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Summary
A high level of literacy in both print and digital media is required for
negotiating most aspects of 21st-century life—supporting a family, educa-
tion, health, civic participation, and competitiveness in the global economy.
Yet a recent survey estimates that more than 90 million U.S. adults lack
adequate literacy.1 Furthermore, only 38 percent of U.S. twelfth graders are
at or above proficient in reading.2
Adults who need literacy instruction receive it in two main types of set-
tings: (1) adult education programs, for which the largest source of federal
funding is the Workforce Investment Act, Title II, Adult Education and
Family Literacy Act (AEFLA), and (2) developmental education courses in
colleges for academically underprepared students. Adults in adult education
programs (an estimated 2.6 million in federally funded programs in 2005)
show variable progress in their literacy skills, and for many, their gains are
insufficient to achieve functional literacy.3
This report responds to a request from the U.S. Department of Educa-
tion to the National Research Council (NRC) to (1) synthesize research on
literacy and learning, (2) draw implications for the instructional practices
used to teach reading in adult literacy programs, and (3) recommend a
more systemic approach to research, practice, and policy. To inform its
conclusions and recommendations, the Committee on Learning Sciences:
Foundations and Applications to Adolescent and Adult Literacy reviewed
1 Estimate from Kutner et al. (2007).
2 According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (2010).
3 Information from Tamassia et al. (2007).
1
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2 IMPROVING ADULT LITERACY INSTRUCTION
research from the fields of literacy, learning, cognitive science, neurosci-
ence, behavioral and social science, and education. The committee identi-
fies factors that affect literacy development in adolescence and adulthood
in general and examines their implications for the populations in adult
education programs.
In keeping with its charge, the committee defined literacy as the abil-
ity to read, write, and communicate using a symbol system (in this case,
English) and using appropriate tools and technologies to meet the goals and
demands of individuals, their families, and U.S. society. Thus, literacy skill
includes but encompasses a broader range of proficiency than basic skills.
The focus of the committee is on improving the literacy of individuals ages
16 years and older who are not in K-12 education; this focus is consistent
with eligibility for federally funded adult education programs. The report
includes research with adolescents of all ages but discusses the implications
of this research (as well as research with children and adults) for instruction
to be used in adult literacy education.4
There is a surprising lack of rigorous research on effective approaches
to adult literacy instruction. This lack of evidence is especially striking given
the long history of both federal funding for adult education programs and
reliance on the nation’s community colleges to develop and improve adults’
literacy skills. Sustained and systematic research is needed to (1) identify
instructional approaches that show promise of maximizing adults’ literacy
skill gains; (2) develop scalable instructional programs and rigorously test
their effectiveness; and (3) conduct further testing to determine for whom
and under what conditions those approaches work.
In the absence of research with adults whose literacy is not at high
levels, the committee concluded that it is reasonable to apply findings from
the large body of research on learning and literacy with other populations
(mainly younger students and relatively well-educated adults) with some
adaptations to account for the developmental level and unique challenges of
adult learners. The available research provides guidance about principles of
effective reading and writing instruction, principles of learning and motiva-
tion, and promising uses of technologies and other supports for learning.
Effective literacy instruction addresses the foundational components of
reading—word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, reading comprehension,
background knowledge, strategies for deeper analysis, and understanding
of texts—and the component skills of writing. It combines explicit teaching
4 Given the sponsor’s primary interest in improving adult literacy education, we did not
address the question of how to prevent low literacy in the United States. Although the report
does not have an explicit focus on issues of prevention and how to improve literacy instruction
in the K-12 system, many of the relevant findings were derived from research with younger
populations and so they are likely to be relevant to the prevention of inadequate literacy.
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SUMMARY
and extensive practice with motivating and varied texts, tools, and tasks
matched to the learner’s skills, educational and cultural backgrounds, and
literacy needs and goals. It explicitly addresses the automation and inte-
gration of component skills and the transfer of skills to tasks valued by
society and the learner. Effective instruction includes formative (ongoing)
assessments to monitor progress, provide feedback, and adjust instruction.
Students who have not mastered the foundations of reading and writ-
ing require instruction targeted to their skill levels and practice in amounts
substantial enough to produce high levels of competence in the component
skills. A large body of research with K-12 students provides the principles
and practices of literacy instruction that are equally important to develop-
ing and struggling adult learners. Additional principles have been identified
to help those with learning disabilities overcome specific areas of difficulty.
The available research on accommodations for adults with learning dis-
abilities, conducted mainly with college students, also warrant application
and further study in adult education settings to remove barriers to learning.
Although findings from research specifically on effective literacy in-
struction for adults is lacking, research with younger populations can guide
the development of instructional approaches for adults if it is modified to
account for two major differences between adults and younger populations.
One is that adults may experience age-related neurocognitive declines that
affect reading and writing processes and speed of learning. The second is
that adults bring varied life experiences, knowledge, and motivations for
learning that need attention in the design of literacy instruction for them.
Compared with children, adolescents and adults may have more knowledge
and possess some literacy skills while still needing to fill gaps in other skills,
acquire content knowledge, and develop the level of literacy needed for
education, work, and practical life.
Research on learning and motivation can inform the design of sup-
portive instructional interactions and environments. This research has not
included low-literate adults: translational research is needed to design and
evaluate instructional approaches consistent with these principles for this
population. Although basic principles of learning and motivation apply to
learners of all ages, the particular motivations to read or write are often
different at different ages. Instruction for adolescents and adults may need
to be designed differently to motivate these populations.
Literacy is a complex skill that requires thousands of hours of practice,
but many adults do not persist in adult literacy instruction long enough
or have enough time to practice outside the instructional setting to reach
their goals. The problem of high attrition needs to be resolved for adults to
receive sufficient practice and instruction and for rigorous research to ac-
cumulate on effective instructional methods. The available research suggests
ways to design motivating instructional approaches and environments, cre-
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4 IMPROVING ADULT LITERACY INSTRUCTION
ate more time for practice, and ensure the time is efficiently used: they will
need to be tested rigorously. Technologies for learning have the potential
to help resolve problems of insufficient practice caused by time and space
constraints. Technologies also can assist with multiple aspects of teaching,
assessment, and accommodations for learning. Translational research is
needed to develop and evaluate promising technologies for improving adult
literacy and to demonstrate how these can be part of coherent systems of
instruction.
The population of adult literacy learners is heterogeneous. Conse-
quently, optimal literacy instruction needs to vary according to adults’
goals, motivations, knowledge, assessed skills, interests, neurocognitive
profiles, and language background. The population of adults who need to
develop their literacy ranges from recent immigrants with only a sixth grade
education in their native country, to middle-aged and older U.S.-born high
school graduates who find they can no longer keep up with the reading,
writing, and technology demands of their jobs, to adults who dropped out
of school or whose learning disabilities were not fully accommodated in
school, to highly educated immigrants who need to learn to read and write
in English.
The largest subgroup of adults enrolled in adult education is adults
learning English as a second language. This population is very diverse.
Some are immigrants who are well educated and highly literate in their first
languages. Others are recent immigrants with low levels of education and
first language literacy. Another large subgroup is people who were born in
the United States or came to the United States as young children but have
grown up with a home language other than English. Although educated in
U.S. schools, these adults often need to develop higher literacy skills for
postsecondary education or work.
There has been virtually no research on effective literacy instruction for
adults learning English as a second language. The available research with
other populations—young second language learners and relatively well-
educated students in high school or college—suggests practices that warrant
further study with the larger population of adult learners. Although general
principles of learning and literacy development can be applied to second
language learners, literacy instruction needs to be adapted to the learner’s
education level, degree of literacy in the first and second language, and
familiarity with U.S. culture.
Good systems of assessment to improve student learning consist of
(a) diagnostic assessment to inform instructors about skills the learner
possesses and needs to develop; (b) formative assessment of skills being
developed that need further improvement as instruction progresses; and (c)
accountability assessment to inform administrators, policy makers, funders,
and the public of how well the program and systems that serve adult liter-
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SUMMARY
acy learners are working. The assessments need to be aligned with common
goals for learning. Assessments of literacy need to be suitable for adults,
assess all the important dimensions of reading, writing, and language, and
assess a range of print and digital functional literacy skills that society
demands and values.
Adult literacy education is offered in a mix of programs that lack co-
ordination and coherence with respect to literacy development objectives
and instructional approaches. In addition, learning objectives for literacy
lack alignment across the many places of adult education and with colleges
and K-12 instruction. Literacy instructors need sufficient training and sup-
ports to assess adults’ skills, plan and differentiate instruction for adults
who differ in their neurobiological, psychosocial, and cultural and linguistic
characteristics, as well as their levels of literacy attainment. Yet, the prepa-
ration of instructors is highly variable and training and professional devel-
opment limited. These factors, as well as high attrition from adult literacy
programs, present challenges to the systematic implementation and study
of effective adult literacy instruction.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The committee’s conclusions led to four overarching recommendations.
First, federal and state policy makers should move quickly to build on
and expand the infrastructure of adult literacy education to support the
use of instructional approaches, curricula, materials, tools, and assessments
of learners consistent with (a) the available research on reading, writing,
learning, language, and adult development; (b) the research on the effective-
ness of instructional approaches; and (c) knowledge of sound assessment
practices.
Second, federal and state policy makers need to ensure that professional
development and technical assistance for instructors are widely accessible
and consistent with the best research on reading, writing, learning, lan-
guage, and adult development.
Third, policy makers, providers of literacy programs, and researchers
should collaborate to systematically implement and evaluate options to
achieve the persistence needed for literacy learning. These options include,
among others, instructional approaches, technologies, social service sup-
port, and incentives.
Fourth, to inform local, state, and federal decisions aimed at optimizing
the progress of adult learners, the committee strongly recommends strategic
and sustained investments in a coordinated and systemic approach to pro-
gram improvement, evaluation, and research about adult literacy learners.
Translational research should be conducted in four areas: (1) instructional
approaches and materials grounded in principles of learning and instruc-
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6 IMPROVING ADULT LITERACY INSTRUCTION
tion, (2) supports for persistence, (3) technologies for learning, and (4)
assessments of learners and their instructional environments. The research
will need a strong instructor training component with instructor supports.
To ensure investments of the appropriate scale, a sequence of research
should be undertaken that includes exploration, innovation, efficacy testing,
scaling up, and assessment development.
Basic and applied research is recommended in several priority areas.
First, the characteristics of adult literacy learners should be studied to define
instructionally meaningful subgroups to provide a strong basis for differ-
entiating instructional approaches. Second, an empirical basis is needed to
help define the literacy skills required in today’s society to meet educational
or career milestones and for full social and civic participation. Third, more
research is need on the cognitive, linguistic, and neural influences on learn-
ing for both typical adult learners and those with learning disabilities.
Fourth, the various forces that interact to affect typical and atypical literacy
development across the life span—cognitive, linguistic, social, cultural, in-
structional, and systemic—need to be better specified.
Information about the literacy of adults in the United States rapidly
becomes outdated, and adequate information is not available about the
literacy instruction provided to adults or its effectiveness. The commit-
tee recommends that information about the literacy skills of the nation’s
adults and in the diverse systems that offer adult literacy instruction be
gathered and analyzed on a continual and long-term basis to know (1)
whether the population is becoming more literate and (2) whether efforts
to improve literacy are effective at a macro level as well as in specific
individual efficacy studies. These efforts should track progress on the
components of reading and writing that have been identified in research
and on proficiency in performing important functional literacy tasks. The
information collected on instructional programs should include learning
goals and objectives and the practices, materials, tools, and assessments
in use. This information is needed to better understand current practices,
plan the appropriate professional development of instructors, create ef-
fective out-of-classroom learning opportunities, and better match literacy
instruction to emerging literacy demands for work, education, health, and
functioning in society.
Implementation of these recommendations will require strong leader-
ship from specific entities in the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S.
Department of Labor. Given the scope of the problem, partnerships need to
be developed between researchers, curriculum developers, and administra-
tors across the systems that serve adult learners. It will also be important to
enlist business leaders and faith-based and other community groups in the
effort. The committee urges particular attention to three issues noted above:
(1) variability of instructor preparation, (2) the existence of many different
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SUMMARY
types of programs that have varied literacy development practices and that
lack alignment with K-12 education and college systems that offer literacy
instruction, and (3) the instructional and other supports that enable adults
to persist in programs and practice skills outside the classroom. These fac-
tors affect the quality of instruction to be implemented, the feasibility of
conducting the needed research, and the potential for broad dissemination
and implementation of the practices that are identified as effective.
