international adult literacy and skills survey (ialss)
TRANSCRIPT
International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS)
Overview
¨ IALSS Background¨ What IALSS Measured¨ NWT IALSS Results¨ Literacy and the NWT Workplace
IALSS Background
¨ In 1994, International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) was conducted.
¨ Did not include the northern territories or Aboriginal populations.
¨ 1n 2003, International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey included the NWT.
What Does This Mean For Us?
¨ Before IALSS, the NWT measurement for literacy was self-reported grade levels from census data.
¨ The measurement for low literacy was grade 9 or less.
¨ This usually meant that an individual sat in a grade 9 classroom at one time.
¨ IALSS provided us concrete data on actual adult skill levels.
IALSS Definition of Literacy
Literacy is using printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.
What IALSS Measured
¨ IALSS measured four adult skill domains on five levels.
¨ Level 5 is the highest level of literacy.¨ Level 1 is the lowest level of literacy.¨ Level 3 is considered the international
standard for functional literacy.
IALSS Skill Levels
¨ Level 1: 0 – 225.¨ Level 2: 226 – 275.¨ Level 3: 276 –325.¨ Level 4: 326 – 375.¨ Level 5: 376 – 500.
IALSS Skill Domains¨ Prose literacy – using information from texts,
such as news stories, brochures and instruction manuals.
¨ Document literacy – using information from a variety of printed materials, such as forms, schedules, charts and maps.
¨ Numeracy – managing the mathematical demands of diverse situations.
¨ Problem solving – goal-directed thinking and actions in situations for which no routine solution exists.
Level 1 Numeracy Task
Find the total number of bottles.
Level 2 Document Literacy Task
Identify the country other than the Netherlands in which women teachers are the minority.
Level 3 Document Literacy Task
Describe the relationship between
fireworks sales and injuries.
Level 4 Prose Literacy Task
Write in your own words one difference between the panel and the group interview.
NWT IALSS Results
¨ NWT adult literacy levels were close to the Canadian average in the all skill domains.
¨ IALSS confirmed a wide discrepancy between NWT Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal adult literacy levels in all skill domains and for all age groups.
NWT Adult Skill Proficiencies
Percentage of NWT adults, 16+, below functional literacy (IALSS level 3)
Aboriginal Non-Aboriginal
Prose Literacy 68.9 29.8
Document Literacy 71.0 30.1
Numeracy 75.8 38.5
Problem Solving 91.5 59.6
Prose Literacy
Aboriginal Non-Aboriginal0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
36.9
8.0
32
21.8
25.5
41.3
5.6
28.9
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4/5
Document Literacy
Aboriginal Non-Aboriginal0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
37.9
8.8
33.1
21.3
23.8
40.2
5.2
29.7
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4/5
Numeracy
Aboriginal Non-Aboriginal0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
45.7
11.8
30.1
26.7
20.2
39.1
4.1
22.4
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4/5
Problem Solving
Aboriginal Non-Aboriginal0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
60.4
20.0
31.1
39.6
7.8
34.5
0.7 6.0
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4/5
NWT Average Proficiency Scores by Age Group
16 - 25 26 - 35 36 - 45 46 - 55 56 - 65 Over 650
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
ProseDocumentNumeracyProblem Solving
NWT Average Proficiency Scores by Age Group and Ethnicity
Abo
rigi
nal
Non
-Abo
rigi
nal
Abo
rigi
nal
Non
-Abo
rigi
nal
Abo
rigi
nal
Non
-Abo
rigi
nal
Abo
rigi
nal
Non
-Abo
rigi
nal
Prose Lit-eracy
Document Literacy
Numeracy Problem Solving
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
16 - 2526 - 4546 and over
NWT Average Proficiency Scores by Gender and Ethnicity, 16+
Abo
rigi
nal
Non
-Abo
rigi
nal
Abo
rigi
nal
Non
-Abo
rigi
nal
Abo
rigi
nal
Non
-Abo
rigi
nal
Abo
rigi
nal
Non
-Abo
rigi
nal
Prose Literacy Document Literacy
Numeracy Problem Solv-ing
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Male Female
NWT Average Proficiency Scores by Educational Attainment, 16+
High school
not com-pleted
High school
Trade - vocational
Non-univer-
sitypost-sec-
ondary
University0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
ProseDocumentNumeracyProblem Solving
Literacy and the NWT Workplace
Prose Document Numeracy Problem Solving
12.4 13.3 17.728.4
24.5 24.428
38.639 37.8
35.8
28.124.1 24.5 18.6
4.9
Percent Distribution of Employed NWT Adults, 16-65, by Skill Level
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4/5
Percentage of NWT Adults in Occupational Categories by Skill Level
Knowledge experts
Managers Informa-tion high-
skill
Informa-tion low-
skill
Services low-skill
Goods1.6 3.9 2.6
15.025.7 24.415.5 13.2 19.1
30.5
30.3 32.038.8 41.9
49.5
39.032.3 29.7
44.1 41.028.7
15.4 11.7 13.9
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4/5
Preventing Skills Loss
Reading In-tensity
Writing Intensity Numeracy In-tensity
-0.8
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
NWT Reading, Writing and Numeracy Engagement at Work by Document Literacy Level
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4/5
Participation in Training by Skill Level
Prose Literacy
Document Literacy
Numeracy Problem Solving
0
20
40
60
80
100
Percentage of NWT Population, 16-65, Receiving Adult Education and Training in 12 Months Preceding IALSS Testing
Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4/5
Parting Thoughts
¨ In today’s society, skill demands are constantly increasing.
¨ The polarized concept of people being either “literate” or “illiterate” is now outdated.
¨ Literacy is not so much a matter of whether people can read or not, but rather a matter of how well they can read and use different kinds of information.