Historically, Whites have scored higher than Blacks on most measures of literacy (referred to as the "Black-White" literacy gap). The authors outline the historic social inequities that contributed to the Black-White literacy gap as well as the current school and home environment that may maintain it. They then examine the current state…

This study analyzed the current state of the gender literacy gap and the change in the gender literacy gap between 1992 and 2003, using the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) and the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL). The results revealed that although there were significant gender literacy gaps in 1992, virtually all…

The purpose of this study was to examine participants' perspectives on how a volunteer-based adult literacy class supports the learning of adults with developmental/intellectual disabilities. Interviews were conducted with four tutors, three adult learners, and two coordinators and observations of the class occurred over a 6-month period during…

In 2009, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) published a technical report titled "Indirect County and State Estimates of the Percentage of Adults at the Lowest Literacy Level for 1992 and 2003," (ED503830). NCES also published a corresponding online tool (http://nces.ed.gov/naal/estimates/index.aspx) that allows users to…

Using data from the National Adult Literacy Survey (National Center for Education Statistics), explores the relationship between formal schooling and adult literacy proficiency overall and for members of different demographic subgroups, for high school noncompleters, for those scoring lowest on literacy tasks, and for individuals in the workplace.…

Based on data from the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) and census data, this document presents a series of studies on literacy in Nevada. Estimates of the literacy levels of Nevada's adults were derived from NALS data and census data. Employers who had in-state addresses and who employed 10 or more workers in unskilled jobs were surveyed to…

As part of the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) of 1992, the National Center for Education Statistics published a separate study that focuses on the literacy skills of older adults (aged 60 years and older) from a variety of perspectives, such as age, sex, amount of education, race or ethnic background, income, and geographic region. Some of…

The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), which is being developed for administration in 2002, will determine the status of adult literacy in the United States and serve as a follow-up to the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey. Three discussion groups consisting of a total of 23 literacy researchers, users of the 1992 survey, potential…

Discusses current definitions of intergenerational and family literacy, how school districts may become involved, strategies that families may implement, and how districts should remain part of the process that will lead to the empowerment of families and schools in the development of intergenerational literacy and the eventual achievement of the…

Findings of an analysis of National Adult Literacy Survey data do not entirely support differences in cognitive skills as explanations for minorities' lower earnings and employment, nor occupational preferences as explanations for women's lower earnings and employment. Labor market discrimination and residential segregation also play a substantial…

Examines four "puzzling" results of the National Adult Literacy Survey: (1) the ability to use printed information effectively is unevenly distributed in the United States; (2) adults exhibited a large gap between performance and perception of literacy skills; (3) increased literacy did not always correspond with significant earnings…

A study investigated the educational levels of 196 inmates (85 percent male, most Caucasian, 5 ethnic groups represented) of the Cumberland County Jail (CCJ) in Portland, Maine, using a self-perception instrument and the results of the Tests of Applied Literacy Skills. Information was obtained regarding gender, age, recidivism, highest level of…

In 1993, under contract from the National Center for Education Statistics, the Educational Testing Service assessed the literacy proficiencies of a nationally representative sample of all adults, aged 16 and over, from nearly 27,000 homes. That assessment, the National Adult Literacy Survey, produced a profile of the English literacy skills of the…

A comparison study used the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) to describe the English-language literacy skills of individuals who passed the Tests of General Educational Development (GED Tests) and of those who did not. The research explored what the GED and NALS instruments measured in common and what was measured separately. Findings…

Researchers have long been interested in the relationship between literacy and health. Over the past several decades, many studies have been conducted to analyze the difficulty of health-related print materials, evaluate patients' ability to read these types of materials and to recognize common medical terms, and determine whether patients'…