In 2009, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) published a technical report titled "Indirect County and State Estimates of the Percentage of Adults at the Lowest Literacy Level for 1992 and 2003," (ED503830). NCES also published a corresponding online tool (http://nces.ed.gov/naal/estimates/index.aspx) that allows users to…

As part of an ongoing assessment on adult literacy and the new technologies, this study profiled the similarities and differences among Appalachian and Californian adults with low literacy skills. Two teams of researchers each profiled six adults with low literacy skills. The study population was selected so as to reflect a diverse mix of ages,…

The 20 essays in this collection are based on a project undertaken by the California Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Model Literacy Project in 1983-85. (The goal of the project was to institute changes within the CCC to enhance the literacy of corpsmembers.) Essays describe innovative approaches to literacy education, analyze bureaucratic…

This book develops an understanding of literacy and illiteracy through the life stories of 12 adults from diverse backgrounds living in the United States, 6 in Appalachia and 6 in California. Part 1 provides a summary of three areas of research offering insights and descriptive data about literacy: ethnographic studies of everyday literacy,…

IN A LARGE-SCALE FIELD TEST WITH FUNCTIONALLY ILLITERATE ADULTS, THIS PROJECT EVALUATED FOUR READING SYSTEMS--LEARNING TO READ AND SPELL, READING IN HIGH GEAR, MOTT BASIC LANGUAGE SKILLS PROGRAM, AND SYSTEMS FOR SUCCESS. TESTING WAS CONDUCTED IN SEVEN COMMUNITIES IN NEW YORK, THREE IN NEW JERSEY, AND FIVE IN CALIFORNIA, PROVIDING A MIXTURE OF…

The California Human Development Corporation's Rural Workplace Literacy Project (RWLP) provided migrant and seasonal farmworkers with on-site workplace literacy training designed to enhance their ability to develop job skills. During 1990-91, it provided literacy classes at 15 agricultural worksites and enrolled 282 farmworkers. Of students…

The Career Skills Enhancement Program (CSEP) was a National Workplace Literacy Program offered to Santa Clara County (California) Office of Education (COE) employees. A job skills study involved personal interviews, job shadowing, and examination of job descriptions and materials used by employees. Based on the study and initial needs assessment,…

Adult basic education programs in California, Illinois, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia were reviewed to assess the progress made by the programs in reducing illiteracy. The programs' management was also evaluated. It was found that although some positive achievements have been made, the program successfully reaches only a small fraction of…

A study identified the most effective and low cost programs currently in operation and described in adult literacy literature that would significantly reduce adult illiteracy in California by 1994. Recommendations were made for a statewide plan to replicate those programs in communities throughout the state. A literature review focused on eight…

This book presents 22 personal narratives in which library directors, program administrators, teachers, tutors, librarians, and adult learners explain firsthand how literacy programs at libraries across the United States have changed people's lives. The following narratives are included: "Gloria's Story: 'She Wanted Me to Be Somebody'";…