Recent research on reading comes from a variety of different kinds of studies all of which report the same bleak picture of college students' and adults' reading abilities. Researchers, theorists and faculty members can benefit from this detailed review of the various types of studies. These include large scale direct tests of reading ability in the United States and elsewhere around the world, direct tests and surveys of college students in the United States, as well as surveys of the population at large, self-report data, and a range of other approaches that have been used. The findings show that students and adults do not read as well as they could or should, and suggest that intensive and extensive work on reading can be useful for both students and adults. (Contains 2 tables.)