The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the learning of basic reading literacy skills in a contextualized, educational career technical training program, specifically the School to Work Program. The study explores whether adult literacy rates can change through students' participation in a contextualized, educational…

After reviewing the literature on functional literacy, proposes that new measures be developed and classified according to the practical information to be obtained and the decisions to be made from them. (AA)

Reviews five commercially available tests of functional literacy and discusses two concerns related to the testing of functional literacy. (MKM)

This study by Louis Harris and Associates was designed to determine the percentage of Americans lacking the functional or practical reading skills necessary to survive in this country. A test on reading and filling out application forms indicated that from 4.3 million to 18.5 million Americans are functionally illiterate. The average range of…

A study attempted to identify those performance-related factors that were responsible for subjects' errors on one measure of functional literacy. The analysis of errors revealed that the majority of errors could be explained in terms of information processing failures. (MKM)

Results of a 1977 assessment of the reading abilities of approximately 1,250 adults (26 to 35 years old) are reported in this paper and are compared with results of a similar assessment made in 1971. After discussing a typical comprehension exercise used in the assessment, the paper presents the materials and multiple choice questions used in…

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…

A test of job-specific literacy, called the McCoy Assessment of Worksite Literacy Abilities (MAWSLA), could not predict the job success of the 100 employees who took it. The 108-item test was based on literary tasks encountered by employees in the course of a routine day at McCoy Electronics Company, a 560-employee firm in Pennsylvania. The…

A review of workplace literacy tests and testing found that the definitions of literacy and, in particular, workplace literacy have changed and are continuing to change. There is no single, widely accepted definition. Descriptions of workplace literacy demands in terms of reading grade levels are inappropriate. Most tests currently in use are…

The Port of Baltimore Workplace Skills Development Project had the following objectives: perform literacy audits on at least 20 job titles within the port-related industries; develop curriculum modules providing literacy skill instruction using a functional context approach reflecting the Port of Baltimore needs; offer instructional services to at…

According to the most recent National Adult Literacy Survey, nearly half of Illinois adults lack sufficient reading proficiency to ensure job success and advancement in 21st century workplaces. The Test of Adult Basic Education is currently used as a pretest/posttest in Illinois' existing adult basic education, adult secondary education, and…