The 1990 Census reports that 25.5 million adults in the U.S. speak a language other than English. Of those, more than 5 million indicate they speak English "not well" or "not at all." The National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) indicates that the number of speakers of other languages who have difficulties with English literacy is significantly higher than the Census figures. While 33% of legal immigrants come to the states with postsecondary education and training and advanced professional degrees, just as many have had only a few years of schooling in their home countries. These latter adults have not had the opportunity to develop strong literacy skills in their native languages.

Still others come from cultures where there are different cultural uses of literacy than in the United States. In these cultures, specific classes or groups, such as business people or religious leaders, may have strong literacy skills, while others, such as farmers and adult women, have no experience with reading or writing at all. Recent immigrants include the Hmong of Cambodia who do not rely on a written language at all.

Although many of these adults have acquired conversational skills in English, they often lack the reading and writing skills necessary for access to training, job mobility, or success in regular ESL classes.

1. White adults scored significantly higher than every other racial and ethnic group on all scales of the NALS.

o The average literacy proficiency for White adults on all three scales was 280 or above (Level III).

o The average proficiency for Asians/Pacific Islanders on the NALS was 40 points below that of White adults on the prose and document literacy scales and 30 points below on the quantitative literacy scale. This puts them squarely in the middle of Level II.

o The average proficiency for Black adults on all three scales ranged from a high of 237 on prose literacy to a low of 224 on the quantitative literacy scale (the bottom of Level II).

o The average proficiency for Spanish-speaking adults of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican and Central/South American origin Spanish-speaking adults was below 225 (Level I) on all three scales. Only for Cuban adults was there a difference between scores on the three scales, with Cubans mirroring the pattern of Asian/Pacific Islanders and scoring 10 points higher on quantitative literacy.

2. For every racial and ethnic group except Black adults, there is a significant difference between the scores of adults born in this country and those born in a foreign country, with adults born in this country scoring significantly higher.

3. The differential between scores based on country of origin can also be seen with regard to educational attainment. Groups that score higher on the NALS have higher rates of educational attainment. Hispanic adults in the NALS sample have the lowest average years of educational attainment (10 years). A National Council of La Raza Poverty Project report confirms that Hispanic women are especially likely to have low levels of educational attainment. Just over half of 25-29 year old Hispanic women have completed 12 or more years of school, compared to 90.5% of White women in the same age group.

4. The NALS data show a consistent and strong correlation -- regardless of race, ethnicity and gender -- between how well adults score on the three NALS scales and how well they are likely to do in the labor market. Those adults who score highest on the scales are most likely to have worked the most number of weeks in the preceding year, have the highest hourly and weekly wage and the highest household income. Conversely, those who score at the two lowest levels are the most likely to experience unemployment, employment at a low wage, and household income significantly below the poverty level.

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