Talk:Functional illiteracy

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[edit] Correlation with learning disabilities

Also not addressed here is the association of functional illiteracy with learning disabilities in the individual. It may be tempting to think that all of these people in the United States have somehow not been taught to read. This is rather unlikely. More likely, their particular learning disabilities were not identified in school, or were not adequately addressed in special education. Of course, there is also an economic (and thus also racial) component, which also needs to be addressed. A few statistics on this issue:

From the International Dyslexia Association:

"15-20% of the population have a language-based learning disability. Of the students with specific learning disabilities receiving special education services, 70-80% have deficits in reading."

From the Learning Disabilities Association of America:

"Among children who struggle with basic reading and language skills—the most common learning problems—75% of those who do not receive help until the third grade will struggle with reading throughout their lives. But if those same kids receive appropriate help by the first grade, fully 90% of them will achieve normal reading ability."

From the National Center for Learning Disabilities:

"Studies show that learning disabilities do not fall evenly across racial and ethnic groups. For instance, in 2001, 1% of white children and 2.6% of non-hispanic black children were receiving LD-related special education services*. The same studies suggest that this has to do with economic status and not ethnic background. LD is not caused by economic disadvantage, but the increased risk of exposure to harmful toxins (lead, tobacco, alcohol, etc.) at early stages of development are prevalent in low-income communities."

Regards, --Taitcha 03:19, 2 October 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Recognizing Words

For example, a functionally illiterate adult is unable to fill out an employment application, follow written instructions, read a newspaper, read traffic signs, or understand a school bus schedule, among many other daily functions

I think the sign one is inaccurate; an illiterate adult would learn to recognize words like "OPEN," "CLOSED," "STOP," and the like, much as Americans in China would quickly learn relevant hanzi without necessarily being able to reproduce or pronounce them. —Casey J. Morris 21:05, July 21, 2005 (UTC)

I can imagine that higway signs can be difficult to comprehend for functionally illiterate people. Not only do you have to read and interpret them quickly, there are arrows and numbers on them too. I think everyone at least needs to concentrate to even read the whole sign in one pass, at least I do. That's why they are repeated a couple of times.83.118.38.37 14:16, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Unsourced statistics

"The correlation between crime and functional illiteracy is well known to criminologists and sociologists throughout the world. It is estimated that 60 percent of adults in prisons are functionally or marginally illiterate and 85 percent of juvenile offenders have problems associated with reading, writing and basic math." Any idea whether this applies just to the U.S., another country or worldwide? -Estrellador* 18:22, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Things I would like to know

Some things this page needs to cover:

  • What's the threshold between functional illiteracy and literacy? illiteracy? Is there consesus on this? Is there a test used to determine functional illiteracy?
  • When was the name created?
  • Does functional illiteracy correlate with any particular geographic area? Do some languages have a greater tendency towards functional illiteracy? Stilgar135 01:58, 6 December 2006 (UTC)