

A Third of the Nation Cannot Read These Words [1986] - Alex3917
http://eserver.org/courses/spring97/76100o/readings/kozol.html

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vaughanhedges
The <http://nces.ed.gov/pubs93/93275.pdf> National Assessment of Adult
Literacy (NAAL) showed that 21% to 23% of adult Americans were not "able to
locate information in text", could not "make low-level inferences using
printed materials", and were unable to "integrate easily identifiable pieces
of information."

It also estimated that 14% of Americans have extreme difficulty with reading
and written comprehension.

Only 19% have a high level of literacy, 31.4% have a moderate level of
literacy and 49.6% a low level of literacy.

They may have developed coping skills to manage everyday literacy demands but
they find it difficult to face new challenges, such as job skills.

In this [http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-01-08-adult-
lite...](http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-01-08-adult-
literacy_N.htm) USA Today article they stated that "about one in seven
[adults] are saddled with such low literacy skills that it would be tough for
them to read anything more challenging than a children's picture book."

The <http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/274/21/1677> Journal of the
American Medical Association states that "46 percent of American adults cannot
understand the labels on their prescription medicine."

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Alex3917
Your link is actually to the 1992 data, here is the 2003 data:

<http://nces.ed.gov/NAAL/PDF/2006470.PDF>

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Alex3917
I submitted this mostly because of his analysis (in chapter 5) of the
methodology that's used for the CIA World Factbook literacy figures, when they
claim a 97% literacy rate. C.f.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_in_the_United_States>

