The International Adult Literacy

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IALSS in Saskatchewan
The International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey
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What is the IALSS?
? The International Adult Literacy and Skills
Survey (IALSS) was completed in 2003. ? The
IALSS results offer a way to compare literacy
levels in Canadian provinces and
territories. ?Over 23,000 Canadians, including
1,200 Saskatchewan adults, answered the survey
questions.
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What was measured?
? Prose literacy the knowledge and skills needed
to understand and use information from texts such
as news stories, poems, and fiction. ? Document
literacy the ability to find and use information
contained in tables, forms, graphs, charts and
diagrams. ? Numeracy the knowledge needed to
manage the mathematical situations from everyday
life. ? Problem solving the skills needed to
solve problems by clarifying the issue then
developing and applying suitable solutions.
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IALSS Levels
? Level 1 People at this level have difficulty
reading and have few basic skills or strategies
for working with text. ? Level 2 People at
this level can read, but do not read well. They
need material that is simple and clearly laid
out. ? Level 3 This level is considered by many
countries to be the minimum skill level for
successful participation in society. ? Level
4/5 People at this level have strong literacy
skills and many strategies for dealing with
complex materials.
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Key Goals of IALSS
? Examine and compare numeracy, literacy and
problem solving skills among Canadians and to
compare Canadians to other countries adults
skill levels. ? Examine the relative literacy
performance of adults in three specific groups-
official language minority groups, the Aboriginal
population and immigrants. ?Examine data on
participation in formal adult education
programs.
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Literacy in
Saskatchewan
? 40 of adults (16 years and over) have below
Level 3 literacy levels ? 33 of adults (aged
16-65) score at Level 1 and Level 2. ? 75 of
adults (65 and over ) have below Level 3 levels.
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Literacy in
Canada
? Almost half (48) of Canadians aged 16 and over
have low literacy skills. They scored below Level
3. ? 55 of Canadians aged 16 and over scored
below Level 3 in numeracy. ? More than 80 of
older Canadians have low literacy skills. They
score at Levels 1 and 2.
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Literacy in Saskatchewan
Economic Outcomes
? Almost 50 of prairie people who are unemployed
have literacy scores below the IALSS Level 3. ?
79 of men and 98 of women who earn 60,000 or
more a year are at or above Level 3. ? 42 of
men and 38 of women who earn less than 20,000 a
year score below Level 3.
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Literacy in Saskatchewan
Economic Outcomes
? Just a 1 increase in average national literacy
rates would create a 18 billion dollar increase
in Canadas Gross Domestic Product (GDP). ? A 1
increase in national literacy levels could
increase productivity by 2.5. ? Low literacy
levels cost businesses 4.1 billion annually.
They found that 1.6 billion was lost due to
workplace accidents and 2.5 billion was lost in
productivity.
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Literacy in Saskatchewan
Workplace Literacy
? Only 52 of Saskatchewans population takes
part in some form of Adult Education program or
training- and the majority, (about 83), of those
learners are university educated adults. ?Only
21 of those at IALSS Level 1 and 42 of those at
IALSS Level 2 take part in any form of adult
education.
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Literacy in Saskatchewan
Literacy Citizenship
? In Canada, about 50 of adults who score at
Level 1 are not engaged in civic activities, such
as voting. ? In Saskatchewan, 45 of adults who
score at Level 1 are not engaged in civic
activities. ? About 85 of adults from
Saskatchewan who are at or above Level 3 are
engaged in civic activities.
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Literacy in Saskatchewan
Literacy Poverty
? People who have lower literacy levels are more
likely to have not finished high school and are
more likely employed in lower paying jobs. ? A
large percent (42 of men and 38 of women) of
people below a Level 3 earn less than 20,000 a
year. ? In Canada, 1 child in 7 lives in
poverty.
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Literacy in Saskatchewan
Literacy Justice
? As many as 75 of Canadian inmates have low
literacy skills and about 36 may not have a
grade 9 education. ? Inmates are 3 times more
likely to have problems with basic literacy and
are 4 times more likely to have learning
disabilities. ? Every dollar spent on vocational
and basic education programs for people in
conflict with the law yields an investment return
of 200-300.
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Literacy in Saskatchewan
Literacy Health
? Low literacy affects how a person receives
health services and information. ? Low literacy
increases costs to our healthcare system. ? Poor
health affects learning and literacy.
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Literacy in Saskatchewan
Key Determinants of Health
1. Income and Social Status 2. Social Support
Networks 3. Education and Literacy 4.
Employment/Working Conditions 5. Social
Environments 6. Physical Environments 7. Personal
Health and Coping Skills 8. Healthy Child
Development 9. Biology and Genetic Endowment 10.
Health Services 11. Gender 12. Culture
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Literacy in Saskatchewan
Literacy Adult Learning
? Only 52 of Saskatchewans population
participates in some form of Adult Education
program or training- and the majority (about 83)
of those learners are university educated
adults. ? Only 21 of those at IALSS Level 1 and
42 of those at IALSS Level 2 take part in any
form of adult education.
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Literacy in Saskatchewan
Literacy Youth
? 37 of Saskatchewans youth have scores below
Level 3. ? Young adults (ages 16-25) make up
about 20 of Saskatchewans population. ? Young
adults whose parents have less than a high school
education have average scores which correspond
with Level 2.
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Literacy in Saskatchewan
Literacy Older Adults
? 75 of Saskatchewan adults 65 and over score
below Level 3. ? 47 of Saskatchewan adults in
this age range score at Level 1. ?Only 5 of
seniors score at Level 4/5.
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Literacy in Saskatchewan
Literacy Aboriginal Peoples
? 63 of urban Aboriginal peoples in Saskatchewan
scored below Level 3. ? The urban Aboriginal
population ages 16-45 has an average literacy
scores at Level 2. Those aged over 45 correspond
with Level 1.
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Literacy in Saskatchewan
Literacy the Immigrant Population
? 60 of recent and established immigrants score
below Level 3. ? 90 of established immigrants
and 84 of recent immigrants who do not have a
high school diploma score below Level 3. ? 40
of established immigrants and 47 of recent
immigrants who have a university degree score
below Level 3.
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Literacy in Saskatchewan
Literacy the Immigrant Population
? 60 of recent and established immigrants score
below Level 3. ? 90 of established immigrants
and 84 of recent immigrants who do not have a
high school diploma score below Level 3. ? 40
of established immigrants and 47 of recent
immigrants who have a university degree score
below Level 3.
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? So those are the facts..
But what do they mean?
How do I use them?
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IALSS in Saskatchewan
Making connections

? Economic Boom ? Demographic Changes
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IALSS in Saskatchewan
Making connections

? Literacy Needs / Demands ? Partnerships ?
Funding
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Saskatchewan Literacy Network

www.sk.literacy.ca saskliteracy_at_sasktel.net