NCJ Number
151621
Date Published
1994
Length
185 pages
Annotation
This report on the results of the National Adult Literacy Survey provides an indepth view of the literacy skills of inmates incarcerated in State and Federal prisons.
Abstract
To obtain information on the literacy skills of inmates, trained staff interviewed approximately 1,150 inmates in 80 State Federal and State prisons. The prisons were randomly selected to represent prisons across the Nation, and the inmates were randomly selected from each of the prisons. As the main part of the data collection, approximately 13,600 adults aged 16 and older residing in households across the Nation were interviewed. These adults were randomly selected to represent the adult population of the Nation as a whole. This report describes the types and levels of literacy skills shown by prison inmates and compares them with the skills of the household population of adults. It also explores the relationship between literacy skills and the background characteristics and prison experiences of inmates, as well as their literacy practices and self-perceptions. Literacy was determined by subjects' performance across a wide array of tasks that reflect the types of materials and demands they encounter in their daily lives. 52 tables and 4 figures