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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, with adults 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 embed- ded in printed materials (e.g. balancing a checkbook, calculating a tip, etc.) The NAAL survey found that 90 million American adults read at the two lowest literacy levels, basic or below basic. These low literate adults lack the literacy skills necessary to read and comprehend the information in complex docu- ments. A closer look reveals that: • 14% of adults (30 million) function at a below basic prose llteracylevel and 29% (62 million) function at a basic prose literacy level • 12% of adults (25 million) function at a belowbasic document literacy level and 22% (47 million) function at a basic document literacy level • 22% of adults (47 million) function at a belowbasic quantitative literacy level and 33% (71 million) func- tion at a basic quantitative liter acylevel In addition, n million adults are nonliterate in English. These adults fall into two groups: • 7 million who could not answer simple test questions • 4 million who could not take the test because of language barriers. The U.S. Census (http : / /www.census.gov /) features local and national data sets, including Educational Attainment, that can help you learn more about your community's literacy needs. The- library's core values are equity of access and lifelong learning. The library has open doors The library is user- fi4crndlly. The library offers access to print mall di rm °c ;otgyr e . The library ns a plane of opporWiaiiy. Attachment number 6 F -10 Page 128 Adufli Literacy in the U.S.