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The Basic Skills Agency (UK) commissioned research to investigate the progress in literacy made by adults in dedicated mainstream basic skills provision in England and Wales, and factors associated with that progress, beginning in 1998 and lasting for two years. Data was collected by means of reading and writing tests administered to students in 71 Colleges of Further Education and Local Education Authorities; background data was collected on students. Qualitative information was derived from a questionnaire administered to 177 adult literacy tutors and from interviews with seven basic skills coordinators. The study found that at pre-test, just under half the sample had reading scores below a functional level and many students had distinctly poorer writing than reading skills. Adults in dedicated mainstream basic skills provision in England and Wales made undramatic but statistically significant progress in both reading and writing, and while very few factors associated with differential progress were found, the data suggested that very regular attendance was associated with greater progress.