Introduction Welcome to the National Assessments of Adult Literacy home page, a new feature of the NCES website. This page incorporates links to other literacy assessment information, including the web page about the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey. The National Center for Education Statistics has conducted periodic national assessments of the English-language literacy skills of the nationís adults since 1985. In 1985, NCES conducted the Young Adult Literacy Survey. The most recent national assessment of adult literacy was the National Adult Literacy Survey of 1992, which was the largest and most inclusive literacy survey ever conducted in the United States. Purposes of literacy data Statistical data on adult literacy serve three broad purposes:
To inform federal and state policymakers about the social and economic impacts of literacy To help monitor the nationís progress in developing a more literate society To foster policies designed to help adults develop their skill levels Last update January 11, 1999 Questions, problems or comments with this Web site?
Contact NCESwebmaster@ed.gov.
Preliminary results from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), released 15 December 2005 by the  , indicate gains and losses in  among minority adults between 1992 and 2003.

__TOC__

The nationally representative study among US adults age 16 and older found the over-all average prose and document literacy remained relatively unchanged, but quantitative literacy improved 8 points (on a scale of 500.) Results among minorities were mixed, with White and Asian/Pacific Islander minorities scoring significantly higher than Hispanic or Black ethnicities; Hispanic subjects in particular had sharp decreases in prose and document literacy (-9% and -8%, respectively) and quantitative illiteracy remained unchanged with 50% of subjects scoring at less than basic literacy levels. 

The National Assessment of Adult Literacy is the most comprehensive measure of adult literacy in the USA. The 2003 NAAL, with 19 000 participants, was conducted by the , a non-governmental organization which charges for its services.