Noting that the popular press and other media have purveyed much information and misinformation about the status of adult literacy in the United States, this paper focuses upon what is known about literacy levels and gives special attention to changes in literacy demands and to what is currently being done to meet those demands. The first section…

This report summarizes the major literature dealing with the following major issues in adult basic education (ABE): target and demand populations (size, characteristics, and subgroups of the ABE population and the decline in participation); services provided (the purpose of the Adult Education Act, objectives and goals of ABE, problems of…