I am at the very end of a very large paper.  I am tired and it is
3:44am.  I am asking some brilliant individual out there to dig up a
couple of numbers for me.  I have come to the understanding that
literacy is measured in levels and level 1 is considered functionally
illiterate.  Here is what I want to know:  #1 what are you finding for
the over all literacy rate of the United States population.  (I have
found one source quoting 1 in 5 or 20% illiteracy rate).  #2: And most
important -- What is the general illiteracy (or literacy rate) for our
population of inmates.  I'll take data on state or federal prisions. 
#3:  As a bonus if you can find any studies/statistics that show the
recidivism rate in relationship to the literacy rate...i.e. do those
with higher literacy rates reoffend less often....  
Thanks..Thanks..Thanks...

Dear pamelagh-ga,
I have found three sources which should meet your requirements.
However, I cannot provide the information on part 2 & 3 of your
question here because it is far too complex and is buried depth within
a 187 page report! You will have to dig down into it to found the
statistics which meet your needs.

The first is a National Institute for Literacy report of 1998. On this
site you can examine the data by State, County or Local Area. Level
One literacy rates are detailed for each area.

"The NIFL commissioned The State of Literacy in America to estimate
the number of adults in every city, county, Congressional district,
and state with low literacy skills. The report combines 1992 National
Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) data and 1990 Census data."
http://www.nifl.gov/reders/reder.htm

The Introduction page explains the meaning of Level One and has a
graph on the US as a whole.

"The NALS found a total of 21-23 percent - or 40-44 million - of the
191 million American adults (defined as age 16 or older) at Level 1,
the lowest literacy level."
http://www.nifl.gov/reders/!intro.htm


Part 2 and 3 are answered by a National Center for Education
Statistics 1994 report: Literacy Behind Prison Walls. In its 187 pages
it includes detailed tables of recidivism rates and literacy (Chapter
5).

"Literacy Behind Prison Walls
Description:    The literacy levels of prisoners, by population and
offense groups, with comparisons to demographically similar adults not
in prison."

Introduction page
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=94102

The report
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs94/94102.pdf


The National Institute for Literacy also has some statistics on prison
literacy levels. This is their ?Correctional Population
Factsheet?(fully sourced).

"In 1992, recidivists demonstrated on average about the same literacy
levels as inmates with no prior sentences. The proficiency scores of
those who started their criminal careers as juveniles, either on
probation or in a facility, are about the same as the scores of those
who had never been on probation or in a correctional facility and of
those repeat offenders who were initially charged as adults."

"The Three State Recidivism Study found that re-arrest, reconviction,
and re-incarceration rates were lower for the prison population who
had participated in correctional education than for non-participants."

http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/facts/correctional.html


The National Assessment of Adult Literacy web site may also be of interest.
http://nces.ed.gov/naal/

I hope this answers your question. If it does not, or the answer is
unclear, then please ask for clarification of this research before
rating the answer. I shall respond to the clarification request as
soon as I receive it.
Thank you
answerfinder


Search strategy
us literacy statistics - and then followed the links and searched on
recommended papers
://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=us+literacy+statistics&btnG=Google+Search&meta=