According to the COABE (Coalition on Adult Basic Education) statistics:
 

• 36,000,000 adults in the U.S. can't read or write at a 4th grade reading level
• Adults with low literacy skills are:
  • 2x more likely to be unemployed
  • 3x as likely to be in poverty
  • 4x as likely to be in poor health
  • 8x as likely to be incarcerated
• Adults who earn a GED or HSED make, on average, $10,000 a year more
• About half our workforce (52 million adults) have a high school degree or less 
• 25 million workers, 18 to 64 years old, don’t have a high school degree
• By 2020, two-thirds of all jobs will require a post-secondary degree
• The U.S. ranks 17th out of 40 countries in overall education performance
   

According to ProLiteracy statistics:
 

• Low literacy costs the U.S. over $2.2 trillion each year.
• Workers who have less education than a high school diploma have the lowest media weekly earning ($592), 3x less than the highest level of education.
• Inmates who improve education are 43% less likely to return to prison
• Less than 10 % of adults who need adult education programs receive services