Hello Steve,
The interpretation of the NAAL you quoted seemed to me to be at odds
with the overall findings of the NAAL studies report, so I decided to
go to the source, Mark Kuttner, the Director of the study at the
American Institutes for Research. On the National Institute for
Literacy Assessment discussion list I provided him with the
information which you posted here and I asked:
"Mark, has the general level of literacy in the U.S. from 1992 - 2003
declined, increased or stayed the same?""
He replied:
"Our report shows that the general level of literacy has remained the
same on the prose and document scales, and has increased on the
quantitative scale. NAAL is able to detail literacy levels, but not
literacy requirements, which I believe is the point of the earlier part
of your email."
He also added:
"NAAL, as in most comprehensive studies, provides really good news and
news that is not so good. There has been a statistically significant
increase in the scores of Black adults over the past decade on all three
scales. Data cannot provide causal inferences about why the literacy of
Black adults has increased, but additional NAAL analyses will be looking
at possible reasons, including increased educational opporutnities.
The decline in scores for adults whose first language is Spanish is of
course very disturbing. Additional analyses that we hope to conduct
will explore in greater depth the why this decline might be taking
place. In addition to increased immigration, the 2003 NAAL also
provides what we believe is more accurate data about the literacy of
Spanish speaking adults. As detailed on page 18 of the report, the NAAL
allowed Spanish speaking adults to read and answer the easy literacy
tasks at the beginning of the assessment in Spanish (although the
materials from which they needed to find the answer was in English). It
seems that fewer adults were excluded from the assessment than were in
1992. Our next report will provide more in-depth information about these
adults through the Adult Literacy Supplmental Assessment, as well as a
fluency assessment.
Quantitative literacy scores have increased over the past decade, and I
find this quite promising given the computer age we live in. As we
write on page 18 of the report, respondents in 2003 were allowed to use
calculators unlike in 1992 so that the assessment better reflects the
demands of every day life. The fact that quantitative scores increased
may mean that adults in this country are becoming familiar with the
technical tools that they will need to succeed I the coming years. Yes
I certainly am aware that calculators are not computers, and that there
is a digital divide in the country; the next NAAL report will provide
more detail about computer use and literacy levels."
David J. Rosen
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Dec 19, 2005, at 7:19 PM, Dr. Steve Eskow wrote:
David, you say:
<<Actually, Steve, that isn't what the NAAL study found. According to
the study, there has been no significant overall change in prose and
document literacy in the decade since the last national assessment
of adult literacy, the NALS. And there has been an increase in
quantitative literacy.>>
Not so, David.
Here are the findings as summarized by Grover Whitehurst of the
Department
of Education: his words, not mine.
<<<Educational Attainment: 1992-2003
I will now present the results on change in scores between 1992 and
2003 for
selected educational attainment levels. There were no increases in
literacy
in any of any of the educational attainment levels. Prose literacy
decreased
among adults at every level of education. This decrease calls out
for more
research. On the quantitative scale, there were no changes in
literacy at
any level of educational attainment. For document literacy, those with
higher levels of education showed a decline while those with less
education
had no change. With scores dropping in prose literacy for every
level of
education, you might wonder why there was no overall decline in the
average
score for this type of literacy. This is because adults with higher
educational levels tend to outperform those with lower educational
levels,
and the percentage of adults with high educational levels-those
with "some
college" or more-has been increasing, while the percentage with low
levels
of education has been declining. We have more higher-scoring adults
with
high levels of education, and fewer lower scoring adults with low
levels of
education, which offsets the fact that average scores for highly
educated
adults are declining.>>
So: the point stands.
In a decade of massive growth in the use of computers and the
Internet in
and out of school and college there has been no improvement in the
literacy
level of the nation's adults..
Prose and document literacy have declined.
Those of us who have been advocating for the new communication
technologies
have to look unblinkingly at these possibilities.
Steve Eskow
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of David
Rosen
Sent: Monday, December 19, 2005 2:46 PM
To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group
Subject: Re: [DDN] NAAL points to serious,ongoing adult basic
skills problem
in U.S.
Hello Steve,
On Dec 19, 2005, at 12:17 PM, Dr. Steve Eskow wrote:
The finding that you underline-the large scale illiteracy in the
United
States-is a problem that has been with us for a long time.
Perhaps "the main point" of the NAAL study differs for different
interests.
The main point for a group such as DDN, devoted as it is to
expanding the
use of the new communication technologies, is that in a decade in
which the
use of computer technology in our schools and colleges, and in the
culture
at large, has expanded significantly. . . the general level of
literacy has
declined.
Actually, Steve, that isn't what the NAAL study found. According to
the study, there has been no significant overall change in prose and
document literacy in the decade since the last national assessment
of adult literacy, the NALS. And there has been an increase in
quantitative literacy.
Further: there are suggestions by the officials connected with the
study
that new communication media-tv and the internet-are responsible
for the
decline.
One group, Hispanics, as a group shows a score decline.
Spokespeople, Grover (Russ) Whitehurst, Director of the Institute for
Education Sciences, and Mark Schneider, Commissioner, of NCES, which
commissioned the study, both agreed that this was because of the
influx of adult immigrants with low English language skills and (in
some cases) other basic skills. Some other groups, African Americans
and Asian Americans for example, show score gains since the NALS.
Perhaps however, you are using the term "literacy" in a different way
from how it was used in the study. In the study it is defined as
"Using printed and written information to function in society to
achieve one's goals and to develop one's knowledge and potential."
Perhaps you are referring to the extent to which Americans do (or
don't) read (books and newspapers, for example), what some have
referred to as "aliteracy".
David J. Rosen
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Steve Eskow
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of David
Rosen
Sent: Monday, December 19, 2005 6:54 AM
To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group
Subject: [DDN] NAAL points to serious,ongoing adult basic skills
problem in
U.S.
Colleagues,
The main point of the NAAL study (and the NALS study a decade
earlier) , obscured in much of the discussion here so far, is that
13% of American adults (30 million people) are at a Below Basic
literacy level, and another 29% (an additional 63 million people) are
at a Basic level. In a changing economy, with global
competitiveness, family self-sufficiency for millions of Americans is
at risk. With current public resources, the U.S. Department of
Education says we can reach under 10% (perhaps as low as 3%) of those
in need. We have a serious adult literacy and basic skills divide.
What can technology offer to help solve this problem?
David J. Rosen
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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