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Adult Literacy Skills

Ensuring that adults have the literacy skills needed to survive and succeed in the 21st Century requires a comprehensive and preventive approach. First, to serve current needs, adult education programs must be research-based and accountable for results; second, to reduce the future need, accountability and high standards must be brought to schools at every grade level, including high school.

Today, a new report from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy [NAAL] adds urgency to the task. "A First Look at the Literacy of America's Adults in the 21st Century" represents the first national findings on adult literacy since 1992. The report shows definite progress:

However, it also found areas where improvement was needed.

To meet the needs of adults who seek strong basic literacy skills or English language proficiency, the Department of Education is creating more effective and accessible learning options. The Department's Office of Vocational and Adult Education is committed to ensuring that all adults have the knowledge, career and technical skills necessary to succeed in the 21st Century.

The Department is convening education experts from the public and private sectors.

The Department has applied the principles of "No Child Left Behind" to adult education programs.

  • An accountability system requires providers to measure learning through standardized assessments, and holds them accountable for improving the literacy skills of participants.
  • Providers also are held accountable for helping participants earn GEDs, enter post secondary education, and obtain and retain employment.
  • States and providers now use accountability data to improve classroom instruction.
  • Over half the states have implemented or are developing academic content standards for adult learning.

The Department has made significant investments in research.

The Department has provided technical assistance and professional development.

And the Department has created more convenient options for learning.

The NAAL report found that nearly a fourth of all American adults with "below basic" prose literacy skills had been awarded a high school diploma. Many were casualties of high schools that badly need reform, passed along from grade to grade, then given a diploma they could not read.

The President's High School Initiative would extend the principles of the "No Child Left Behind Act" high standards, accountability, annual measurement and increased resources to our high schools. And his Striving Readers Program would provide an eight-fold increase in federal funds, to $200 million, to help incoming high school students struggling with reading. Meanwhile, the "No Child Left Behind Act" is working in earlier grades to give students the skills they need to advance in school and in life.