Findings from IALSS and other sources in support of literacy programs and research in

1. Findings from IALSS and other sources in support of literacy programs and research in Newfoundland and Labrador 2007

2. Literacy Proficiency is… Literacy proficiency: the ability to understand and employ printed information in daily activities, at home, at work and in the community. It is not about whether or not one can read but how well one reads. (IALSS, 2003)

3. What did we learn from IALSS? • The survey measured literacy levels in four domains : • prose, document, numeracy and problem solving. • Proficiency was established on a scale where Level 1 is lowest and Level 5 is highest. Level 3 is considered the minimum score needed to function in terms of literacy in our world today. • Newfoundland and Labrador • 54% of the respondents were at Levels 1 and 2 for all four domains. • This represents 70,000 people at Level 1 and 119,000 people at Level 2. • Canada • 48% of Canadian adults, were at Levels 1 and 2 for all domains in literacy. • New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut are below the Canadian average. • All other provinces and territories met or were above the Canadian average scores.

4. What does low proficiency mean? With 54 percent of the population at Levels 1 and 2 in the prose literacy domain, and higher proportions in the other domains, Newfoundland and Labrador clearly has a significant proportion of their population aged 16 and over at risk of not being able to fully reach their social and economic potential. (Building on our Competencies: Canadian Results of the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey, 2003).

5. Level 1 70,000 people Most of them were non-immigrants 61% were male 39% were female 39% were employed 24% were unemployed Education 73% had less than high school 19% had completed high school 8% had post-secondary education Mother tongue: English for almost all of them Who are the Level 1 & 2 respondents? • Level 2 • 119,000 people • Most of them were non-immigrants • 53% were male • 47% were female • 52% were employed • 15% were unemployed • Education: • 35% had less than high school • 37% had completed high school • 28% had post-secondary education • Mother tongue : • English for almost all of them

6. What did we learn from IALSS? • Lower literacy and numeracy proficiencies impact quality of life over a range of outcomes, including employability, wages, physical health, social engagement, and access to lifelong learning opportunities; • There was no notable change in literacy performance in Canada between 1994 (IALS) and 2003 (IALSS). This has created interest in how the literacy skills of adults might be improved; • Labour market prospects, and the life chances of the people with low literacy who are not in the labour force, can be greatly enhanced if literacy levels could be improved. • Literacy is a key competence in a world where information, whether print or digital, is everywhere.

7. Literacy performance is stronger in the younger age groups. This is clear when the average proficiency scores and levels are presented for people aged 16 to 65; excluding seniors. Age and Literacy are Related In Newfoundland and Labrador, the distribution of prose literacy proficiency was more favorable in the working age population, aged 16 - 65 compared to the population 16 and over. Most of the difference is found at Level 1. In Newfoundland and Labrador, 24% of the population is at Level 1 when you include seniors. If you count only the people between 16-65, then 19% of the population is at Level 1. That is a difference of 5%. At Level 2, there is a 1% difference, when you exclude seniors. Source: IALSS 2003

8. Youth In Newfoundland and Labrador, close to 60% of youth had prose literacy proficiency at Level 3 or above while 40% were below Level 3. Low literacy could impact adversely on Youth in terms of participation in postsecondary education and success in the labour market. The majority of seniors, 85%, are below Level 3, 25% are at Level 2 and the remaining 60% are at Level 1. The majority of seniors have relatively low literacy, which may impact their quality of life by increasing their dependency, and posing health and safety risks. Source: IALSS 2003

9. Higher education = better literacy The relationship between educational attainment and literacy is evident. At the national level, individuals with a university degree score on average 77 points higher than those with less than a high school education. Compared to the national average, this difference is more pronounced in Newfoundland and Labrador. Newfoundland and Labrador residents with university education scored better in prose literacy than counterparts in 8 provinces and territories. Newfoundland and Labrador had the largest decline among the provinces in the number of individuals who had only a high school education or less from 1991 to 2001 Census. Highest Levels of Education, Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada 2001

10. The link between literacy and health At the Canada level literacy scores are lower for those who report being in poor physical health. The average document literacy score of those aged 16 to 65 who reported being in poor health corresponds to Level 2 proficiency. For those in fair, good or excellent health, the average score corresponds to Level 3 proficiency. (Building on our Competencies: Canadian Results of the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey, 2003). Using information from IALS demonstrates that for each of the literacy domains, people with lower literacy levels are more likely to be at highest health risk, with an increased effect on senior citizens. This relationship tends to occur for all age groups and both sexes. (At Risk: A Socioeconomic Analysis of Health and Literacy Among Seniors, 1998)

11. Average document proficiency scores by Physical Component Summary (PCS) and age groups, Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador, population 16 and over, 2003 More than half of the population over 65 report being in poor health compared to 20 percent of 16 to 65 year-olds. For Canada, those over 65 who report poor health have an average document literacy score corresponding to Level 1 proficiency. In most jurisdictions, 16 to 65 year-olds in poor health have lower average document literacy scores than those reporting better health. The proportion of seniors reporting poor health is either close to or over 50 percent in each of the provinces and territories. Access to social assistance, health care information and a variety of other health-related programs is directly connected to literacy ability. The health of seniors with low-measured literacy, therefore, is directly affected by their literacy ability. Source: IALSS 2003

12. Information and Communications Technology The Atlantic provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, along with the Northwest Territories, have Internet penetration rates below 60 percent. Residents in Nunavut and Newfoundland and Labrador are the least intensive ICT users among adult Canadians. The chances of earning high income are even greater for those with both average or higher literacy skills and intensive computer use. In fact, individuals in this group had over five times the odds of being high income earners compared to those with below average literacy and less intense computer use. Source: IALSS 2003

13. Literacy and employability The 2003 IALSS results clearly indicate that literacy is associated with employability, the types of jobs occupied by workers, and earnings. Those with higher proficiencies have a higher employment rate and higher earnings and work in more knowledge-intensive jobs. (Building on our Competencies: Canadian Results of the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey, 2003).

14. Employability In the Atlantic provinces, unemployed people and people not in the labour force scored on average at level 2 in prose literacy, while employed people scored on average at level 3. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the unemployed people and people not in the labour force scored lower than their counterparts in the Atlantic. Source: IALSS 2003

15. Literacy is closely associated with what you earn Previous research has established that employment earnings are related to literacy proficiency along with many other factors, such as education and gender. Literacy has a large effect on earnings, equivalent to about one third of the estimated “wage return on education.” A higher literacy score is linked directly to how much money a person can potentially earn. People who score below Level 3 typically earn less money than people who score above Level 3. Source: IALSS 2003

16. Industries Below Level 3 Newfoundland and Labrador Persons with low prose literacy were concentrated among certain industries, in Newfoundland and Labrador. Industries Below Level 3 19,072 Trade, finance, insurance, real estate and leasing These industries employed roughly 55% of the workers below Level 3. Health care and social assistance 8,919 The demand for high literacy and numeracy proficiency is likely to increase further as Canada moves more and more towards a knowledge-based economy. Manufacturing 6,237 Transport and wharehousing 7,239 Reaching people at the work place can be an effective method to teach them literacy and essential skills. Forestry, fishing, mining, oil and gas 6,848 Source: IALSS 2003

17. Adult Education and Training The level of educational attainment shows a strong positive relationship with adult learning participation across all provinces and territories in Canada. Newfoundland and Labrador reports one of the most positive relationships between formal levels of education and adult learning participation. Its residents with university degrees or higher are 10 times more likely to participate in organized forms of adult learning than those with less than upper secondary education. Percent of population receiving adult education and training the year preceding the interview, by type of participation, Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador population, aged 16 to 65, 2003 Total Took Took participation program course % % % Newfoundland and Labrador 35.8 11.9 14.0 Canada 49.3 15.8 24.9 About 36% of workers participated in adult training in Newfoundland and Labrador compared to 50% in Canada. Only 14% took courses. In Canada, almost 50 percent of the population aged 16 to 65 participates in some form of adult education and learning activities. Participation rates in most jurisdictions are close to the national rate. The rate is significantly below the national average in Newfoundland and Labrador. Source: IALSS 2003

18. Basic Literacy or ABE Level I is offered through campuses at College of the North Atlantic, Non-profit Community based programs, One-to-One tutoring organizations and private training organizations in Newfoundland and Labrador. Level I refers to basic literacy and equates roughly to K-6 in the regular school system. What literacy programs are available? ABE Level I programming is offered in only limited sites of the College of the North Atlantic (CNA) on the island at campuses in Bonavista, Clarenville, Deer Lake, Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor, North West River, Port aux Basques, Springdale, St. Anthony, and St. John’s. ABE Level I programming is offered in a handful of private institutions and community-based settings such as the St. John’s Rabbittown Learning Program, Learning Centre, Stella Burry Community Services, Newfoundland and Labrador Association for the Deaf, and in rural areas in Corner Brook such as the Employment Preparation Centre and Dunfield Park Community Centre, and a couple of Literacy Councils in Baie Verte, Marystown and Stephenville. There are also 26 Private Training Institutions in the province that offer Level 1 training. Basic Literacy programs that deliver One-To-One Tutoring are being delivered by many groups that offer volunteer one-to-one literacy tutoring services and a few classroom-based programs. These programs are mainly delivered by Literacy Councils or Teachers on Wheels. Source: Department of Education, 2007

19. How many people enrol in ABE? Adult Basic Education Enrolment Data 2000-2007, Public and Private Colleges For purposes of consistency, the data on the left is snapshot enrolment data for the end of September 2000-2007 for the College of the North Atlantic and Private Training Institutions. Community-Based ABE I Community-Based One-to-One Tutoring Programs Enrolment data is not necessarily a full count as confidentiality issues prevented some groups/ councils from providing any data to the Department. The numbers below are only the enrolment numbers that the Department of Education can verify. The actual number could be higher. The Department of Education did not collect enrolment data prior to September 2003.

20. What to consider when developing programs • What are the learning needs of different groups of low skilled adults? • What kind of intervention programs would be needed to achieve this goal? • What magnitude of investment would yield a marked improvement in skill? • Where would new investments have the most impact? • Who should underwrite the costs of this investment? Do individuals and families have the financial resources to underwrite a part of the cost of improving their skill levels? What role should employers pay in financing literacy programs? • What are the consequences of inaction? What are the opportunity costs of investing in literacy?

21. In Newfoundland and Labrador, 50% of the population, aged 16-65, had an average prose literacy proficiency below level 3. There were 61% of the population, aged 16-65 who had an average numeracy proficiency below level 3. What are the number of people you are planning literacy programs for? What does this means in real numbers? Newfoundland and Labrador has189,000 people who have low literacy in prose. Newfoundland and Labrador has the second highest amount of people with low literacy for numeracy with 208,000 people or 61.1% in Level 1 and 2 in the population. Newfoundland and Labrador Level 1 Level 2 Total % Number % Number % Number Prose 18.8 70,000 31.6 119,000 50.4 189,000 Numeracy 26.8 101,000 34.3 107,000 61.1 208,000 Source: IALSS 2003

22. IALSS Summary The 1994 International Adult Literacy Survey showed that close to half of the Canadian adult population, aged 16 and over, performed below Level 3 on the prose and numeracy literacy scales. The expectation was that the next survey would show improvements to the literacy profile. However, results from the 2003 IALSS do not show any marked improvement in the overall literacy performance of Canadian adults since 1994. The results of IALSS raise concern because the ability to use and understand information is fundamental to daily life at work, at home, and in the community. The issues surrounding low literacy are compounded when combined with other factors that affect day-to-day well-being. Literacy is a determinant of health, income level, workforce attachment, and continuing educational attainment. The belief that strong literacy proficiency is the foundation for building and maintaining competencies throughout the life cycle is widely held. Those with low literacy proficiency are most at risk of being excluded from lifelong learning opportunities. Source: Building on Our Competensies, 2003 Statistics Canada

23. Appendix

24. Average Prose Literacy Scores by Age; Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador, 2003 In Canada, prose literacy scores declined with age; In Newfoundland and Labrador, the scores were slightly lower at every age group. Literacy is not good for life. A decline in prose literacy scores over time with age is typical. At age 16-25 people from Newfoundland and Labrador scored 284 and at age 46-55 this had dropped to 261. Some of this is because they did not have the education, and some are losing skills because they are not maintaining their skills. Seniors over 65 scored 211, compared to the average of 221 for Canada. Source: IALSS 2003

25. Less than Trade high school High school vocational College University Mean S.E. Mean S.E. Mean S.E. Mean S.E. Mean S.E. Newfoundland and Labrador 219 (3.4) 265 (4.0) 286 (3.8) 290 (5.1) 321 (3.9) Prince Edward Island 230 (6.8) 280 (5.5) 279 (5.5) 303 (5.5) 319 (7.9) Nova Scotia 241 (4.4) 281 (4.2) 288 (3.2) 305 (3.5) 319 (4.2) New Brunswick 223 (4.6) 265 (5.1) 276 (7.1) 286 (4.5) 311 (7.2) Quebec 227 (2.0) 262 (2.3) 275 (2.1) 290 (2.2) 305 (2.5) Ontario 223 (4.9) 268 (3.9) 279 (3.9) 295 (4.1) 303 (3.1) Manitoba 246 (5.5) 273 (3.4) 291 (4.4) 293 (3.4) 312 (4.4) Saskatchewan 256 (6.2) 282 (7.0) 294 (3.3) 309 (4.3) 336 (5.2) Alberta 241 (7.1) 279 (4.5) 290 (3.8) 295 (4.0) 319 (4.2) British Columbia 239 (4.8) 277 (4.8) 290 (3.4) 306 (4.3) 316 (4.4) Yukon 241 (7.5) 288 (5.6) 297 (4.5) 308 (4.7) 326 (4.7) Northwest Territories 227 (6.3) 280 (7.6) 280 (3.6) 301 (4.0) 324 (6.3) Nunavut 199 (6.1) 269 (7.8) 241 (8.5) 290 (12.3) 311 (6.2) Canada 230 (1.8) 270 (1.8) 282 (1.7) 296 (1.8) 309 (2.0) Mean prose proficiency scores by education level, population 16 and over, Canada, provinces and territories, 2003 Prose scores for people with less than high school score 219 points, if they finish high school they score 46 points more. If you finish university you gain another 56 points, for a total of 102 points. Newfoundland and Labrador starts out lower than most places but almost catches up to the Canadian average for people completing high school, and surpasses the Canadian average with trade vocational. In fact, Newfoundland and Labrador residents with a university education scored better in prose literacy than counterparts in 8 provinces and territories ( population 16 and older). However, those with less than high school education performed below Canadians in the same situation. Source: IALSS 2003

26. Province or Territory Document literacy Prose literacy Numeracy Newfoundland and Labrador Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia New Brunswick Quebec Ontario Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta British Columbia Nunavut Territory Northwest Territory Yukon Territory 269 281 284 270 273 279 283 294 290 290 234 280 294 271 282 286 273 275 279 283 294 289 288 232 280 296 257 269 272 262 269 270 271 284 281 279 220 269 283 Below level 3 in 3 domains Below level 3 in numeracy but not literacy Average scores at Level 2, (population 16-65) This chart represents literacy and numeracy scores for people of working age. If the numbers are all red, it means they did not make it over the threshold. This is the case for all scores in Newfoundland and Labrador. Numeracy is 14 points lower than for prose literacy. It is important to note that people who can read but who do not do well with numbers, will affect the industries a province can attract. Industries such as high tech areas will be affected. Every province in the IALSS study had lower numeracy scores – around 10 points lower than prose scores. Newfoundland and Labrador is 12-14 points lower in numeracy scores. Source: IALSS 2003

27. Literacy proficiency is defined as the ability to understand and employ printed information in daily activities, at home, at work and in the community. It is not about whether or not one can read but how well one reads.Proficiency varied across domains and population age in Newfoundland and Labrador. When the four domains were measured across the entire population, a competency was established as a scale, where Level 1 is lowest and Level 5 is highest. In the middle is Level 3, this is what was established in an international consensus as what you need to function in terms of literacy in our world today. A threshold of 276 is determined to be average literacy. Level 1 0 - 225 points Level 2 226 - 275 points Level 3 276 - 325 points* Level 4 326 - 375 points Level 5 376 - 500 points Average proficiency scores, 16 & older and 16 to 65, Newfoundland and Labrador Source: IALSS 2003

28. Background information of importance Census 2001, Newfoundland and Labrador PopulationMales Females Total 512,930 250,960 261,970 Age 15 and over 419,015 205,405 218,745 Age 15-64 361,105 181,700 185,800 Age 65 and over 63,055 28,000 35,060 Immigrant 8,030 4,280 3,750 Population 15 years and over by highest degree, certificate or diploma No degree, certificate or diploma 185,075 44.2% High school graduation certificate 70,455 16.8% Trades certificate or diploma 70,520 16.8% College certificate or diploma 45,560 10.9% University 47,395 11.3% Source: Statistics Canada, Census 2001

29. The 2003 International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey A threshold of 276 out of 500 is determined to be average literacy. The average scores of people age 16 and over in Newfoundland and Labradorare below the Canadian average.

30. Educational attainment ages 25 to 64, Newfoundland and Labrador, 1991 and 2001 Almost 141,000 people graduated from a trade school, college or university in 2001. This was a gain of 30,850, or 28%, during the 1990s. About 61,500 people were graduates of a trade school in 2001. They represent 22% of the working-age population, the highest proportion of trade graduates in any province or territory. A total of 39,970 people had a university degree in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2001, up 32% from 1991. Women accounted for 69% of the gain in university graduates during the 1990s. In 2001, just over 21,200 women in this age group had a university degree, up 46% from 1991, more than twice the rate of growth among men. About 146,000 people had either a high school education or below in 2001. They accounted for over one-half (51%) of Newfoundland and Labrador’s entire working-age population in 2001, down from 61% a decade earlier. Newfoundland and Labrador had the largest decline among the provinces in the number of individuals who had high school education or less. Source: IALSS 2003

31. Contact Information Caroline Vaughan, Executive Director Literacy Newfoundland and Labrador Regatta Plaza 2, 84 Elizabeth Ave, Suite 210 P.O. Box 8174, Stn.A St. John's, NL A1B 3M9 Phone:  709 738-7323 Fax :     709 738-7353 Toll Free 1 800 563-1111 cvaughan@literacynl.com Research/Power Point provided by : Tess Burke

32. Reference Statistics Canada, Government of Canada, 2007 Adult Learning in Canada: A Comparative Perspective: Results from the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey Department of Education, Government of Newfoundland (2000) Words To Live By: A Strategic Literacy Plan for Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Education, Government of Newfoundland website, http://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/ Statistics Canada and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, Government of Canada (2003) Building on our Competencies: Canadian Results of the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey Statistics Canada, Government of Canada, 2001 Analysis Series, Education, Census 2001