A primer on adult literacy

1. A primer on adult literacy M Cecil Smith, Ph.D. Professor, Educational Psychology Program College of Education Northern Illinois University

2. Overview • Why focus on adults’ literacy skills? • Current status of literacy proficiency levels among U.S. adults • Theoretical perspectives on literacy • Relationship of practices to proficiencies • Literacy education programs for adults

3. Why is it important to improve adults’ literacy skills? • Increased emphasis on lifelong learning • Greater skills needed to compete in the jobs market • Immigrants’ English language skills are not sufficient • Parents’ literacy supports their children’s literacy skills • Literacy contributes to personal well-being

4. Current status of literacy proficiency among U.S. adults • National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS), 1992 • 26,000 adults, ages 16 and older, sampled • Nationally-representative cluster sample • Assessed adults’ literacy skills along three dimensions: Prose, Document, Quantitative (PDQ) literacy • Tasks ranged from easy to difficult, requiring diverse information processing skills and strategies • Scores ranged from 0 – 500 • Five levels of proficiency distinguished • 1 (0-225) 2 (226-275) 3 (276-325) 4 (326-375) 5 (376-500)

5. National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), 2003 • A follow-up to the NALS • 20,200 adults, ages 16 and older, sampled • Assessed PDQ literacy • Also “health literacy,” fluency, and a supplemental assessment • Both NALS and NAAL used paper-and-pencil literacy tasks much like academic literacy tasks, but designed to approximate “real life” adult literacy tasks • NAAL reported 4 rather than 5 levels

6. Example Prose task • In a sentence, describe the situation Joe is facing ___________________ (What percent of adults answered this item correctly?)

7. Example Document Task • A receptionist at a retirement center keeps a record of the residents' outside activities using a sign-out sheet. Use the completed sheet to answer the following question. • At 8:15 p.m. you receive a call from Miss Farr’s brother in Indianapolis asking what time she returned to the center. What should you say? (What percent of adults answered this item correctly?)

8. Quantitative task • Complete the check ledger for the month of September. Keep a running total of the balance and include the following: • $50 deposit on 9/27 • check 108 payable to Mr. Davis for $18.49 on 9/27 • check 109 payable to Electric Co. for $53 on 9/28 • the $5 monthly service fee for your checking account (What percent of adults answered this item correctly?)

9. Comparing NALS and NAAL • No significant change in Prose and Doc literacy from 1992 to 2003 • Quantitative literacy increased • Fewer adults with Below Basic Doc and Quant literacy in 2003 than 1992 • Fewer adults with Proficient Prose and Doc literacy in 2003 than 1992 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. Percentage of adults in each PDQ literacy level: 1992 and 2003 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.

11. Other results • Higher literacy proficiencies found among: • Those with more education • Younger adults (literacy proficiency peaks between 25-54 years) • White adults, followed by Asians, Blacks, and Hispanics • Men (on document & quantitative literacy)

12. What factors are responsible for the modest changes in adults’ literacy proficiencies over a decade?

13. Likely cause • Immigration of non-English speaking adults into the U.S. • How likely are these other factors? • Poor high school preparation • Adults don’t have time to read • Television and right-wing talk radio • Rise of corporate bookstores

14. Theoretical perspectives on literacy • The “Cognitive skills” perspective • Reading ability is primarily an intellectual skill • consists of cognitive processes and sub-processes (e.g., letter/word recognition, phonemic awareness) • these processes lead to comprehension • Dominant view of skills perspective is that reading ability is trainable, autonomous, and portable

15. Consequences of the cognitive skills perspective • Educational policies and practices that… • standardize reading curricula • advocate skills based approach to instruction • emphasize large scale assessments of reading abilities • ignore the social, cultural, and historical contexts in which students acquire and use literacy • hold teachers accountable when students fail to achieve standards • undermine struggling students efforts to become literate

16. Theoretical perspectives on literacy • The “Social practices” perspective • Literacy is a social activity • Literacy practices are patterns by social institutions and relationships; some literacies are more dominant, visible, influential than are others • People have different literacies which they make use of in different domains of life • Literacy practices are purposeful and embedded in broader social goals and cultural practices • Literacy is a symbolic system used to represent the world to ourselves; literacy is part of our thinking • People have awareness, attitudes and values regarding literacy; these guide actions • Literacy has a personal history upon which is built one’s current literacy practices

17. The way we define literacy has powerful pedagogical implications • Teaching literacy skills • Phonemic awareness? Phonics? Whole language? Reading vs. writing • Assessing literacy practices and measuring literacy skills • Understanding the “adequacy” of our own literacy skills and practices • When do we have “enough” literacy?

18. Relationship of practice to proficiency • Is it true that “practice makes perfect”? • In the case of literacy, practice may play an important role in the development of literacy proficiencies • We know that practice is important to learning, regardless of the knowledge domain • We know that practice enhances skills • People who read and write a lot tend to be better readers and writers

19. Research findings • West, Stanovich, & Mitchell (1993) • Adults who had greater “print exposure” were smarter (i.e., more world knowledge, larger vocabularies) than those having less print exposure • Smith (1996) • Adults who read more books, magazines, and document materials have higher PDQ scores than those who read fewer

20. Literacy education programs for adults • Adult Basic Education (ABE) • Adults reading below 9th grade level, no HS diploma or GED • 2.8 million adults in ABE or GED classes • English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) • 1.9 million adults in ESL programs • Fastest-growing adult education program • Family literacy • May include ABE, ESL, or GED

21. Adult literacy education programs • Provided through: • Community colleges • Community-based and volunteer literacy organizations, churches • Employers (workplace literacy) • Military • Primary focus: reading • Much less emphasis on writing and math

22. Assessment • Programs receiving federal funding must report student achievement gains • pre- and post-test • National Reporting System (USDoEd) • TABE or CASAS tests used • Approx. 100 hrs. instruction required to improve 1 grade level • Most adult learners receive far fewer than 100 hours of instruction • Achievement gains are modest in ABE programs

23. Instruction • Alphabetics • Phonemic awareness • Word recognition • Vocabulary • Fluency • Practice at reading orally, silently • Comprehension

24. Summing up • While adult literacy is a significant issue, it receives little attention • Funding needs to be increased for basic research and for adult education programs • Skill-based views of literacy limit our understanding of the nature of literacy in the real world • The condition of adult literacy is not as bad as some claim, but the skills of immigrants and poorly educated are a concern