The Importance of Children's Literacy
"Literacy is an individual's ability to read, write, and speak in English, and compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job and in society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potential."
--National Literacy Act, 1991
The Problem
- Children who live near or below the federal poverty line have much lower average reading scores than their peers.
- Lack of basic literacy skills is linked with academic failure, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, delinquency, unemployment, low productivity, and welfare dependence.
- Parents who can not read tend to have children who struggle with reading, thus perpetuating the cycle of poverty.
The Solution
- Providing books to children is a simple, effective, and inexpensive way to promote language and literacy growth.
- Owning books is a critical feature of every child's intellectual development.
- Reading aloud to children is the single most effective parent practice for enhancing language and literacy development.
- Children with books at home are eight times more likely to list reading as one of their favorite activities.
The Importance of Children's Literacy to Washington State
Children with literacy problems typically come from low-income families, have no books at home, and have caregivers who are not aware of the importance of reading to their children. Yet, studies have proven that books at home and reading aloud to children are two of the most important factors that help children develop essential language and reading skills. 500,000 children in Washington state live in homes without sufficient economic resources to meet basic needs. Only 59% of Washington state's 4th graders read at a basic level. Among African American and Hispanic children, the figures drop to 39% and 31%, respectively.
Illiteracy has a huge impact on Washington State's citizens, community, and economy. More than one million adults in Washington state have low literacy skills. Children who lack early exposure to reading tend to suffer from low self-esteem, struggle academically, and are at much higher risk of substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and delinquency. Parents who are functionally illiterate tend to have children who struggle with reading, thus perpetuating an inter-generational problem—an intertwined cycle of poverty and illiteracy .
Adults who can't read earn lower wages, are more likely to be unemployed, and often depend on social services throughout their lives. Parents living in poverty are two-and-one-half times more likely to have children with reading and language deficits. In addition, parents are less likely to be involved in their child's education and less likely to read with them on a daily basis. And yet, when parents are involved in their child's learning in school and at home, children do better in school and they stay in school longer. In fact, being read to as a child is the number one predictor of academic success in school.
Each year, students in Washington have shown improvements in their acquisition of basic skills. The strongest gains have been in reading. In 1999, only 65% of 4th graders met basic reading standards. In 2000, that figure had increased to 72%. Although the state as a whole is moving ahead, certain ethnic groups are falling further behind. In 4th grade, three-quarters of Asian and white students met basic reading standards, but only half of African American, Native American, and Hispanic students met those standards. One-third of public school students in Washington State failed to graduate from high school in 2001: only 53% of African Americans graduated, 47% of Native Americans graduated, and 47% of Hispanics graduated. By devoting 79% of its resources to the neediest elementary school-age children, Page Ahead increases literacy among our state's most vulnerable populations at a time when it makes the greatest difference.
Because School readiness has been shown to increase academic performance, and because 70% of Washington's children under the age of five are cared for out of their homes, 21% of Page Ahead's resources are devoted to early childhood education programs, public health clinics, teen parenting programs, and other pre-school settings.