Adults who qualify for ABE have poor functional literacy comprehension achievement. Although they may be able to perform simple comprehension tasks such as recalling ideas from simple stories and locating a single piece of information in a simple text, they are often unable to combine (integrate and synthesize) information from longer or more complex texts.

Studies: **Gold, 1983; **Kirsch, Jungeblut, Jenkins, & Kolstad, 1993

Research Summary: The National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) measured the reading comprehension ability of a representative sample of all adults in the United States (Kirsch et al., 1993). Functional reading comprehension was measured by having adults read and answer questions about three types of passages: prose, document, and quantitative passages.

Click here for more information about prose, document, and quantitative passages.

The NALS was a large-scale survey and results were based on a sample of about 26,000 adults, aged 16 and older. Using rigorous statistical procedures, scores of those taking the NALS were ranked and then placed into one of five levels. These levels indicate how well an adult is able to read and understand a text. Level 1 was the lowest level and Level 5 the highest.

By definition, ABE students are those adults reading at Levels 1 and 2 (out of the total of 5 Levels) on the NALS measures of prose, document, and quantitative functional literacy. These are adults whose functional reading comprehension ability is roughly the same as or lower than those completing 12 years of school, or those receiving a high school diploma.

Those scoring at Level 1 on the NALS range from those who are unable to demonstrate understanding of even simple texts to those who are able to perform simple tasks such as locating a specific piece of information. Seventy-eight percent of adults with 0-8 years of education score at Level 1.

Those scoring at Level 2 are able to locate information in a text, make simple inferences, and integrate pieces of information from simpler texts. They are generally not able to combine (integrate or synthesize) information from longer or more complex texts.

Additional research suggests that intermediate adult readers (those scoring at GE 4 - 6 on a standardized reading comprehension test) are able to recall information from simple stories (Gold, 1983).