Many of the more than 700,000 students who leave U.S. high schools each year without a diploma have low literacy skills. More than 60 percent of eighth graders and 60 percent of twelfth graders scored below the "proficient" level in reading achievement according to the most recent administrations of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the Nation's Report Card. Even more disturbing, NAEP results reveal that almost half of students of color and students from low-income families enter fifth grade with skills below the basic level on NAEP. States and districts must confront the enormity of the college- and career-readiness gap by improving literacy education for all students. The facts presented in this fact sheet make the case for aggressive action to improve the reading and writing skills of adolescent learners across the nation.