Survey: Growing number of U.S. adults lack literacy skills

The share of adults with literacy skills at the lowest measured levels increased substantially as the gap between the high-skilled and low-skilled in the United States expands, according to new data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ latest survey of adult skills.

The survey was previously administered in 2017, when 19% of U.S. adults ranked at the lowest levels of literacy. In 2023, that figure increased to 28%, a change that NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr called “substantial” in a news conference announcing the survey Monday.

“It is larger than what we would normally see in an international assessment, particularly literacy, which is a fairly stable construct,” she said.