Project REALISTIC, sponsored by the Department of the Army under contract with the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO), was designed to determine functional literacy levels for selected military jobs having civilian counterparts. (MM)

The papers in this collection present a description of, and the results of, research in Work Unit REALISTIC. In addition to the first paper which is an overview, the three papers are: "Psychometric Determination of Relationships Among Literacy Skills and Job Proficiency,""Reading Ability, Readability, and Readership: Identifying…

The use of readability formulae to estimate the difficulty levels of vocational reading materials, the determination of relationships of reading skills to job proficiency, and the relationship of general reading ability to performance on specially constructed job reading task tests (JRTT) are discussed to define the literacy skill demands (i.e.,…

Work Unit REALISTIC was undertaken by the Human Resources Research Organization to provide information concerning demands for reading, listening, and arithmetic skills in selected military occupational specialties and to provide information relevant to the matching of personnel literacy skills to job demands for such skils. This report describes…

Two focuses of a discussion of literacy and vocational competence should be the need for a more profound understanding of literacy and the relevance of that understanding for studying reading in vocational settings. A developmental model of the acquisition of literacy considers reading a second signaling system for speech. People who become…

This compendium of statistical data on adult literacy assessments spanning a 75-year period is designed to serve as a concise and comprehensive reference source for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers. The introduction provides a theoretical framework for interpreting the assessments described. Summarized in Part 1 are major military and…

This monograph describes the job-related basic skills requirements of the work force and explores ways of developing and improving the reading, writing, and computational abilities of workers. The paper first examines trends that are influencing the demand for basic skills, such as the decline in youth population and the increase in service and…

The most extensive research and development (R&D) into the adult cognitive skills essential for workplace literacy has been conducted by the U.S. military. Military R&D related to workplace literacy has been concentrated in the following areas: formulation of developmental model for literacy in four stages (basic adaptive processes, conscious…