Literacy Statistics from CLiF

If children miss the thrill of reading when they're little, it becomes very difficult for them to recover. Studies show that children with strong reading and writing skills and a love of books are more likely to be successful in school and into their adult lives. The data from the following studies are among the many reasons why CLiF is doing everything it can to help nurture a love of reading and writing among children.

*The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children. (The National Commission on Reading-Vermont Center for the Book website)

*The gap between children from low and high-income families on reading comprehension scores is over 40 points. Children from low-income families, on average, score 27 points below the mean reading level score for all students. Students from wealthy families score 15 points above the average. (National Center for Education Statistics, 1993)

*55% of children who receive a new age-appropriate book of their very own had an increased interest in reading and the percent of young adults with a "high interest in reading" jumped from 23 percent to 61%. (US Department of Education)

*Among adults at the lowest level of literacy proficiency, 43% live in poverty. Among adults with strong literacy skills, only 4% live in poverty. (First Book website)

*The most successful way to improve the reading achievement of low-income children is to increase their access to print. Communities ranking high in achievement tests have several factors in common: an abundance of books in public libraries, easy access to books in the community at large and a large number of textbooks per student. (Newman, Sanford et all. "America's Child Care Crisis: A Crime Prevention Tragedy"; Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2000)

*The children who were read to at least three times a week by a family member were almost twice as likely to score in the top 25% in reading than children who were read to less than 3 times a week. (National Institute for Literacy, The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Spring 2000)

* Children in families with incomes below the poverty line are less likely to be read aloud to every day than are children in families with incomes at or above the poverty line. Thirty-eight percent of children in families in poverty were read to every day in 1999, down from 46 percent in 1996, compared with 58 percent of children in families at or above the poverty line, which is down from 61 percent in 1996. (Reading is Fundamental website)

The above information was copied from the Children's Literacy Foundation website. Even though the research is not my own the message is loud and clear. More funding is needed to provide reading materials to low income families. It does not matter if you support RIF, CLiF or a local program within your community...I just ask that you support a program that promotes children's literacy. You can join the crusade by making a donation, holding a book drive, volunteering as a reader/tutor or writing to your government officials urging them to make children's literacy a priority in the upcoming budget. What are you waiting for...isn't our children's future worth it?