Basic is not proficient

Associated Press (AP) published a story Friday on the literacy of today's college students. The same test the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) gave to evaluate English literacy among adults (see FR, here), and which determined one in 20 adults to be not literate in English, was used for the college survey by the American Institutes for Research (AIR). According to AIR's press release:

Twenty percent of U.S. college students completing 4-year degrees - and 30 percent of students earning 2-year degrees - have only basic quantitative literacy skills, meaning they are unable to estimate if their car has enough gasoline to get to the next gas station or calculate the total cost of ordering office supplies...

While the findings put current students well above adults with similar levels of education, it is suggested basic is not good enough for an educated population.

The Literacy of America's College Students, Final Report
(available in pdf, 1MB, from AIR)

Final Report's Appendices
(available in pdf, 1MB)