More Than One-third of Washington D.C. Residents Are Functionally Illiterate

A study produced by The State Education Agency has found that 36% of Washington D.C. residents are functionally illiterate. People who are functionally illiterate have some ability to read and write, but not enough to be able to fully function in everyday life. They have difficulty with crucial tasks such as filling out job applications, reading maps, understanding bus schedules, reading newspaper articles, etc.

Nationally, the rate of functional illiteracy is 21%. A study done in 2000 showed a similar rate of functional illiteracy in Great Britain, where over one-fifth of the population -- over seven million people -- were found to be functionally illiterate.

A study done by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development in 2003 compared literacy and numeracy rates in Bermuda, Canada, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States. Among this group, the United States came in fifth out of six. Only Italy had a worse rate of literacy/numeracy.

In the D.C. study, adults 65 and over have the highest rates of illiteracy. Growing rates of Hispanic and Ethiopian immigrants with poor English skills contribute to the problem.

The high rates of functional illiteracy are especially troubling in D.C. because 47% of the jobs there require college or advanced degrees (as compared with only 26% of the jobs nationally).

The District of Columbus Chamber of Commerce said that the city loses $107 million in taxes every year because of the shortage of qualified job applicants.

The State Education Agency is a quasi-governmental agency created by the U.S. Department of Education. The D.C. illiteracy study was commissioned by former D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams in 2003.

D.C. residents are not getting the help they need. Only 8% of the people with the lowest literacy skills are getting help.

Nationwide, functional illiteracy harms not only the affected individuals, but also the country as a whole. Jobs requiring low skills are the first to be lost to overseas competitors.