implement their own programs to address the following three areas of adult education:

1. Adult Basic Education (ABE): This type of programming is for adults who possess literacy skills below a high school level.  
2. Adult Secondary Education (ASE): For individuals seeking to complete a GED program, demonstrating their educational skills are at a high school level.  
3. English Literacy (EL): Instruction for adults who lack proficiency in the English language

In fiscal year 2022-2023, state programs funded by the AEFLA had 1.1 million participants, with most engaged in Adult Basic Education programs.^[14] To qualify for federal funding, states must demonstrate implementation of performance accountability and reporting requirements, although specific standards vary from state to state.^[13]

State Level Literacy Initiatives  

The Pennsylvania Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education Act

The Pennsylvania Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education Act is an example of a state law that operates under the federal guidelines established through the AEFLA. This law provides the legislative framework for providing adult literacy education in the state.^[15] The Act authorizes state grants to school districts, community colleges, libraries, and community-based organizations to provide Adult Basic Education (ABE), Adult Secondary Education (ASE), English as a Second Language (EL), and integrated educational and vocational training programs. The program has a special emphasis on serving unemployed individuals, members of minority groups, and adults with an assessed reading level below the fifth-grade benchmark.

This state program was specifically designed to implement the goals and funding of the federal Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA). As such, it receives significant funding, although specific amounts vary by year, from the national government in the form of grants that are required to be matched with equal funding from the state government. Funding for Pennsylvania’s program routinely exceeds the federal match requirement. In alignment with regulations under the AEFLA, the adult literacy programs' ultimate goals are to create measurable skill gains and increases in workforce readiness among program participants.

International Literacy Policy  

United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 4

The foremost international cooperative effort to increase functional literacy across the globe is orchestrated by the United Nations Goals for Sustainable Development, which outlines quality education as Goal Number 4.^[16] Although significant strides have been made over the past several decades to increase global literacy, the UN emphasizes the need to target educational efforts in specific demographics. Globally, women experience a lower rate of functional literacy than their male counterparts. This inequality is especially striking in certain hard-to-contact areas in South America and in Sub-Saharan Africa. For example, the female literacy rate in South Sudan is estimated to be 28% compared to 40% for their male counterparts.^[17] The UN hopes to achieve its goal by increasing school-enrollment rates globally, encouraging political commitment to achieving high rates of population literacy, and demonstrating internationally that education is a basic human right that all must be afforded. These target goals are achieved through specific United Nation’s funding efforts and the creation of applicable public policy to address education inequality.^[18]

UNESCO definition

Illiteracy, as well as functional illiteracy, were defined on the 20th session of UNESCO in 1978 as follows:

A person is illiterate who cannot with understanding both read and write a short simple statement on his everyday life.

A person is functionally illiterate who cannot engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective functioning of his group and community and also for enabling him to continue to use reading, writing and calculation for his own and the community’s development.^[19]

See also

• Aliteracy
• Financial literacy
• Computer literacy
• Health literacy
• Functional English
• Literacy
• Literacy in the United States
• Post-literate society
• Reading
• Scientific literacy