These figures are broad estimates meant to convey the scale of reading challenges among U.S. students. They are based on publicly available data from sources such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the National Center for Education Statistics.
Approximately 49 million students are enrolled in U.S. public Kâ12 schools. This estimate comes from the National Center for Education Statistics.
According to NAEP, around 33% of 4th graders read below the Basic level. These are students who have not demonstrated even partial mastery of fundamental reading skills. For simplicity, we use 30% across Kâ12 to represent students struggling significantly with reading.
We multiply 49 million total students by 30% to get about 14.7 million struggling readers.
Research on literacy interventions, future lost earnings, and related societal impacts can place the per-student cost anywhere from \$2,000 to \$10,000. For our estimate, we use \$2,500 per student per year. This represents extra reading interventions, remedial education, and the broader economic impact of widespread illiteracy.
Multiplying 14.7 million struggling readers by \$2,500 each yields \$36.75 billion in total annual cost.
These numbers are approximate, provided for awareness and advocacy. Real-world figures vary by region, intervention type, and broader economic factors.