As many as 70 million Americans are functionally or marginally illiterate. Among the consequences: disproportionate numbers of illiterates are unemployed, 50 percent of inmates are illiterate, and illiterate parents are more likely to raise illiterate children. (SK)

Discusses the breadth of the problem of adult functional illiteracy and the components of the National Adult Literacy Project, a National Institute of Education program to identify model programs, develop literacy materials, and involve college work-study students in tutoring illiterate adults. (SK)

Because the Reagan administration believes that the problem of illiteracy must be countered with strong action at all levels of government and education in concert with the private sector, President Reagan announced the Adult Literacy Initiative last September. The initiative, which is based on the premise that the private sector has a keen…