Compared to most countries assessed in 1994, the United States had a greater concentration of adults who scored at the lowest literacy levels across prose, document, and quantitative literacy domains. However, it had one of the higher concentrations of adults who scored at or above level 4 on the prose scale. The proportion of adults who scored at…

This report describes presentations and discussions at a seminar to bring together research initiatives in the area of functional literacy and to explore appropriate ways of developing policy-driven research in all countries. Opening remarks by representatives of the European Community, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,…

Faced with the need to solve the problem of adult illiteracy, Poland has taken measures to provide workers under forty years of age with a complete primary education and full professional skills. In this article, these measures are described, including functional literacy needs, integrating vocational and general education, and designing…