National Research Council

Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

Center for Education

Board on Testing and Assessment

Committee on Performance Levels for Adult Literacy

The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) is a household survey conducted periodically by the Department of Education that evaluates the literacy skills of a sample of adults in the United Stages ages 16 and older. NAAL results are used to characterize adultsâ€™ literacy skills and to inform policy and programmatic decisions. The Committee on Performance Levels for Adult Literacy was convened at the Departmentâ€™s request for assistance in determining a means for booking assessment results that would be useful and understandable for NAALâ€™S many varied audiences. Through a process detailed in the book, the committee determined that five performance level categories should be used to characterize adultsâ€™ literacy skills: nonliterate in English, below basic literacy, basic literacy, intermediate literacy, and advanced literacy. This book documents the process the committee used to determine these performance categories, estimates the percentages of adults whose literacy skills fall into each category, recommends ways to communicate about adultsâ€™ literacy skills based on NAAL, and makes suggestions for ways to improve future assessments of adult literacy.

Committee on Performance Levels for Adult Literacy

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