How Educated Are We - Literacy Rates: The Early Years

The chart shows the literacy rates for those aged 14 years old and older, by race, for the years 1870-1979. Literacy rates increased for all races over this period. By 1979, the overall literacy rate was 99.3%. By far, the biggest gain in literacy has been in the non-white population. In 1870, only 20.1% of non-whites were literate. In 1979, the percentage increased to 98.4%. By comparison, in 1870, 88.5% of whites were literate. In 1979 99.6% of whites were literate.

What happened in the 1980s? The focus of literacy changed. Starting with the 1985 Young Adult Literacy Survey, statisticians concentrated on functional literacy. Prior to 1985, literacy was defined as the ability to read and write, either in English or some other language. Today, this is called "simple literacy." This survey (and later the National Literacy Act of 1991), defined literacy as "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, to function in society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potential." The next panel will discuss this type of literacy.

Sources: Chart data: U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. "Literacy from 1870 to 1979: Illiteracy." National Assessment of Adult Literacy. Online. Available: http://nces.ed.gov/. March 21, 2002. Data for 1969 and 1979 "Black and other" include only the rate for blacks. Functional literacy definition: U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. How Much Literacy is Enough, March 2000. Online. Available: http://www.nces.ed.gov. March 21, 2002.