National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL)

A nationally representative and continuing assessment of English language literary skills of American Adults

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Framework -> Literacy Skills

The 2003 NAAL seeks to improve understanding of the skill differences between adults who are able to perform relatively challenging literacy tasks and those who cannot. NAAL skills stem from the skills-based, operational definition of adult literacy. They are the literacy skills a respondent must possess in order to successfully perform a prose, document, or quantitative task.

The 2003 NAAL literacy tasks require seven types of literacy skills, which are detailed below.

SOURCE: White, S., and McCloskey, M. (forthcoming). Framework for the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NCES 2005-531). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

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