[originaltext] A new federal study shows that adults made little progress in

A new federal study shows that adults made little progress in theft reading skills between nineteen ninety-two and two thousand three? Researchers tested nineteen thousand people over the age of sixteen. (29) Those who took part were tested on how well they could read and understand information used in everyday life. The study found that eleven million adults, or five percent, cannot read English. They could not answer even the easiest written questions. Four million of them most likely cannot speak English either. Fifty-six percent of adults can perform moderate or complex .activities. Moderate can mean finding information in a book. Of that number, thirteen percent can perform complex tasks like comparing two different newspaper commentaries. Researchers say part of the problem is that many young Americans do not read much for pleasure anymore. Also, there are greater numbers of non-English speaking immigrants. (30) Reading skills can directly affect the ability to earn a living. The best readers were found to earn up to twenty-eight thousand dollars a year more than those who lacked simple reading skills. Adult reading skills were about the same or lower across every level of education. This was true even among people who have completed college. By race and ethnic group, blacks and Asians had the biggest increases in English reading skills. Overall, American adults improved the most in answering questions that involved numbers. (31) The Department of Education says the literacy findings show the need for reforms especially at high school level.