Discusses the breadth of the problem of adult functional illiteracy and the components of the National Adult Literacy Project, a National Institute of Education program to identify model programs, develop literacy materials, and involve college work-study students in tutoring illiterate adults. (SK)

Attention has been focused on whether U.S. competitiveness in a global market can be sustained if the work force has deficient reading skills. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that 90 million adults (50 percent of the adult population) do not have the literacy skills they need to function in society. These persons have limited reading…