STATISTICS

• 22% of the adult population in Palm Beach County functions at the lowest level of literacy
• 31% of our third grade students read below grade level according to the 2007 FCAT
• The Coalition distributes more than 62,000
  new books a year to Palm Beach County children and families
• On average, a functionally illiterate adult earns 42% less than a high school graduate.
  –US Department of Education
• Persons with limited literacy skills have poorer health status than the rest of the population.
  – American Medical Association
• The education of the parent is the single greatest predictor of whether a child will be raised in poverty.
  – US Department of Health & Human Services
• 1 out of 10 drivers on the highway cannot read road signs. Their exams were read to them
  – US Department of Transportation