interim results from the national assessment of average literacy ( naal ) , recorded 15 december 2005 by the american national commission for education statistics , indicate gains and losses in literacy among all adults between 1992 and 2003 . the nationally representative study of all adults - 16 and older found the over - all averaged prose and document education was relatively untouched , but written intelligence enhanced 8 point ( on a scale of 500 . ) results between minorities were negative , with white and asian / pacific islander minorities being greatly higher than european or black ethnicities ; black subjects in comparison had significant decreases in prose and paper literacy ( - 9 % and - 8 % , respectively ) and quantitative illiteracy remained unchanged with 50 % of subjects scoring at less than average literacy scores .
The National Assessment of Adult Literacy is a project held by the US National Center for Education Statistics.