Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
March is Women's History Month!

Literacy Rates Improve in Alabama

January 8,2009 – MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A new report shows that Alabama literacy
rates improved from 1992 to 2003 but some counties are still double
the national average illiteracy rate of 14.5 percent.
The study by the National Center for Education Statistics was
released Thursday and showed 15 percent of Alabamians lacked basic
literacy skills in 2003, an improvement from 21 percent in 1992.
The study didn't issue rankings, but 12 states had illiteracy
rates that were higher than Alabama's while 36 and the District of
Columbia had lower illiteracy rates. South Carolina matched
Alabama's rate of 15 percent.
Shelby County had the lowest rate of illiteracy with seven
percent while Bullock County was the highest at 34 percent.