Adult Literacy in America - National Center for Education Statistics ...

NALS
1
2
3
4
5
Percentages of Adults in Poverty, by Literacy Level
PROSE
DOCUMENT
Level Level
43
41
23
20
8
4
12
0 20 40 60 80 100
Level
1
2
3
4
5
Note: Adults in poverty are those who are either poor or near poor.
Level 1 0 to 225
Level 2 226 to 275
Level 3 276 to 325
Level 4 326 to 375
Level 5 376 to 500
Sources of Nonwage Income and Support
6
8
12
Figure 2.5
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Percentage in Each Level in Poverty
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Adult Literacy Survey, 1992.
1
2
3
4
5
4
7
12
22
QUANTITATIVE
Survey participants provided detailed information on the types of nonwage
income and support they or anyone in their family had received in the year
preceding the survey. Two particular types of nonwage income which reflect
socioeconomic status are contrasted here. The skills of those who received food
stamps are of interest, because this program is publicly funded. Further, the
competencies of adults who received interest from savings or other bank
accounts are of interest, because savings help to provide a buffer in the event of
interruptions in earnings.
Adults who performed in Level 1 on the prose scale were far more likely
than those who performed in Level 5 to report that their family received food
stamps (FIGURE 2.6). Only 1 percent of those in the highest prose level
received food stamps, compared with 17 percent in the lowest level. Similar
patterns are seen on the document and quantitative scales.
Conversely, the percentages of adults who reported receiving interest
from savings in the past year increases significantly across the five levels on
each scale. For example, 85 percent of adults in Level 5 on the quantitative
scale earned interest from savings, compared with only 53 percent of those in
Level 3 and just 23 percent of those in Level 1.
44
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