"In a few of our blog posts we’ve mentioned the statistic that 32 million (1 in 7) adults in the U.S. are considered “functionally illiterate.”
There have been some questions about the meaning of this mysterious term “functionally illiterate,” so I have provided something in the way of an explanation below.
The most frequently referenced definition of “functional literacy” is from UNESCO’s conference in 1978:
“A person is functionally literate who can 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.”
The UNESCO definition implies that a functionally literate person possesses a literacy level that equips him or her to flourish in society.A functionally illiterate person, on the other hand, may be able to perform very basic reading and writing, but cannot do so at the level required for many societal activities and jobs.
What does functional illiteracy look like? ...
Last year, a CNN article also pointed out that there are many college athletes are functionally illiterate.
Indeed, it’s been estimated that 19% of high school graduates fall into that category.
...“The level of illiteracy required for functional illiteracy varies from culture to culture.
A person living in a rural, agrarian community in the developing world may be able to accomplish most daily tasks without advanced reading skills.
Someone who lives in an urban environment with a strong reliance on technology must have a much higher literacy level to complete even simple tasks.
Functional illiteracy is not limited to those on the fringes of society.
Major U.S. corporations such as Ford and Motorola have sponsored remedial reading programs to bring their employees up to a functional level of literacy.” ..."
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