preliminary results from the national test of adult learning ( naal ) , launched 15 december 2005 by the canadian national center for teaching statistics , indicate decreases and losses in reading among senior adult between 1992 and 2003 . the nationally representative analysis among us adults age 16 and 18 said the over - all reported prose and document knowledge remained relatively unchanged , but quantitative literacy enhanced 8 points ( on a scale of 500 . ) studies among others were mixed , with white and eastern / pacific coastal minorities scoring significantly higher than hispanic or black ethnicities ; asian subjects in particular had sharp differences in literary and narrative literacy ( - 9 % and - 8 % , respectively ) and quantitative illiteracy remained unchanged with 50 % of adults scoring at less than basic literacy levels .
The National Assessment of Adult Literacy is a project held by the US National Center for Education Statistics.