In Orange County, 26 Percent lack basic literacy skills.

26 percent of Orange County residents lack basic literacy skills. You may find that an astonishing statistic. I know I do. How can that be true when it is widely reported that the U.S. has a 99% literacy rate? The difference is in how literacy is measured.

Measuring Literacy

The Census Bureau reported literacy rates of 99% based on personal interviews of a relatively small portion of the population and on written responses to Census Bureau mailings. If the interviewees or written responders had completed fifth grade they were considered literate. A person who can only read a few hundred, or even a couple of thousand, simple words learned in the first four grades in school is only marginally literate. They can barely read, write, and understand written text. Whereas the prose literacy scale measures the knowledge and skills needed to search, comprehend, and use information from texts that were organized in sentences or paragraphs. You know what that means, it's what you are doing right now. This is the kind of reading we do every day and take for granted in our lives. It is also what we assume people mean when they define reading literacy.

Assessments of Literacy

The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) showed that 21% to 23% of adult Americans were not "able to locate information in text", could not "make low-level inferences using printed materials", and were unable to "integrate easily identifiable pieces of information." It also estimated that 14% of Americans have extreme difficulty with reading and written comprehension. Only 19% have a high level of literacy, 31.4% have a moderate level of literacy and 49.6% a low level of literacy. They may have developed coping skills to manage everyday literacy demands but they find it difficult to face new challenges, such as job skills. In this USA Today article they stated that "about one in seven [adults] are saddled with such low literacy skills that it would be tough for them to read anything more challenging than a children's picture book." The Journal of the American Medical Association states that "46 percent of American adults cannot understand the labels on their prescription medicine." 1 in 4 Orange County residents have such inadequate literacy skills they may be unable to determine the correct amount of medicine to give a child from the label on a package.

Literacy issues affect daily life

Those who are illiterate face problems, not only in the workforce but at home as well. How can anyone with a low literacy rate complete daily tasks such as writing a letter, filling out forms, helping their child with homework and so on. Low levels of literacy result in people being uninformed or misinformed about issues. It has been stressed over the years that parents should read to their child, but how can a parent do something like that if they are unable to read more than a few short sentences?

Families for Literacy

Our Families for Literacy program works with parents and children to break the intergenerational cycle of illiteracy. We promote literacy skills in the parents and reading readiness in children under five. FFL tutors are specifically trained in methods of incorporating children's material into the tutoring sessions as well as assisting parents in choosing appropriate reading materials for their children. Family Reading Times are held regularly with parents and children to promote an atmosphere of fun and learning and to demonstrate that these terms can by synonymous. Children of today are the future for tomorrow and we need to do all that we can to make sure that those children graduate from school able to read at a moderate to high literary level.

What you can do

We would not have a program without our volunteers.

  • Become a Tutor. Our volunteers receive comprehensive training and materials to assist with their tutoring. During training volunteers receive materials and information about how to teach reading and writing. Volunteers are also provided the opportunity to practice various teaching techniques demonstrated by the instructor. Sign up at READ Orange County.
  • Make a donation to help us defray the costs of training and to provide recognition for the achievments of our terrific volunteers. Or donate computer and office equipment, achievement prizes, etc by contacting us.
  • Volunteer at the READ / OC office: grant writing, graphic design, data entry, telephone calling, clerical work, etc. Any skills are welcome.
  • Join The Friends of READ / OC.
  • Not sure how you can help? Contact us.

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