This study investigated the comparability of paper and computer versions of a functional writing assessment administered to adults 16 and older. Three writing tasks were administered in both paper and computer modes to volunteers in the field test of an assessment of adult literacy in 2008. One set of analyses examined mode effects on scoring by…

Compared self-administered and examiner-administered depression adjective check lists. Half of each form was administered in standard manner and half was read by examiners to psychiatric inpatients. Analysis revealed no significant effects for vocabulary, sex, or method of administration. Results support examiner-administered method in cases of…

This paper is a summary of existing literature on the literacy requirements of various businesses and industries, including the Federal Government. The findings came from a spring 1979 search for literature on the literacy requirements of various businesses and industries during 1969-1979. The report contains information on the following topics:…

Currently available measures of functional literacy for adults are reviewed and evaluated. This report concentrates on tests that are referenced to literary skills important to an adequately functioning adult, such as life skills, coping skills, etc. Because functional literacy has frequently been defined in terms of a grade level equivalent or…

Reviews the Farmers' Functional Literacy Programme and various definitions of literacy, and describes a study in four villages of Deoria (India) to investigate the relationship between farmers' literacy status and their adoption of improved agricultural practices. Discusses the indicated trend toward agricultural improvement with rising literacy…

Provisions and purposes of four federal human resource development programs were reviewed, and options regarding the definition of basic skills and literacy were analyzed. The four programs were as follows: Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program, Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), Adult Education Act (AEA), and the Carl D. Perkins…

This paper reviews literacy and literacy assessment in America, in relation to the various National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading assessments. Literacy can be defined and assessed only in relation to literacy demands. A current concept of literacy distinguishes between reading comprehension as an outcome of lexical access and…

Teaching English as a second language (ESL) to competencies requires that the instructional focus be on functional competencies and life-coping skills while developing the spoken and/or written English structures necessary to perform these skills. A step-by-step approach to develop and implement a competency-based approach to ESL for adults is…

The activities and results of a special project to coordinate the Adult Basic Education components of four federally funded agencies in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, as a means of reaching the hard-core functional illiterate and providing a more effective and economical academic program, are reported. The five objectives of the program were:…

This investigation entailed surveys of the operation of the Missouri State Office of Adult Basic Education (ABE) and of local program characteristics, as well as of followup study of adults (enrollees age 25 or over with less than eight years of schooling) who terminated during the 1967-68 fiscal year. Interviews, a questionnaire, and state…

IN THE MISSOURI ADULT VOCATIONAL-LITERACY MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MATERIALS WERE DEVISED FOR TEACHING ADULTS TO READ, WRITE, AND SPELL AT THE FUNCTIONAL (SIXTH GRADE) LEVEL. IN THE RESEARCH PHASE, THE NEEDS, CHARACTERISTICS, LITERACY LEVEL, OCCUPATIONS, AND INTERESTS OF THE ILLITERATE ADULT WERE STUDIED, AND TEACHING MATERIALS AND METHODS…

THIS GUIDE PRESENTS A VARIETY OF MATERIALS, METHODS, AND IDEAS FOR TEACHING FUNCTIONALLY ILLITERATE ADULTS (WITH LESS THAN GRADE 4 READING ABILITY). EMPHASIS IS PLACED ON HELPING ADULTS TO READ INDEPENDENTLY AND TO ATTAIN A LEVEL OF SKILL SUFFICIENT FOR EVERYDAY READING TASKS. THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS DEAL WITH THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM OF…

England's Learning and Skills Development Agency welcomes the introduction of a coherent national funding and delivery strategy for adult literacy, numeracy, and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). The agency believes that the strategy should incorporate the lessons of previous literacy and numeracy initiatives and build on examples of…