More than one in 10 adults in America lack basic reading skills.

It's a simple question-what do you do in the case of an accidental prescription drug overdose? That's a question Researchers with the National Center for Education Statistics asked all over the United States in 2003.

"What they had to do is find that piece of information on the drug label-and underline it or write it out," said statistician Sheida White. But according to the newly released National Assessment of Adult Literacy, that is a challenge for more of us than you might think.

"14-point-5 percent of the population as a whole lacked basic prose literacy-and this number translates to something like 32-million adults," White said in reviewing the information released Thursday. By the numbers, 19-percent of adults in Texas lack basic prose literacy skills-21-percent in Harris County.

"A person below basic levels is not likely to be able to read a news story," White said. Nationwide, the numbers are basically flat in the latest research when compared to findings based on a 1992 study.
Copyright © 2003-2013 Clear Channel. All rights reserved.