Low Literacy Rates in Mississippi

The month of September is recognized as national literacy month but in the state of Mississippi, more than fifteen percent of adults lack a proficient reading level.

About one in five U.S. adults have low literacy skills translating to about 21% of American adults. The last data collected for adult literacy in Mississippi was in 2003 by the National Center for Education for Statistics, which confirmed that 16% of Mississippi adults lacked proficiency in reading and writing skills.

A common narrative for many adults in Mississippi who fall into that statistic is the high rates of poverty and lagging test scores, in which Mississippi historically struggles.

September is recognized as the national literacy month. The month is celebrated by encouraging people to go to their local library, coffee shop, or bookstore to explore the world of reading.

A local, Jaden Dominy, who visits a coffee shop here in Meridian expressed why she believes reading is important.

“I love reading because it allows you to put yourself in a different world and kind of create your reality using words. It’s a dying language. Books are going out of style now and I think that we all need to expand the capacity to understand the written language”, said Dominy.

Most people who read, they feel that reading allows them to escape reality, something that a lot of people today are looking to do, because of the stress the pandemic has brought on. A bookstore employee spoke about how reading allows her to escape the world around her.

“In this world where we have a lot going on and our minds are so busy. Everything going on around us when we open up a book, it’s like we place ourselves in that world and now we are learning something entirely different.”

Among the many ways to improve your reading skills, experts say that simply setting aside time to read each day is the most efficient.