In the United States, civic participation, work, learning, and critical thinking require sophisticated reading comprehension, expressive writing, oral language, and computational skills. It is, therefore, perhaps surprising to find that many adults have inadequate literacy skills in this economically highly developed country that provides free education to age 21.
However, national surveys indicate that many adults—particularly those who are urban, from racial/ethnic minority groups, and/or have limited English speaking skills—lack the literacy skills they need to accomplish educational, social, and family objectives. This digest provides information on two major settings for literacy education for adults: adult basic education and community college remedial programs.