Shlomy Kattan is Prize Lead of the Barbara Bush Foundation, Adult Literacy XPRIZE presented by Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
This November 18, with the generous support of Fiverr, MIT Enterprise Forum of New York City will host a Kickoff for the $7M Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE presented by Dollar General Literacy Foundation. The Adult Literacy XPRIZE challenges teams from around the world to develop mobile software leading to the greatest literacy gains among adult learners in the U.S. These solutions will eventually help the over 780 million adults worldwide who lack basic literacy skills.
In honor of Fiverr’s support, here are five facts about adult low literacy in the U.S. that may surprise you.
1. The rate of adult low literacy in the United States is in line with global figures
The United States may be ahead of the curve in some areas, but it’s just about average when it comes to adult low-literacy. 36 million U.S. adults can be classified as low-literate. That’s right around 15% of the adult population, very similar to the 16% of the global adult population that lacks basic literacy skills.
2. Low literacy adds an estimated $230 billion to the United States’ annual health care costs
Low-literate adults struggle to understand health care instructions and prescription information, and have a 50% increased risk of hospitalization. All this adds $230 billion in health care costs per year to the U.S. economy. To put this in perspective, the U.S. health care market was $2.8 trillion in 2013. This means low literacy alone accounts for over 8% of health care spending in the United States, or 1.4% of total U.S. GDP.
3. The effects of low literacy cost the U.S. more than $225 billion each year in lost productivity and unrealized tax revenues
In addition to the lost economic productivity for the entire economy, low-literate adults experience disproportionate economic hardship. 43% of low-literate adults live in poverty, and the unemployment rate among low-literate adults is more than twice the national average, surpassing 14% in 2011.
4. The U.S. Federal government allocated $570 million to adult education in 2015
When considering that 36 million adults read at basic levels or below, that $570 million translates to about $16 per learner. By comparison, Congress allocated $8.6 billion to Head Start programs, or more than $1,000 per pre-school aged child in the U.S. Moreover, that $570 million is approximately the same as federal budget appropriations to adult education programs in 2002, resulting in a 23% decline in inflation-adjusted spending over the past 13 years.
5. More than 2/3 of the prison population in the U.S. is low-literate
Over 2.3 million adults in the U.S. are incarcerated. 75% of State prison inmates and 59% of Federal prison inmates in the U.S., or 70% of the prison population overall, can be considered low literate.
The Fiverr community can help solve this grand challenge. We need a massive breakthrough, a new approach to adult literacy so learning can happen anywhere, anytime. Fiverr’s community of developers and designers can bring a fresh perspective and a unique set of skills from around the world.
Want to get involved? On November 18 at The Cooper Union in New York City, join successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders in EdTech for a reception, inspiring talks, and discussions on the changing face of adult literacy. These innovators will share their insights about what it takes to build a winning team, an effective product, and a successful company. Panelists include Stephanie Dua (CEO, Homer), Paul Gollash (CEO, Voxy), Jonathan Harber (Former CEO, Pearson K12 Technology), and Jake Schwartz (CEO, General Assembly).
Join us in this fight against low literacy. Learn more about the Kickoff here (for guaranteed access, use this code when signing up: ALXP-NYC-VIP-005), or visit http://adultliteracy.xprize.org/ to learn more about the competition and to register to compete.
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