Adult literacy rates have improved in West Virginia during the last two decades, but there are still big gaps between poorer, more rural counties and the rest of the state.

Federal data released Thursday by the National Center for Education Statistics show state and county comparisons in adult literacy for the first time.

The data for 2003, the most recent year available, show that roughly 13 percent of adult West Virginians lack basic literacy skills like being able to read a newspaper article.

That puts the state in the middle of the pack nationally, and is an improvement from 1992, when the figure was 17 percent.

But rural counties like McDowell, Clay, and Lincoln lag behind. Literacy rates are highest in urban counties such as Putnam and Jefferson.