Adult Literacy Defined NAAL: Using printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential. *National Assessment of Adult Literacy (2003) Federal Legislation: An individual’s ability to read, write, and speak in English, and compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency needed to function on the job and in society, to achieve one’s goals, and develop one’s knowledge and potential. *The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (1998) 2

Adult Literacy: Why We Should Care Immigration Patterns Aging Population Adult Literacy Rates Drop-out Rates GED Attainment Economic Competitiveness 3

30 million American adults (14 percent) score Below Basic in Prose literacy. –Below Basic: No more than the most simple and basic literary skills 63 million American adults (29 percent) score Basic in Prose literacy. –Basic: Can perform simple and everyday literacy activities National Assessment of Adult Literacy 2003 Adult Literacy Rates 4

U.S. GED Trends GED Testing Service 5

Percent of Population Age with Less than a High School Diploma (or Equivalent), 2005 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2005 ACS 6 National Center for Higher Education Management Systems

Percentage of First-Time College Students Enrolled In-State Who Are Not Directly Out of High School—All Sectors, 2004 Source: NCES, IPEDS Fall Enrollment Survey National Center for Higher Education Management Systems

Current Educational Attainment, Educational Attainment in 2025 with Current Degree Production, and Best-Performing Countries in 2025 (United States) 8 National Center for Higher Education Management Systems

How Can the U.S. Reach International Competitiveness? Current Degree Production Combined with Population Growth and Migration, and Best Performance* on the Student Transition and Completion Measures 63,127,642 60,790,073 7,347,209 3,270,900 1,265,118 7,045,932 1,255,167 40,605,747 Performance Measures Are Cumulative and Based on Traditional College-Age Students Millions *Best performance is the average of the top three states. 9 National Center for Higher Education Management Systems

Even Best Performance with Traditional College-Age Students at Each Stage of the Educational Pipeline Will Leave Gaps in More than 30 States 1,333, ,504 In order to reach international competitiveness by 2025, the U.S. and 32 states cannot close the gap with even best performance with traditional college students. They must rely on the re-entry pipeline— getting older adults back into the education system and on track to attaining college degrees. 10 National Center for Higher Education Management Systems