Figure 93 shows these relationships in a different manner.--There the percent of job incumbents who scored 50% or better on the Job Knowledge and Job Performance tests for Mechanics (Repairmen), Supply Specialists, and Cooks is presented for people having increasing levels of reading skill. These data support those of Figure 92 in showing strong relationships of reading ability to job proficiency (see especially the solid, black lines in Figure 93 that average over the three jobs).

A final, important finding from these military studies is summarized in Figure 94. That figure shows how the performance of Supply Specialists and Repairman improved on the hands-on, Job Performance tests as both a function of increasing reading ability (the horizontal axis) and whether or not the person used the available technical manuals while performing the job sample test tasks (upper, solid curve). This figure is unique in showing that job performance may increase as both a function of having a higher level of reading skill and of actually using that skill while performing a job task.

Taken together, the data on literacy, occupational status and job performance indicate that both the types of occupations for which people are likely to qualify and the job proficiency they are likely to exhibit in the job they get may be related to their levels of literacy. The relationships are not perfect, far from it, yet the trends are there, and they have been there for some three-quarters of this century. In the absence of major changes in the manner in which society allocates work and workers to jobs, and to the extent that increased educational levels do not lead to greater literacy proficiency for minorities, it is likely that these trends will last far into the next century. This will pose considerable economic duress on the under-skilled, particularly African Americans, but Hispanics and poorly educated and less literate Whites, too.