An Examination of the Basic Reading Skills of Incarcerated Males

Abstract

One of the most common characteristics prison inmates typically share is unsuccessful educational experiences including dropping out of school, repeating grades, and not gaining basic literacy skills. The most recent National Assessment of Adult Prison Literacy Survey (NAAPLS) by the U.S. Department of Education indicates that large disparities in reading skills exist between U.S. prisoners and adults in U.S. households. Understanding basic reading levels of inmates is important in determining where to start with basic reading instruction and pre-GED skills. The purpose of this study was to assess the reading skills of adult male prisoners (n = 266) in a medium security prison in Alabama. The basic reading skills assessed included (a) word identification, (b) word attack, and (c) reading comprehension. Results indicate significant differences in reading skills of inmates by race and age. These findings are discussed in light of the increasing incarceration rate in United States. As the rate of incarceration increases, the issue of providing evidence-based basic literacy instruction for incarcerated adults is also becoming a national priority (Educational Testing Services, 1996). The United States has the distinction of being the world incarceration leader surpassing imprisonment rates in China and Russia. One in 100 adults in the United States is in prison (PEW, 2008). Males are incarcerated 10 times more compared to females with one in 30 males between the ages 20 and 34 years of age and one in 54 for all men over the age of 18 being in jail or prison. European Americans are incarcerated at a rate of one for every 106. Most startling are the rates of minorities. Hispanics males over the age of 18 are incarcerated at a rate of one in 36 while one in 15 African American males over the age of 18 is incarcerated (PEW). The southern states continue to imprison people at the fastest rate in the nation with a 2.3% increase since 2006. These disquieting statistics are placing an ever increasing economic burden on states. Nationally, one out of every $15 of discretionary state funding is spent to lock up prisoners (Bureau of Justice Statistics, (2007). This accounts for approximately 6.8% of general state funds. Such alarming statistics place an imperative upon researchers and practitioners to examine and implement strategies that will reduce recidivism rates. One such consideration needing further research is the literacy skills and abilities of imprisoned adults (Bates, Davis, Guin, & Long, 1992; Shippen, Curtis, Meade, & Henthorne, 2009). Improved literacy rates have been associated with increased employment and wages (Comings, Sum, & Uvin, 2000; Tyler, 2002; Tyler, 2004), better health (AHRQ, 2004), increased community involvement and enhanced social well-being (Behrman & Stacey, 1997). Furthermore, increased education is clearly linked to reduced recidivism (Vacca, 2004) National Assessment of Adult Prison Literacy Survey The most recent data published on prisoner reading levels by the U.S. Department of Education (U.S. DOE), the National Center on Educational Statistics (NCES) and reported in the Literacy Behind Bars: National Assessment of Adult Prison Literacy Survey (Greenberg, Dunleavy, & Kutner, 2003); and in the National Assessment of Adult Prison Literacy Survey, (NAAPLS) (Kirsch, Jungeblut, Jenkins, & Kolstad, 1993) continue to substantiate this literacy discrepancy for the majority of incarcerated adults. Considering the prison population has increased nearly 55% since the time of the original 1992 survey, there is an ever more pressing need for literacy instruction for these adults. The National Assessment of Adult Prison Literacy Survey (NAAPLS) (Greenberg et al., 2003) measured three areas of literacy which include (a) prose literacy, (b) document literacy, and (c) quantitative literacy. Prose literacy is described as knowledge and skills needed to search, comprehend and use information from continuous texts (p. …