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In 2003, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) conducted the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), a nationally representative assessment of adult literacy levels. Adults are defined as people 16 years of age and older living in households or prisons.

The NAAL measured adults’ ability to perform everyday literacy tasks, including:

  • Prose Literacy—the knowledge and skills to search, comprehend, and use continuous texts (e.g., editorials, news stories, brochures, and instructional materials).
  • Document Literacy—the knowledge and skills to search, comprehend, and use non-continuous texts in various formats (e.g., job applications, payroll forms, transportation schedules, maps, tables, and drug or food labels).
  • Quantitative Literacy—The knowledge and skills to identify and perform computations using numbers embedded in printed materials (e.g., balancing a checkbook, calculating a tip, etc.)

Description of levels and what they mean

  • LEVEL 1 and below: Respondents can read short paragraphs with little or no competing information and understand basic vocabulary. They can locate information in the text that is identical or nearly identical to the question as asked. No inference skills are required. Individuals at Level 1 may have difficulty reading and making connections between paragraphs or documents, or concluding independently.
  • LEVEL 2: Tasks at this level require respondents to make matches between the text and information and may require paraphrasing or low-level inferences. Some competing pieces of information may be present. Some tasks require the respondent to integrate two or more pieces of information, compare and contrast or reason about information requested in the question, and identify information in different parts of a document.
  • LEVEL 3 and above: Tasks at this level require individuals to navigate complex, lengthy passages and multiple documents. Respondents must be able to identify, interpret, or evaluate one or more pieces of information, which often requires varying levels of inference. Competing information is present, but individuals at this level can distinguish between what is essential and what is not.

Why is this important? Those with literacy skills at level 1 and below may have difficulty navigating, accessing, and finding information and using reasoning skills to draw conclusions. This may mean trouble accessing and using online platforms, understanding the process required to complete tasks (e.g., an online job application with multiple steps, paying bills online, getting children registered for school, or applying for public services), and limited job prospects.

This table shows the adult literacy levels for those aged 16-65+ in Bulloch County. Older adults are more likely to lack the necessary literacy skills to complete moderate to simple tasks. They will likely require assistance completing forms for social security, retirement planning, making healthcare decisions, and other tasks requiring integrating information across sources, multi-step processes, and reasoning skills.