This digest about issues currently being debated in the adult literacy field examines the appropriate goals and objectives for adult literacy education, professionalization of the field, and literacy program evaluation. The first section reflects the disagreement between those who believe the purpose of literacy education should be to support economic development by preparing citizens for employment and for effective performance in a high-productivity economy and those who believe that the purpose of literacy education should relate more to liberating people for intelligent, meaningful, and humane action in the world. In the section on professionalization of the field, the digest discusses a number of factors (the use of volunteer tutors, the need for an integrated system to support professional development, and a lack of consensus about what level of education and training is needed for effective performance) that have converged to direct interest to the professionalism issue during the 1980's. The section on evaluation of adult literacy programs calls for knowledgeable professionals to develop more effective evaluation of literacy programs, but recognizes the difficulty of defining goals for the evaluation of such programs when the purpose and goals for adult literacy in general have not been set. The digest concludes with 12 references. (CML)