Many American Adults Lack Literacy SkillsAccording to the 1992
National Adult Literacy Survey, some 90 million American
adults-- about 47 percent of the U.S. population-- demonstrate
low levels of literacy. These individuals lack the literacy
skills to function adequately in our increasingly complex
society. Individuals with low or limited literacy may experience
difficulty applying reading, writing, computational, and
information processing skills to everyday life situations. While
people with literacy problems may be found among all
ethnicities, races, and classes, a significant correlation does
exist between literacy, and both education and income levels.
Federal agencies often rely on print materials to tell people
about health information and social services. Many of these
materials are written at the 10th grade reading level and above.
These materials are not useful to people with limited-literacy
skills. A workgroup composed of Government communicators from
diverse Department of Health and Human Servic