riting skills. However, the rapid rise in illiteracy means that there are an increasing number of employable people who lack those essential skills.
Demographics show illiteracy to be highest among the nation's poor. Both rural and urban poor are susceptible to it. According to Yellin and Koetting (1991), illiteracy represents an "achievement gap" between the upper and lower classes in American society (p. 14). Some researchers believe that illiteracy and poverty are related because the poor often have "little educational tradition in the family" (Gardner, 1990, p. 94). When parents and other adult relatives are illiterate, the chances are increased that the children in the family will grow up to be illiterate as well. Another reason why illiteracy rates are higher among the poor is the fact that poor children often drop out of school at an early age. Poor families frequently do not place great value on education. This is particularly true in the cases of "children of migrant workers" [and] families who live in remote rural areas or big inner cities" (Current programs, 1988, p. 11). Some commentators have further indicated that poverty, illiteracy, and other social problems are all related to similar causes. Thus, as reported in USA Today, "the same factors that make people illiterate contribute to many other problems such as poverty, poor housing, unemployment, and poor health" (Current programs, 1988, p. 11).
Illiteracy is more prevalent in poor populations because reading and writing are not seen as being necessary for survival in such environments. In families which are financially stable, a high value is placed on literacy as well as other aspects of the educational process. By contrast, in lower class families, literacy is given less importance, and other skills are emphasized. As noted by Yellin and Koetting (1991), "children from lower-class homes acquire skills and knowledge which prepare them to cope with ...