The Institute of Education Sciences conducted large scale assessments of adult proficiency in 1992 and 2003 using a common methodology from which trends could be measured. The study measures Prose, Document, and Quantitative skills and 19,000 subjects participated in the 2003 survey. There was no significant change in Prose or Document skills and a slight increase in Quantitative attributes. As in 2008, roughly 15% of the sample could function at the highest levels in all three categories. Roughly 50% were at either basic or below basic levels of proficiency in all three categories.[11] This government study showed that 21% to 23% of adult Americans were not "able to locate information in text", could not "make low-level inferences using printed materials", and were unable to "integrate easily identifiable pieces of information." Approximately one-quarter of the individuals who performed in this level reported that they were born in another country, and some of them were undoubtedly recent immigrants with a limited command of English. In addition, 62 percent of the individuals on that level of the prose scale stated they had not completed high school; 35 percent, in fact, had finished no more than 8 years of schooling. Relatively high percentages of the respondents in this level were Black, Hispanic, or Asian/Pacific Islander, and many — approximately 33 percent — were age 65 or older. Further, 26 percent of the adults who performed in Level 1 said they had a physical, mental, or health condition that kept them from participating fully in work and other activities, and 19 percent reported having vision problems that made it difficult for them to read print. In sum, the individuals in this level of literacy had a diverse set of characteristics that influenced their performance in the assessment. Additionally, this study showed that 41% to 44% of U.S. adults in the lowest level on the literacy scale were living in poverty.[11]