2222 Rosewood Ave              Austin  TX   78702 (512) 478-7323            info@literacyaustin.org Monday - Thursday               9:00 am - 9:00 pm

LITERACY IN OUR COMMUNITY

170,000 adults in metropolitan Austin cannot qualify for GED or job training programs 24% of Texans read below the 5th grade level. Texas ranks 11th in percentage of person over the age of 25 who do not have a high school diploma or equivalent. Over 6,000,000 Texans speak a language other than English at home. American businesses lose more than $60 billion in productivity each year because they cannot find workers with the basic skills needed to work effectively or safely. 75% of working adults have reading or writing difficulties. Workers who lack a high school diploma earn less than 25% of those with bachelor's degrees. 1 in 6 Austin adults cannot read warning signs or medicine labels. The #1 factor in the success of a school child is the educational level of the parent. --Jonathan Kozol, A Nation AT Risk Low literacy skills increase annual health care costs by an estimated $73 billion. As many as half of all patients cannot understand the instructions on health-care materials.