Literacy is defined by the UNESCO Institute of Statistics as “the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.”  
 
Literacy has fundamentally and profoundly changed society. The rise of written communication has allowed us to share and document information and bind together communities like in no way before. The ability to read and write deeply impacts a society’s education, economy, well-being, income, and health. For example: In the mid-15th century, about 30% of Europeans knew how to read and write. After the invention of Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press, the mass printing of books made reading more accessible to different classes. Consequently, literacy rose to about 62% by the late 17th century. The rising literacy levels sparked the start of global information exchange, educational reforms, and movements like the Scientific Revolution.  
 
Today, there are many types of literacy to master apart from reading and writing, including numerical, financial, digital, health, and media literacy. For this article, however, we’ll explore reading and writing comprehension in the United States and how our online master’s degree program helps address national literacy. 

U.S. Literacy by the Numbers 

In 2022, 79% of adults in the United States possessed reading and writing levels sufficient to complete moderate literacy-based tasks such as comparing and contrasting information and paraphrasing. The average American adult possesses a seventh-to-eighth-grade reading comprehension level; however, eighth-grade students demonstrated higher literacy rates in 2018 than they did ten years prior.  

As we move further into the digital age, reading and writing preferences have changed. We read more than ever before in the form of emails, texts, quick reads, and online scrolling, but the preference for advanced, complicated texts has declined.  

When a person struggles with reading, the impact on their life is far-reaching. Children who struggle to learn basic literacy skills may develop behavioral problems, repeat school years, or even drop out altogether. 50% of children in the United States who come from low-income families start school up to two years after their peers and often struggle to catch up. Three out of five inmates in our country are illiterate, showing that a lack of adequate schooling in children’s formative years can lead to higher levels of incarceration later in life. Illiteracy and low literacy rates among individuals and communities are also linked to: 

  • Lower incomes 
  • Fewer job prospects 
  • Welfare dependency 
  • Mental health decline 
  • Inability to participate in society or government 
  • Low self-esteem 

In total, illiteracy costs the United States 2.2 trillion dollars per year.  

Experts argue that a lack of training among educators and misaligned curricula in schools also account for struggling students. This is why it is imperative for literacy educators to intervene as early as possible. 

How Our MA in Literacy Addresses National Literacy 

To address illiteracy in the United States, educators target root causes: undiagnosed reading disabilities, cultural or language barriers, developmental disabilities, and limited exposure to literary materials at an early age.  

The University of Texas Permian Basin offers a CAEP-accredited online master’s degree in literacy that will equip you with the key knowledge you need to tackle these issues and help at-risk students across the nation.  

You’ll become an expert in working with educators, psychologists, and parents to create intervention strategies and needs-based reading programs and help identify deficiencies within groups and individuals. You’ll also learn how to collaborate with district administrators and provide recommendations that improve reading and language arts curricula.  
 
As a reading specialist, you’ll be able to work in a multitude of sectors to help promote literacy on a national level, in areas including: 

  • education 
  • private and public organizations 
  • government administrations 

Our faculty is dedicated to providing you with the top skills needed to make a change in and beyond the classroom. Learn what our faculty and students are saying about our program and how it’s helped them make a positive impact on their students and surrounding communities. 

Additional Benefits of Taking Our Online Program 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, instructional coordinators— a role similar to reading specialists—who hold a master’s degree in literacy enjoy a median annual salary of $63,740 and can expect to see a job growth rate of 7% by 2031.  

Earn your master’s degree with a comprehensive, accredited online program that is tailored to your needs. Our classes are asynchronous, online, and flexible enough to accommodate your busy schedule. Complete your courses from anywhere in the world! Furthermore, our 30-credit program is TEACH-Grant eligible and can be completed in as little as two years. 

Ready to educate the future? We accept applications year-round and our step-by-step application process makes it easy to apply at your convenience. 

Sources: 
https://www.graduateprogram.org/2020/08/why-you-should-get-a-masters-in-literacy/ 
https://www.masterofartsinteaching.net/faq/what-is-a-reading-specialist/ 
https://literacyproj.org/2019/02/14/30-key-child-literacy-stats-parents-need-to-be-aware-of/ 
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/physhlth/docs/mental-health-literacy.pdf 
https://www.nifdi.org/news-latest-2/blog-hempenstall/405-literacy-and-behaviour 
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1290524.pdf 
https://worldliteracyfoundation.org/early-intervention-reduces-illiteracy/ 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1831579/