Literacy starts with Reading

Think about your morning. You checked your phone, read a text, glanced at the news, and maybe scrolled through an email before getting out of bed. You read a label on a bottle, a sign on the road, a menu at a coffee shop. Before most of us have finished our first cup of coffee, we have read dozens of times without thinking once about it.

Now imagine navigating that same morning without those skills. That is the daily experience of millions of adults across Texas. Reading is the first and most foundational component of what it means to be literate in 2026.

Reading is more than recognizing words on a page. It is the ability to decode text, understand vocabulary, make meaning, connect ideas, and use what is read to make informed decisions. When skills are strong, people can learn, grow, and thrive. When reading skills are weak, everything from school success to job advancement becomes harder. 

The data on reading in Texas is sobering. According to the Nation’s Report Card, 43% of Texas fourth graders and 39% of Texas eighth graders scored below the Basic level in reading in 2024. These are not students who are struggling at the margins. These kids represent nearly half of Texas’s children at critical stages of their education.

The picture for adults is equally urgent. A Texas adult literacy profile based on PIAAC data reports that 28% of Texas adults are at or below Level 1 in literacy, and 32% are at Level 2. Together, that is 60% of Texas adults reading below what most employers and community institutions require to participate fully.

For adults with low reading skills, the daily impact is real and relentless. Simple tasks that most people take for granted become sources of anxiety, confusion, and shame:

• Reading instructions at work or on a prescription bottle
• Reading to their children at bedtime
• Reading street signs, bus schedules, or navigation apps
• Reading food labels, lease agreements, medical consent forms, or a child’s report card

These are not abstract challenges. These are moments that happen every single day, where the absence of strong reading skills quietly closes doors that most people never even notice are there.

Adults with low reading skills often face long-term barriers such as educational disruption, limited language access, learning differences, socioeconomic status, and limited access to assistance. Low reading skills are not from a lack of intelligence or effort.   

Reading unlocks the five other components Literacy Coalition believes every Texan deserves: writing, digital literacy, financial literacy, health literacy, and career literacy. Each one builds on the last, and together they form the integrated literacy ecosystem that makes thriving, not just surviving, possible.

Reading is where opportunity begins in Texas. It shapes how a person navigates their community. Yet there are still too many adults in Texas facing barriers to reading that limit opportunities not just for adults but for entire families. That is why investment matters. In Texas, we cannot afford to continue treating reading as a narrow school subject. It’s an economic issue, and if we want stronger communities, we must ensure that every Texan has the chance to become a confident reader.   

Literacy starts with Reading.