Pa. prisoners' low reading and math levels surprise officials

Pa. prisoners' low reading and math levels surprise officials Average reading level was at a fourth-grade mark, but had previously assumed to be between a sixth- and eighth-grade level

PHILADELPHIA — A test of reading skills among inmates in Philadelphia's prison system yielded some worse news than expected: About 25 percent to 30 percent of prisoners read at a second- or third-grade level.

The average reading level was at a fourth-grade mark, but city Prisons Commissioner Louis Giorla said he had previously assumed that the average was between a sixth- and eighth-grade level.

"That was surprising," Giorla said of the results, which he shared Tuesday with members of the Criminal Justice Advisory Board. The board includes representatives from city agencies, including the Police Department, court system, and District Attorney's Office, that deal with criminal-justice matters.

With crowding issues dwindling as the prison population shrinks - a count that nearly three years ago was approaching 10,000 has dipped to under 8,000 - officials said they were refocusing attention on education and other areas key to helping inmates stay out of jail after their release.

The test of 271 inmates was conducted in September.

Overall, the inmates showed higher proficiency when it came to math, with average math skills at a fifth-grade level.

Nonetheless, the low skills in both math and reading "give us an idea of what we're up against," Giorla said. He added that previously about 50 percent of inmates had indicated they had a high school diploma or a GED - a statistic he now believes is "a fallacy."

The results suggest the prison system may have to revamp its education programs, which currently focus largely on helping inmates earn or work toward high school diplomas, or the equivalent.

Everett Gillison, deputy mayor for public safety and cochair of the advisory board, said he may seek funding to provide more educational programs from a donor who gave money recently to the city office overseeing reintegration services for ex-offenders. He did not identify the donor, or how much money the donor gave.

Gillison is also seeking help from Arthur Evans, who directs the city's Department of Behavioral Health and Mental Retardation Services. Evans, who was at the meeting, said additional tests needed to be done to determine whether inmates had learning disabilities.

"Are you thinking these people are cognitively impaired," Evans asked Gillison, who replied he thought that may be the case.

Common Pleas Court President Judge Pamela Pryor Dembe, who cochairs the advisory board with Evans, added: "Well, if not, we have to blow up the whole school system."

Learning to live with dyslexia

Illiteracy affects 42 million American adults, leaving them unable to fill out a simple job application or enjoy a book


Pat Bingham has lived her whole life with dyslexia, but she recently chose to seek help. Many people who suffer from the disorder use memorization, sentence context and first-letter recognition to work out words that don't register correctly.

On a recent sunlit Tuesday morning, 74-year-old Pat Bingham met up with her teacher and tutor, Judy Haley Giesen, of Dubuque, just as she has two times per week for the past year and a half.

In a brightly lit room on the second floor of the Northeast Iowa Community College Town Clock Center, 700 Main St. in Dubuque, students of all ages meet one-on-one with tutors to work through problems with literacy in general and dyslexia in particular. Giesen has been specially trained to help students with dyslexia.

Sitting side-by-side at a table, the two painstakingly work through the spelling and sounding out of words. Alphabet letters and letter combinations are printed on color-coded magnetized squares and arranged on what at first appears to be a Scrabble board.

Elegant in a blue outfit with turquoise accessories, Bingham vividly recalls her difficulties with reading as a child.

"In first grade, the nuns made me write my full name every day -- Patricia Ann Spitzenberger -- and it was really hard for me," Bingham said. "And it didn't seem fair. The other kids had names like Tom Smith.

"I was tested

dyslexia, a definition Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. In other words, something in the brain is causing the difficulty. It's a language-processing disorder that is likely an inherited trait. Dyslexia is characterized by "difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition, and by poor spelling and decoding abilities." Decoding is the ability to recognize written or printed representations of words.warning signs of dyslexia in adults * Poor speller * Avoids writing, often quick to hand off writing to others * Often very competent in oral language * May have excellent "people" skills * Has some difficulty with right versus left * Sometimes gets lost, even in a familiar place * Has an excellent memory * Reads with difficulty, slowly * May confuse b and d.

The National Literacy Foundation reports that approximately 14 percent of American adults, or 42 million, are completely unable to read and that an additional 50 million adults are unable to read beyond the expected level of a fourth-grader. Assuming Dubuque follows the national trend, almost 8,000 adults locally cannot read well enough to fill out a simple job application form.

Getting around the problem

A misconception about dyslexia is that dyslexics cannot read. Reportedly, all dyslexics read, but only up to a point. Early on, they begin using strategies to get around their difficulties, often by picking up context clues and guessing at a word by looking at the first letters. Having a good memory also is helpful, but teachers indicate that by third or fourth grade, memory simply isn't enough.

"My teachers kept on telling me that I just wasn't applying myself, that I just wasn't trying. And it wasn't just my teachers. I'd get that at home as well. My own father would say, 'What the hell's wrong with you, Pat?' It's bad when your own father calls you stupid. So teachers would tell me to keep trying. I'd look at the words on paper, and keep looking at the words, and then look again, and it meant nothing to me."

Effect on children

For younger people, the inability to make out words correctly often pales in comparison to the teasing and bullying they might experience due to their learning disability. Others look at them as being "dumb" or "stupid."
"Spelling bees in school were very shaming for me," Bingham said, looking pained at the memories more than half a century later. "When it came to my turn, I'd simply say 'I don't know' and then sit down."

By high school, things were a little better. Having an outgoing and energetic personality helped Bingham tremendously. "My personality got me through. I could speak very well, I related very well to people and I had a really good memory," Bingham said.

Then she and some of her friends went to a play by Dostoevsky called "The Idiot," and she asked her friends something that would follow her like a soiled bridal train until the day she left school. She asked, "What's an i-dot?"

Illiteracy in prison

In the prison and jail population, the percentages of adult illiteracy skyrocket. The National Institute for Literacy reports that fully 70 percent of prisoners in state and federal systems can be classified as illiterate, and that 85 percent of all juvenile offenders can be termed functionally or marginally illiterate. Very few counties in Iowa address the issue of literacy among inmates. Dubuque County does not. The sheriff in Scott County, Iowa, has put a program in place to help inmates who have difficulty reading and writing.

"As part of our booking process, we ask every inmate a simple question, 'Can you read and write?' and if they say 'no' we follow up with an offer of help," said Scott County Jail Director of Programs Bill Boyd. "Not everyone says yes to the offer of help, but when they do we have volunteer tutors who come and work with them."

Inmates in Scott County are also encouraged to work on a high school diploma and are tutored in anticipation of taking the General Educational Development (GED) test.
"The inability to read is a major factor in the lives of our inmates and almost certainly contributed to why they are with us," Boyd said.

A federal study shows that rates of re-arrest, reconviction and re-incarceration were much higher for the members of the prison population who had not participated in correctional education programs, about a 10 percent difference in all three categories.

Causes of illiteracy

There are many causes for illiteracy in the United States, and poverty tops the list, followed by learning disabilities. In the United States, at least half of all those who are illiterate grew up in homes where the income is below the national poverty standards.
The second-most-common cause of illiteracy is learning disabilities, and far and away the most common learning disability is dyslexia. It is estimated that 70 to 80 percent of learning-disabled people with poor or nonexistent reading skills are dyslexic.

The symptoms of dyslexia were first noticed by a German named Oswald Berkhan in 1881 in a sanctuary/institution he ran for disabled and ill people. He noted that a couple of bright people in his care were having reading difficulties, but it would be a full century before the disability was understood to any great extent.

Children as young as age 5 can be accurately tested for dyslexia, though it rarely happens. With limited resources, schools do what they can. The National Institutes of Health report that of every 100 dyslexics, only five are diagnosed and given help. The other 95 struggle, going through life as best they can with little or no assistance from others.

A continuing battle

As the years roll by it doesn't get any easier. One might assume that once a dyslexic person reaches a comfortable place in life and seems to be managing quite well despite the learning disability, that life would be easier. Unfortunately, the untreated issue continues to rear its ugly head.

"It's tough," Bingham said. "You write letters to a Marine son and you worry about looking like an idiot. Or you read stories to a grandchild and when they get to be 5 or 6 they turn to you while you're reading and say, 'Grandma, that's not what it says.'

"When I'm done with this course my goal is to help others who have had the same difficulties," Bingham continued. "I try not to ever accept something without giving something back, and this is no different. I hope to help others. No one should have to go through what I went through."

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Don’t limit inmates’ reading choices

An Oct. 7 article told how the ACLU was suing the Berkeley County jail over its policy barring inmates from having any reading material other than the Bible. While I agree that sometimes the ACLU will file frivolous lawsuits, I’d like to be on the jury that hears this one.

Just because one is incarcerated does not give anyone the right to deny access to certain reading materials other than the Bible. The Bible is one of the best books that anyone could ever read. If we followed the Ten Commandments there would be no need for jails.

But the people — that’s you and me — should have a right to access many reading materials, including magazines and newspapers, so we can have an open dialogue with other people. As a former inmate in our prison system, reading was the only thing that helped me retain my sanity.

Above all, reading in our prison system should be encouraged. Some of the inmates could not read and would ask me to read to them. Sometimes it was the Bible, other times it was letters from home.

This is an injustice to the inmates at this jail. We should allow them the right and freedom to read appropriate materials that may help them deal with their incarceration and broaden their horizons.

After reading this you may disagree with me. That’s OK. At least you had the right and freedom to read it.