IALS
The International
Adult Literacy Survey, a twenty-country comparative study of
adult literacy in the workplace, highlighted the lack of basic
skills in employed people in the U.S. and other highly developed
countries.
Results
from the IALS study show that more than 40% of American adults
lack enough of these basic literacy skills to perform most jobs
adequately.
-
The Conference Board, 1999
For employers, this means
that many employees at every level
in their organizations need help to improve their basic skills
in order to do their jobs well.
IALS defines
'literacy' as a particular capacity and mode of behavior:
the ability to
understand and employ printed information in daily activities,
at home, at work and in the community - to achieve one's goals,
and to develop one's knowledge and potential.
IALS identified
three distinct literacy types:
Prose
literacy -- the knowledge and
skills needed to understand and use information from texts
including editorials, news stories, poems and fiction.
Document
literacy -- the knowledge and
skills needed to locate and use information contained in various
formats, including job applications, payroll forms,
transportation schedules, maps, tables, and graphs.
Quantitative
Literacy -- the ability to work
with numbers and conduct quantitative operations, such as
balancing a checkbook, figuring out a tip, completing an order
form, or determining interest on a loan.
For more information
on IALS, visit http://www.oecd.org/els/education/literacy
* Update on
IALS: ALL
The Adult Literacy
and Lifeskills Survey (ALL), an international
comparative study, provides participating countries with
information about the skills of their adult populations.
In 2003, ALL measured the literacy and numeracy skills of
a nationally representative sample of 16- to 65-year olds
from Bermuda, Canada, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, and the
United States.
URL:
http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/all/issuebrief.asp
For
problems or questions regarding this web site contact campbell@conferenceboard.ca.
Last updated: June 24, 2005. |