THE PROBLEM
According to the National Adult Literacy Survey of 1993, conducted by the U.S. Dept. of Education, 90 million adults (almost 50% of the nations 190 million adults) are "quite limited" in their ability to derive accurate information from printed material. Of these, approximately 44 million adults scored in the lowest skill level.

On the local level, the 1990 census found that 10,937 Bradford Co. adults over 18 years old do not have a high school diploma. In Wyoming Co. 4,414 adults over age 18 do not have a high school diploma.

"Literacy" as defined in the National Literacy Act of 1991 means an individual’s ability to read, write, and speak in English, and compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job and in society, to achieve one’s goals, and develop one’s knowledge and potential.