What is NAAL?
The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy is a nationally representative assessment of English literacy among American adults age 16 and older. Sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), NAAL is the nation's most comprehensive measure of adult literacy since the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS).
In 2003, over 19,000 adults participated in the national and state-level assessments, representing the entire population of U.S. adults who are age 16 and older, most in their homes and some in prisons from the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Approximately 1,200 inmates of federal and state prisons were assessed in order to provide separate estimates of literacy for the incarcerated population.
By comparing results from 1992 and 2003, NAAL provides the first indicator in a decade of the nation's progress in adult literacy. NAAL also provides information on adults' literacy performance and related background characteristics to researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and the general public.
NAAL Components
NAAL includes a number of components that capture the breadth of adult literacy in the United States:
- Background Questionnaire—helps identify the relationships between adult literacy and select demographic and background characteristics;
- Prison Component—assesses the literacy skills of adults in federal and state prisons;
- State Assessment of Adult Literacy (SAAL)—gives statewide estimates of literacy for states participating in the state-level assessment;
- Health Literacy Component—introduces the first-ever national assessment of adults' ability to use their literacy skills in understanding health-related materials and forms;
- Fluency Addition to NAAL (FAN)—measures basic reading skills by assessing adults' ability to decode, recognize words, and read with fluency; and
- Adult Literacy Supplemental Assessment (ALSA)—provides information on the ability of the least-literate adults to identify letters and numbers and to comprehend simple prose and documents.
NAAL News
February 27, 2008:
NAAL Data Set Training scheduled for June 25-27, 2008, in Washington D.C.
NCES will sponsor a 2 1/2-day advanced studies seminar on the use of the NAAL data files and tools for research and policy analyses. The 2003 NAAL measured the English literacy of America's adults living in households and prisons. Results are reported in terms of scale score averages on three literacy scales: prose, document, and quantitative, as well as literacy levels that are described as Below Basic, Basic, Intermediate, and Proficient.
July 31, 2007:
CD ROM: National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) 2003 Restricted-Use Data Now Available
This CD-ROM includes the 2003 NAAL household and prison restricted-use data files, including items from the background questionnaire; prose, document, and quantitative items (including health items); and items from the oral reading fluency assessment. Both files are in the electronic codebooks. Instructions for installing the data from the electronic codebook are included. The CD-ROM also includes a combined household-prison file for use with AM software and the Restricted-Use Data File User’s Guide.
May 8, 2007:
Literacy Behind Bars: Results From the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy Prison Survey
This report focuses on the English literacy of incarcerated adults between 1992 and 2003. It compares the literacy of adults in the prison and household populations and across groups of prison inmates with different characteristics, including race/ethnicity, gender, educational attainment, age, language spoken before starting school, and parents’ educational attainment. Major findings indicate that the average Prose, Document, and Quantitative literacy scores of the prison population were higher in 2003 than in 1992. Incarcerated White adults had lower average prose literacy than White adults living in households. In addition, incarcerated Black and Hispanic adults had higher average prose literacy than Black and Hispanic adults living in households. In 2003, 37 percent of the prison population did not have a high school diploma or a GED, compared with 49 percent in 1992.
April 4, 2007:
Literacy in Everyday Life: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy
This report provides extensive information on the literacy of American adults age 16 and older and
changes in their performance since 1992. It examines the relationship between literacy and a number
of self-reported background characteristics, including education, employment, earnings, job training,
family literacy practices, civics activities, and computer usage. Results are reported in terms of
scale scores (on a 500-point scale) and in terms of four literacy levels—Below Basic, Basic,
Intermediate, and Proficient. The findings indicate that women are doing better than men in
Document and Prose literacy and that younger and older adults have lower literacy than adults in other
age groups. Approximately 51 percent of adults with Below Basic Document literacy and 43 percent with
Below Basic Quantitative literacy believed their job opportunities were limited a lot by a lack of computer skills.
NAAL News Archive
