[FrdmLvr]

Then why are so many more achieving than failing? The reporting of standardized test scores is a relatively new event. I think it's more likely that there have always been functional illeterates, but the general public was mostly unaware of it until recently.

Having said that, the curriculum in schools and ed schools has been drastically dumbed-down since the 70's. But this doesn't account for illiteracy, in my opinion, only in the depth and scope of knowledge of public school graduates (and those private schools that use the same dumbed-down curriculum).

[CedarDave]

... the curriculum in schools and ed schools has been drastically dumbed-down since the 70's. But this doesn't account for illiteracy, in my opinion, only in the depth and scope of knowledge of public school graduates (and those private schools that use the same dumbed-down curriculum).

To understand how bad it is among all racial groups, listen sometime to Jay Leno's "Jay Walking" segment. You can laugh at their replies but it's a head-shaking laugh in disbelief at how little these young people know about government and current events.

[Nepeta]

it's more likely that there have always been functional illeterates, but the general public was mostly unaware of it until recently.

I attended a modest city elementary school in the 1950s in a mostly blue collar neighborhood. I don't remember anyone there having difficulty with reading. I asked my friend of 50 years if she remembered anyone from her elementary school who could not read--and she attended a segregated school in Kentucky--and she could not recall anyone. I think in the 1950s one could not easily miss learning the basics.