1 / 19

National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL): Trends and Findings

Learn about the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), its definition of literacy, three types of literacy, and the results from the 2003 assessment. Discover changes in literacy levels from 1992 to 2003, literacy levels by race/ethnicity and gender, and the impact of age on literacy.

joanhughes
Download Presentation

National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL): Trends and Findings

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. 1

  2. What is the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL)? • Assessment of the English literacy of U.S. adults • Last conducted in 1992 • Nationally representative sample of more than 19,000 adults age 16 and older • One-on-one administration in households and prisons 2

  3. What is NAAL’s Definition of Literacy? • Using printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential 3

  4. Three Types of Literacy • Prose • Document • Quantitative 4

  5. Descriptions of Literacy Levels Proficient can perform complex and challenging literacy activities Intermediate can perform moderately challenging literacy activities Basic can perform simple everyday literacy activities Below Basic no more than the most simple and concrete literacy skills 5

  6. Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy 6

  7. Change in Literacy: 1992–2003 • No significant change in prose and document literacy • Increase in quantitative literacy * Significantly different from 1992. Note: Adults are defined as people 16 years of age and older living in households or prisons.  Adults who could not be interviewed due to language spoken or cognitive or mental disabilities (3 percent in 2003 and 4 percent in 1992) are excluded from this figure. Source: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey and 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. 7

  8. Prose Below Basic and Nonliterate in English Levels: 2003 8

  9. Percentage by Level: 1992–2003 * Significantly different from 1992. Note: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.  Adults are defined as people 16 years of age and older living in households or prisons.  Adults who could not be interviewed due to language spoken or cognitive or mental disabilities (3 percent in 2003 and 4 percent in 1992) are excluded from this figure. Source: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey and 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. 9

  10. Number of Adults in Each Prose Literacy Level: 2003 * Significantly different from 1992. Note: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.  Adults are defined as people 16 years of age and older living in households or prisons.  Adults who could not be interviewed due to language spoken or cognitive or mental disabilities (3 percent in 2003 and 4 percent in 1992) are excluded from this figure. Source: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey and 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. 10

  11. Who is Below Basic in Prose Literacy? 11

  12. Prose Literacy by Race/Ethnicity: 1992–2003 * Significantly different from 1992. Note: Adults are defined as people 16 years of age and older living in households or prisons. Adults who could not be interviewed due to language spoken or cognitive or mental disabilities (3 percent in 2003 and 4 percent in 1992) are excluded from this figure. In 1992, respondents were allowed to identify only one race. In 2003, respondents were allowed to identify multiple races. In 2003, 2 percent of respondents identified multiple races and are not included in the White, Black, or Asian/Pacific Islander categories in this figure. All adults of Hispanic origin are classified as Hispanic, regardless of race. The Asian/Pacific Islander category includes Native Hawaiians. Total includes White, Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Multiracial/Other. Although not reported separately, American Indians/Native Alaskans are included. Source: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey and 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. 12

  13. Race/Ethnicity: 1992–2003 • White Adults • Up 9 points in quantitative • Black Adults • Up 6 points in prose • Up 8 points in document • Up 16 points in quantitative • Hispanic Adults • Down 18 points in prose • Down 14 points in document • Asian/Pacific Islander Adults • Up 16 points in prose 13

  14. Gender: 1992–2003 * Significantly different from 1992. NOTE: Adults are defined as people 16 years of age and older living in households or prisons. Adults who could not be interviewed due to language spoken or cognitive or mental disabilities (3 percent in 2003 and 4 percent in 1992) are excluded from this figure. Source: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey and 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. 14

  15. Age Cohorts: 1992–2003 • Adults in the oldest age cohort had the lowest literacy both years • Literacy increased among age cohorts 25-39, 50-64, and 65+ *Significantly different from 1992. Note: Adults are defined as people 16 years of age and older living in households or prisons.  Adults who could not be interviewed due to language spoken or cognitive or mental disabilities (3 percent in 2003 and 4 percent in 1992) are excluded from this figure. Source: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey and 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy.  15

  16. Prose Literacy by Educational Attainment: 2003 NOTE: Adults are defined as people 16 years of age and older living in households or prisons. Adults who could not be interviewed due to language spoken or cognitive or mental disabilities (3 percent in 2003 and 4 percent in 1992) are excluded from this table. Source: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. 16

  17. Educational Attainment: 1992—2003 • Less than or some high school • Down 9 points in prose • High School graduate • Down 6 points in prose • College graduate • Down 11 points in prose • Down 14 points in document • Graduate studies/degree • Down 13 points in prose • Down 17 points in document 17

  18. Employment and Earnings: 2003 NOTE: Adults are defined as people 16 years of age and older living in households. Adults who could not be interviewed due to language spoken or cognitive or mental disabilities (3 percent in 2003) are excluded from this table. Source: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. 18

  19. http://nces.ed.gov/naal 19

More Related