More (not so) fun facts:
54% of American adults read below a 6th grade level.
21% read below a 5th grade level, which is considered functionally illiterate.
High immigration numbers don't fully explain it either, as first gen immigrants only make up about 1/3 of those with low literacy.
This is definitely confusing critical race theory and critical thinking. Although, I will admit you can't get to critical race theory without critical thinking so that is perhaps where our conservations meet in a roundabout way.
ID politics is a common political accusation that conservatives groups like to cry about. Unfortunately for them, they are the worst about ID politics using a number of wedge issues like abortion and of course their rural religious obsession to define their voting platform. Conservatives are the literal definition of ID politics hence why they project onto others. Every accusation is a confession definitely holds true here.
As with most things the concept of identity politics itself came from academics to describe how people can effectively organize. Like the term woke it was stolen by people who are incapable of understanding it and then demonized like conservatives love to do.