California :: U.S. Skills Map: State and County Indicators of Adult Literacy and Numeracy :: NCES

U.S. Skills Map: State and County Indicators of Adult Literacy and Numeracy

NCES: April 2020

U.S. Skills Map

The National Center for Education Statistics surveyed 12,330 U.S. adults ages 16 to 74 living in households during 2012 to 2017 for the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), an international study involving over 35 countries. Using small area estimation models, indirect estimates of literacy and numeracy proficiency have been produced for all U.S. states and counties. By using PIAAC survey data in conjunction with data from the American Community Survey, the Skills Map provides reliable estimates of adult literacy and numeracy skills in all 50 states, all 3,141 counties, and the District of Columbia.

At or below Level 1:   22% National est.

read short digital or print texts to locate a single piece of information

At Level 2:   32% National est.

make matches between the text, either digital or printed, and information, and may require paraphrasing or low-level inferences

At or above Level 3:   46% National est.

often dense or lengthy. Understanding text and rhetorical structures is often required, as is navigating complex digital texts

National Average Scale Score:   264 (between 1-500)

Top 10 States – At or below Level 1: 22%

11: NH

13: AK ME MN MT ND VT

14: WY

15: IA WI

Bottom 10 States – At or below Level 1

29: NM

28: CA MS TX

27: LA

25: NV

24: AL FL GA NY

States above National Average Scale Score: 264

279: MN NH

277: AK DC VT

276: ND

275: WA

274: UT

States below National Average Scale Score

252: LA MS NM

254: TX

255: NV

256: AR

257: CA

259: AL FL

READ MORE  ➤➤

Literacy Reports & Statistics

Adult

2020: US Skills Map: State & County Indicators of Adult Literacy & Numeracy, NCES

2019: Adult Literacy in the United States, NCES 2019-179

2019: Literacy Gap Map, Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy

2013: OECD Skills Outlook 2013: First Results from the Survey of Adult Skills, OECD

2009: Literacy of America's Least Literate Adults, NAAL 2003

2006: Literacy of America's College Students, AIR

2007: Literacy in Everyday Life, NAAL 2003

2003: National Assessment of Adult Literacy, NAAL

2000: Programs for Adults in Public Library Outlets, USDE, NCES

1992: National Adult Literacy Survey, NALS

Adult Literacy in the United States :: NCES 2019-179

Adult Literacy in the United States

NCES 2019-179 (US Dept of Ed) Data Point: July 2019

What are the rates of literacy in the United States?

Four in five U.S. adults (79 percent) have English literacy skills sufficient to complete tasks that require comparing and contrasting information, paraphrasing, or making low-level inferences—literacy skills at level 2 or above in PIAAC (OECD 2013).

In contrast, one in five U.S. adults (21 percent) has difficulty completing these tasks (figure 1). This translates into 43.0 million U.S. adults who possess low literacy skills: 26.5 million at level 1 and 8.4 million below level 1, while 8.2 million could not participate in PIAAC’s background survey either because of a language barrier or a cognitive or physical inability to be interviewed.

These adults who were unable to participate are categorized as having low English literacy skills, as is done in international reports (OECD 2013), although no direct assessment of their skills is available.

Adults classified as below level 1 may be considered functionally illiterate in English: i.e., unable to successfully determine the meaning of sentences, read relatively short texts to locate a single piece of information, or complete simple forms (OECD 2013)

What is the make-up of adults with low English literacy skills by nativity status and race/ethnicity?

U.S.-born adults make up two-thirds of adults with low levels of English literacy skills in the United States. However, the non-U.S. born are over-represented among such low-skilled adults.

Non U.S.-born adults comprise 34 percent of the population with low literacy skills, compared to 15 percent of the total population (figure 2).

Percentage of all and low-skilled adults age 16 to 65,

by nativity status: 2012 and 2014. FIGURE 2

White and Hispanic adults make up the largest percentage of U.S. adults with low levels of English literacy, 35 percent and 34 percent respectively (figure 3).

By race/ethnicity and nativity status, the largest percentage of those with low literacy skills are White U.S.-born adults, who represent one third of such low-skilled population. Hispanic adults born outside the United States make up about a quarter of such low-skilled adults in the United States (figure 3).

Using the data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), this Data Point summarizes the number of U.S. adults with low levels of English literacy and describes how they differ by nativity status1 and race/ethnicity.

PIAAC is a large-scale international2 study of working-age adults (ages 16–65) that assesses adult skills in three domains (literacy, numeracy, and digital problem solving) and collects information on adults’ education, work experience, and other background characteristics. In the United States, when the study was conducted in 2011–12 and 2013–14, respondents were first asked questions about their background, with an option to be interviewed in English or Spanish, followed by a skills assessment in English. Because the skills assessment was conducted only in English, all U.S. PIAAC literacy results are for English literacy.  READ MORE >>

Literacy Reports & Statistics

Adult

2019: Adult Literacy in the United States, NCES 2019-179

2013: OECD Skills Outlook 2013: First Results-Survey of Adult Skills, OECD

2009: Literacy of America's Least Literate Adults, NAAL 2003

2006: Literacy of America's College Students, AIR

2007: Literacy in Everyday Life, NAAL 2003

2003: National Assessment of Adult Literacy, NAAL

2000: Programs for Adults in Public Library Outlets, USDE, NCES

1992: National Adult Literacy Survey, NALS

International Literacy Study scheduled for 2011 by PIAAC, OECD, US Department of Ed and NCES

International Literacy Study
scheduled for 2011 by PIAAC, OECD, US Department of Ed and NCES.

DoED is accepting public comments before Feb 26, 2010.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION –
Requests Comments about PIAAC
Federal Register: December 28, 2009 - V74, #247

Title: Programme For The International Assessment Of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) 2010 Field Test and 2011/2012 Main Study Data Collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before February 26, 2010.

Abstract: NCES seeks OMB approval to survey adults (16-65 years old) for the field-test administration of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in 2011. PIAAC is coordinated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and sponsored by the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor.

PIAAC is expected to be on a 10-year cycle.
In 2011, 28 countries, including 23 OECD-member countries, plan to participate.

The U.S. PIAAC field test data collection will occur between August and November 2010. The main study will occur between September 2011 and March 2012. NCES will seek approval for the full-scale instruments in the fall of 2010.

Visit literacyspace for more information.