Tables: Adult

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Table A78. Mean literacy and numeracy proficiency score among U.S. adults ages 16-65, by selected demographic characteristics: 2012/2014

Demographic characteristic	Mean literacy proficiency	Mean numeracy proficiency
Total	271.7	257.2

Sex
Male	272.3	264.6
Female	271.2	250.1

Race/ethnicity¹
White	285.0	272.6
Black	246.3	217.1
Hispanic	235.9	222.3
Other	270.3	260.1

Age group
24 years and younger	273.2	253.9
25-34 years old	281.1	267.0
35-44 years old	275.5	261.0
45-54 years old	267.0	252.5
55 years and older	262.3	251.7

Educational attainment
Less than high school	228.8	211.2
High school, no postsecondary degree	263.4	247.2
Associate's degree	284.9	268.9
Bachelor's degree	300.9	290.5
Graduate or professional degree	310.6	302.6

Parents’ educational attainment
Neither parent completed high school	234.4	218.8
At least one parent completed high school but neither completed a postsecondary degree	272.1	257.8
At least one parent completed a postsecondary degree	292.7	279.2

¹ "Black" includes African American. "Hispanic" includes Latino. "Other" includes Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. "White", "Black", and "Other" race categories do not include Hispanic origin.
NOTE: Proficiency in literacy and numeracy are scaled between 0 and 500 score points. Literacy and numeracy proficiency scores cannot be compared directly because each domain has a distinct framework, construct, set of items, and scale. Estimates based on U.S. combined data from 2012 and 2014.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), U.S. PIAAC 2012/2014.

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