Being able to read is a necessity for living a successful life. No matter where a person goes, the need to read is always present. Illiteracy in the United States has, most likely, been a problem since books were introduced into the world, but within the last ten years there has been a dramatic increase with the problem. Illiteracy has become a major problem in which a number of people have tried to abolish the rising percentages of illiterate people.
             A definition of illiteracy, which can be found in the Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes book, which was published by Gander Educational Publishing, is the inability to read or write a language, specifically, the inability to use reading and writing with facility in daily life. I found that a large amount of information the statistical standpoints if illiteracy was given in The Drive, by Irwin Isenberg. This book seemed to be one of the books I would choose if I was writing the actual paper because it gave much useful information on the illiteracy problems in the United States, and it also showed the percentages of the different ages groups that had an illiteracy problem. In Illiterate America, by Jonathan Kozol, it stated that one out of every three adults could not read. This book is very helpful because not only does it give statistics on the illiteracy problem, but it also gives age groups and the numbers involved in illiteracy as well. Schoolworks, which is a research com!
             pany for educational purposes, gave statistical information stating that between 1996 and 1999, 17.8 percent in grade 3, 22.8 percent in grade 6, and 33.5 percent in grade 9 were illiterate in random states that they tested. Using the information from that research company, and interacting with them individually, could create an amazingly vivid research paper on the illiteracy rate and statistics in the United States today. That information would put the problem into perspective and make a person look at the pr...