Brookings Institute | Back to School 2019: A Lesson Plan From the Science of Learning

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By the year 2000, every adult American will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy…”

These words were penned in 1990 by the U.S. Department of Education. Sadly, the goals were not met. Two decades later, 43 million adults—roughly 20 percent —in the United States struggle with written texts needed to participate in society. And in our knowledge economy, by 2020, 65 percent of all jobs will require a post-secondary education. Thus salaries and even adequate health care demand that we solve the reading problem.