The article discusses results of a sociolinguistic study. The aim of the article is to find out the presence/absence of correlation between reading literacy in Kazakh, Russian and English, and location/form of ownership of secondary schools. Respondents in the study are students of the 9th form of state and private secondary schools in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The study identified complex coherent inter-relationship between social and economic inequality, on the one hand, and reading literacy, on the other. Social and economic inequality makes a current and prolonged influence on the condition of the educational process. Particularly, differences in social and economic background impact starting positions in education, literacy acquisition and reading skills development.