Only about one-third of 8th- and 12th- graders read at or above the proficient level as measured by NAEP, which means approximately 70 percent of adolescents struggle to read. Only 13 percent of African American, 16 percent of Latino, and 17 percent of Native Americans are reading at or above proficient level compared to 41 percent of white 8th-graders. A 2004 report from RAND Education identifies major concerns in meeting the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) goal of 100 percent proficiency of all students. The report states that fewer than half of all students reach proficiency standards for reading on either state assessments or on the NAEP.

In the face of stiff competition for jobs and markets, more than 80 percent of American businesses complain that high school graduates lack adequate reading and writing skills and spend more than $60 billion per year to bolster employees’ basic competencies. Only about 32 percent of high school graduates are adequately prepared for college, and of those who matriculate, more than half must take remedial courses. U.S. 11th graders have placed close to the bottom, behind students from the Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil, and other developing nations, on international comparisons of performance on reading assessments.

About 1.3 million students nationwide drop out of school between 8th and 12th grades. Only 68% of 9th-grade students complete high school on time with a regular diploma. High school dropouts are 3.5 times more likely to be arrested in their lifetime. One-third of all juvenile offenders read below the 4th- grade level and two-thirds of prison inmates are high school dropouts. Seventy percent of unemployed Americans, aged 25 to 64, read at the two lowest literacy levels. These adults cannot read a bus schedule or write a letter explaining an error on a credit card bill.