Sad StatisticsApril 1st, 2008 @ 4:38 pm
I receive the epistula from Veritas Press every month. In it this month, was a nice article about the importance of reading. What I didn’t expect was the statistics included from a survey done by the National Endowment for the Arts. I’m including it below:
The National Endowment for the Arts did a study entitled, “To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence.” In it they found:
● Only 30% of 13-year-olds read for pleasure on a regular basis
● The average American between the ages of 15 and 24 spends only seven minutes a day reading and half never read for pleasure
● 38% of employers find high school graduates deficient in reading comprehension
● Corporate employers spend $3.1 billion for remedial courses; state employers spend $221 million annually
This startles me. I love to read. As a child, I didn’t do very much of it because I was never encouraged to do so. Our daughters love to read. As a matter of fact, many times they would rather be reading than doing anything else. One of our favorite hang outs is Books-A-Million or our local used bookstore, Mr. K’s.
To read this or many other helpful articles, visit Veritas Press.
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