From the archivePress 2011 page, captured July 2011
Press: 2011
Commentary by Mark Emblidge (March 16, 2011)
Too Many Virginians Can’t Read This, Dr. Mark Emblidge, Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 13, 2011.
The Institute’s press page quoted the opening of the op-ed and linked to the newspaper for the rest. Its argument, in summary: state and federal officials were calling for many more adults to earn college credentials while saying little about how many adults could not read well. Emblidge put the number of Virginia adults who never finished high school and had no diploma or GED at nearly one million, and noted that in some counties the share was upwards of 45 percent. Their prospects in the work force, he wrote, were grim.
The newspaper link from 2011 no longer resolves. The article may be found through the Richmond Times-Dispatch archive or a library newspaper database.
Added in 2026
How those numbers compare with later surveys of adult skills is the subject of the Field Note Adult literacy in Virginia, then and now.
Questions readers ask
Where can I read the full 2011 op-ed?
The original link to the Richmond Times-Dispatch no longer works. Search the newspaper's archive or a library news database for the title and the date, 13 March 2011.
How many Virginia adults lacked a diploma, according to the op-ed?
Nearly one million had never graduated from high school or earned a GED, and in some counties the share was upwards of 45 percent.