The Issue of The Rising Rates of Illiteracy In America

By Jocelyn Kay

Over the past 10 years, the percentage of Americans who are illiterate has started to rise significantly. There are many levels of literacy, and most are achieved in early youth via the education system. Since the introduction of items like technology over the past decade, the rate of illiteracy has grown, and the ability to interpret media has decreased. Having technology young is causing more people to be illiterate.

Literacy is often expressed in levels of proficiency. These levels are: level one reads basic sight vocabulary and short texts on known topics; level two reads paragraph-length texts and compares information from the text with their knowledge; level three reads dense or lengthy texts that require varying levels of inference; level four integrates and interprets information from complex texts; level five finds, combines, and evaluates complex information from multiple sources.

In 2023, 57% of adults scored either a level one or two in their literacy, meaning they cannot infer and interpret what they are reading using their knowledge. These 57% of adults are a large portion of the country. This decreasing amount of literacy will create problems for America as a whole, with many jobs and important positions needing this high level of comprehension. Without people who can interpret information, the class divide will expand due to the difference in job opportunities between literate and illiterate people. The divide in education will also increase because the later high school years and any college will need a high level of interpretation of texts.

This increasing amount of illiteracy most likely stems from the introduction of technology at a young age. The reliance and ever-evolving relationship between students in the education system and technology has caused many students to struggle and fall behind in their reading and analytical skills. The use of the internet and different generative AI sources for school has decreased the literacy rates within America, and will continue to decrease them. As the use of generative AI is rapidly increasing, the effects of using this technology are unstudied, and it could create a dependency on AI to comprehend things. Students like Campbell Goldston, grade 12, have seen AI affect first-hand. Goldston recounted asking her friends a simple question, and their response was “I don’t know, ask AI.” The increasing dependency on AI for everyday tasks has become normal and has prevented strong foundations for reading and writing skills from forming. The increase in the use of technology has many widespread effects, like the increasing illiteracy rate.