Literacy in the United States

Rates of literacy in the United States depend on which of the various definitions of literacy is used. Governments may label as literate those individuals who can read a couple of thousand simple words they learned by sight in the first four grades in school. Other sources may term such individuals functionally illiterate if they are unable to use basic sources of written information like warning labels and driving directions. The CIA World Factbook uses the common definition of literacy as "age 15 and over can read and write" but notes that the Factbook is used for country comparisons, not detailed standards, which is beyond the scope of the Factbook.[1]

In 1988, the U.S. Department of Education was asked by Congress to undertake a national literacy survey of American adults.[2]:xi The National Adult Literacy Survey undertaken in 1992, was the first literacy survey that provided "accurate and detailed information on the skills of the adult population as a whole." The U. S. has participated in cyclical, large-scale assessment programs undertaken by the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) and sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) since 1992. The survey revealed that the literacy competence of about 40 million adults was limited to the lowest level, Level 1 which meant they could only understand the simplest written instructions.[3]

The Institute of Education Sciences conducted large scale assessments of adult proficiency in 1992 and 2003 using a common methodology from which trends could be measured. The study measures Prose, Document, and Quantitative skills and 19,000 subjects participated in the 2003 survey. There was no significant change in Prose or Document skills and a slight increase in Quantitative attributes. As in 2008, roughly 15% of the sample could function at the highest levels in all three categories. Roughly 50% were at either basic or below basic levels of proficiency in all three categories.[2] This government study showed that 21% to 23% of adult Americans were not "able to locate information in text", could not "make low-level inferences using printed materials", and were unable to "integrate easily identifiable pieces of information." Approximately one-quarter of the individuals who performed in this level reported that they were born in another country, and some of them were undoubtedly recent immigrants with a limited command of English. In addition, 62 percent of the individuals on that level of the prose scale stated they had not completed high school; 35 percent, in fact, had finished no more than 8 years of schooling. Relatively high percentages of the respondents in this level were Black, Hispanic, or Asian/Pacific Islander, and many — approximately 33 percent — were age 65 or older. Further, 26 percent of the adults who performed in Level 1 said they had a physical, mental, or health condition that kept them from participating fully in work and other activities, and 19 percent reported having vision problems that made it difficult for them to read print. In sum, the individuals in this level of literacy had a diverse set of characteristics that influenced their performance in the assessment. Additionally, this study showed that 41% to 44% of U.S. adults in the lowest level on the literacy scale were living in poverty.[2]

A NAAL follow-up study by the same group of researchers using a smaller database (19,714 interviewees) was released in 2006 that showed some upward movement of low end (basic and below to intermediate) in U.S. adult literacy levels and a decline in the full proficiency group.[4]

In 2003 United States was one of seven countries that participated in the large-scale collaborative effort, the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL) with results published in 2005. Starting in 2011, the U.S., along with dozens of other countries, participated in the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), a large-scale assessment of adult skills, including literacy, under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The NCES describes the PIACC as the "most current indicator of the nation's progress in adult skills in literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments."[5]

Defining and measuring literacy

Governments may label as literate those individuals who can read a few thousand simple words they learned by sight in the first four grades in school. Other sources may term such individuals functionally illiterate if they are unable to use basic sources of written information like warning labels and driving directions.

Thus, if this bottom quantile of the study is equated with the functionally illiterate, and these are then removed from those classified as literate, then the resultant literacy rate for the United States would be at most 65-85% depending on where in the basic, minimal competence quantile one sets the cutoff.

The 15% figure for full literacy, equivalent to a university undergraduate level, is consistent with the notion that the "average" American reads at a 7th or 8th grade level which is also consistent with recommendations, guidelines, and norms of readability for medication directions, product information, and popular fiction.

The CIA The World Factbook states that "There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy" and that their statistics are based on the most common definition - "the ability to read and write at a specified age." It is also noted in The Factbook that "Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of the Factbook. Information on literacy, while not a perfect measure of educational results, is probably the most easily available and valid for international comparisons."[1]

United States Department of Education surveys

English Language Proficiency Survey (1982)

In 1982, funded by the United States Department of Education,[6] the United States Census Bureau conducted an in-home literacy test of 3,400 adults known as the English Language Proficiency Survey (ELPS).[7] The Education department considered this direct measure of literacy more accurate than a previous estimate in 1979, which inferred literacy based on years of education completed.[8] The data from the test were presented in the 1986 Census Bureau report, concluding that 13% of the adults living in the United States were illiterate in English.[8] Nine percent of adults whose native language was English (native speakers), were illiterate while 48% of nonnative speakers were illiterate in English but not necessarily illiterate in their maternal language.[8]

In his 1985 book Illiterate America,, Jonathan Kozol ascribed the very high figures for literacy to weaknesses in methodology.[9] The Census Bureau reported literacy rates of 86% based on personal interviews of a relatively small portion of the population and on written responses to Census Bureau mailings. They also considered individuals literate if they simply stated that they could read and write, and made the assumption that anyone with a fifth grade education had at least an 80% chance of being literate. Finally, he suggests that because illiterate people are likely to be unemployed and may not have telephones or permanent addresses, the census bureau would have been unlikely to find them.

National Adult Literacy Survey (1992)

In 1988, the U.S. Department of Education was asked by Congress to undertake a national literacy survey of American adults.[2]:xi The National Center for Education Statistics, which is part of the United States Department of Education, awarded a contract to the Educational Testing Service and a subcontract to Westat to design and conduct the survey.[10]

The 1992 survey, National Adult Literacy Survey provided "accurate and detailed information on the skills of the adult population as a whole. The survey interviewed around 26,000 people ages 16 and older: a nationally representative sample of around 14,000 people and an additional 12,000 surveys from states which opted in to state-level assessments. Results were published in 1993.[3]:xiv In 1993 the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) was used as a "nationally representative and continuing assessment of English language literary skills of American Adults.[11] The study explicitly avoided a single standard of literacy or illiteracy, instead assessing individuals in three aspects of literacy, with each aspect defined on a 500 point scale. Scores in each individual aspect (prose, document, quantitative) were grouped together in five levels: level 1 (0-225), level 2 (226-275), level 3 (276-325), level 4 (326-375), and level 5 (376-500).

National Assessment of Adult Literacy (2003)

The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), is sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) as one of their assessment programs.[12]

The study included comparisons to the 1992 survey. Adults (over sixteen years of age) were scored on their prose, document and quantitative literacy. There was "no significant change in prose and document literacy between 1992 and 2003; but quantitative literacy improved.[5] The study maintained the practice from the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey of dividing literacy into three different aspects, each measured on a 500 point scale. Scores in each aspect were again grouped into five different levels, but using a new numerical scale which was different for each aspect.

International surveys

The Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey

The United States was a participant in the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL), along with Bermuda, Canada, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, and the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. Data was collected in 2003 and the results were published in 2005.[13] Adults were scored on "five levels of difficulty in prose, document and numeracy literacy. In 2003, only 8% of the population aged 16 to 65 in Norway fell into the lowest skill level, level 1; the highest percentage was 47% in Italy. The United States was third highest at 20% in 2003.[13]:17

Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies

The United States participated in studies as part of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) which was "developed under the auspices" of the "Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The PIACC is a "collaborative endeavour involving the participating countries, the OECD Secretariat, the European Commission and an international Consortium led by Educational Testing Service (ETS)".[14] According to National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the PIACC, provides the "most current indicator of the nation's progress in adult skills in literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments" is a "large-scale assessment of adult skills."[5]

In 2012, twenty four countries, including the United States participated in this large-scale study.[15]

In 2014 thirty three countries, including the United States, participated in the survey.[15]

The 2013 OECD report entitled "First Results from the Survey of Adult Skills", which published results of test undertaken in 2011 and 2012, revealed that the "skills of adults in the United States [had] remained relatively unchanged in the decade since the previous report,3 while other countries have been showing improvements, especially among adults with low basic skills."[16] showed that [17]

In 2016, PIAAC 2012 and 2014 data were released.[15]. Participating adults from Singapore and the United States had the largest number of adults scoring "at or below Level 1 in literacy proficiency" compared to other participating countries in their performance in "all three reading components". The authors of the OECD report stated, "These results may be related to the language background of the immigrant population in the United States."[14]

Other studies

Central Connecticut State University

Between 2005 and 2009, Dr. Jack Miller of the Central Connecticut State University conducted annual studies aimed at identifying America's most literate cities drawing from a variety of available data resources, the America’s Most Literate Cities study ranks the largest cities (population 250,000 and above) in the United States. This study focuses on six key indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and Internet resources[18]

City Rankings
20092008200720062005
Seattle, WA11.5211
Washington, D.C.2353.53
Minneapolis, MN31.5122
Pittsburgh, PA412968
Atlanta, GA5683.54
Portland, OR610.5121011
St. Paul, MN74359.5
Boston, MA8810117
Cincinnati, OH910.51179.5
Denver, CO107486

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Notes and definitions, CIA World Factbook, retrieved October 29, 2017, This entry includes a definition of literacy and Census Bureau percentages for the total population, males, and females. There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most common definition - the ability to read and write at a specified age. Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of the Factbook. Information on literacy, while not a perfect measure of educational results, is probably the most easily available and valid for international comparisons. Low levels of literacy, and education in general, can impede the economic development of a country in the current rapidly changing, technology-driven world.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Kirsch, Irwin S.; Jungeblut, Ann; Jenkins, Lynn; Kolstad, Andrew (April 2002), Adult Literacy in America (PDF) (3 ed.), National Center for Educational Statistics, retrieved October 29, 2017, Prose level 4: "These tasks require readers to perform multiple-feature matches and to integrate or synthesize information from complex or lengthy passages. More complex inferences are needed to perform successfully." This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. The study identifies a class of adults who, although not meeting criteria for functional illiteracy, face reduced job opportunities and life prospects due to inadequate literacy levels relative to the requirements released in April 2002 and reapplied in 2003 giving trend data. It involved lengthy interviews of over -4.7% adults statistically balanced for age, gender, ethnicity, education level, and location (urban, suburban, or rural) in 12 states across the U.S. and was designed to represent the U.S. population as a whole.
  3. 1 2 Kirsch, Irwin S.; Jungeblut, Ann; Jenkins, Lynn; Kolstad, Andrew (September 1993). Adult Literacy in America (Report). National Center for Educational Statistics. National Center for Education Studies.
  4. ↑ A First Look at the Literacy of America's Adults in the 21st century (PDF), National Center for Educational Statistics, 2006, retrieved 2007-12-11
  5. 1 2 3 Demographics, National Center for Education Statistics, 2017, retrieved October 29, 2017
  6. ↑ Language Characteristics and Schooling in the U. S.: A Changing Picture, 1979 and 1989. p. 4.
  7. ↑ "English Language Proficiency Study (ELPS), 1982 Microdata File. Technical Documentation". 1987.
  8. 1 2 3 Werner, Leslie Maitland (April 21, 1986), 13% of U.S. adults are illiterate in English, a Federal study finds, Special to the New York Times, Washington, retrieved October 29, 2017
  9. ↑ Kozol, Jonathan (1985). Illiterate America. New York: New American Library. pp. 37–39. ISBN 0-452-26203-8. Kozol noted that, in addition to these weaknesses, the reliance on written forms would have obviously excluded many individuals who did not have a literate family member to fill out the form for them... (and that if they did, these people might be especially reluctant to talk to a stranger who might be a bill collector, tax auditor, or salesperson)
  10. ↑ "Adult Literacy in America" (PDF). p. xiii. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  11. ↑ Schierloh, Jane M. (August 30, 1993), Adult Literacy in America: A First Look at the Results of the National Adult Literacy Survey, retrieved October 29, 2017
  12. ↑ "What is NALS?". National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). nd. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  13. 1 2 Learning a Living: First Results of the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (PDF) (Report). Paris: OECD. OECD and Statistics Canada. 2005. p. 333. Retrieved October 29, 2017. "Proportionally to population size, the United States has built the largest pool of highly skilled adults in the world." "Level 1:Tasks in this level tend to require the respondent either to locate a piece of information based on a literal match or to enter information from personal knowledge onto a document. Little, if any, distracting information is present
  14. 1 2 OECD Skills Studies Skills Matter Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skills (PDF) (Report). OECD Skills Studies. Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). doi:10.1787/9789264258051-en. ISBN 978-92-64-25805-1.
  15. 1 2 3 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2016, retrieved October 29, 2017
  16. ↑ OECD Skills Outlook 2013: First Results from the Survey of Adult Skills (Report). Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  17. ↑ Understanding the Basic Reading Skills of U.S. Adults: Reading Components in the PIAAC Literacy Survey, Educational Testing Service (ETS)
  18. ↑ America's Most Literate Cities, Central Connecticut State University.
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