A substantial proportion of participants in public adult education programs struggle with "basic" academic print literacy skills. According to the 2014-2015 National Reporting System (NRS) data, 48.7% of the national adult basic education/adult secondary education (ABE/ ASE) population tested as reading at or below the "Low…

This document is intended to help groups raise their level of awareness about what it feels like to have difficulty with reading or math, look at how varying levels of literacy and numeracy can affect the quality of their group's activities, and look at ways in which they can overcome literacy- and numeracy-related problems. The beginning of the…

Twenty percent of adult Americans function only with difficulty with necessary every day literacy skills, almost two-thirds of the 800 million illiterate adults in the world are females, and the number of women who cannot read or write has risen steadily in the past 10 years. The inservice program described in this document involved a team of…

This volume, one of a series of eight curriculum guides compiled by the Colorado Workplace Learning Initiative: 1991-92, includes curriculum materials for nine workplace literacy basic reading and writing courses. Introductory materials include a table of contents and a list of subjects covered by each of the eight guides in the series. There are…

This document explains the Pittsburgh Literacy Initiative (PLI), what role it plays in workplace literacy, what mechanisms it has used, and what has been learned. Section 1 lists the five aspects of the initiative's mission: clearinghouse, screening center, program development, data collection, and literacy promotion. Section 2 describes the…

Illiterate workers in industrial jobs can endanger themselves and fellow workers by misreading warning signs and can cost companies millions by misreading instructions. The problem of literacy is also apparent in offices, where often dictated correspondence must be retyped at least once because of errors. Of 800 companies surveyed, 35% felt they…

The first volume in this two-volume report outlines the nine educational principles on which the competence statements for adult reading and writing are based. The four literacies--for self-expression, practical purposes, knowledge, and public debate--are defined and some representative text types and common genres are provided. The four levels…

The study described in this book was designed to create an overall picture of the type of student found at a school for educationally substandard army recruits in England, to establish the causes of the student's educational backwardness and relate these to linguistic performance, and to compare the effectiveness of the approaches and methods used…

A New Jersey Task Force on Adult Literacy recommended ways to improve the literacy delivery system for adults. This report and its recommendations focus on improving coordinated interagency planning and accountability to increase governmental efficiency, and on advancing the employability and self-sufficiency of the three million low-literate…

This instructional guide provides step-by-step techniques for using biblical materials in adult literacy instruction. Although the book is written from a Christian perspective, the techniques can easily be adapted to any religious material. Chapters 1 and 2 describe adults who want to learn specifically to read the Bible and volunteers who want to…

This catalog is a checklist that provides an overview of objectives that can be explored in an adult literacy program. It is intended to (1) help instructors form a quick idea of what students already know; (2) show learners that they already do know a great deal; and (3) help learners and instructors plan the program ahead by making a selection…

The National Education Goals Panel has not met its goal of having every adult American literate by the year 2000. There are many adults who "slipped through the cracks," and have only rudimentary reading and writing skills. The large number of foreign born residents who do not have the necessary reading and writing skills to communicate…

Focusing on the past decade's research, this literature review concentrates on what is known about literacy demands in the workplace and the abilities of various segments of the adult and adolescent population to meet them. The review argues that since a majority of adult reading is performed upon workplace related material, understanding the…

A program of basic language/writing skills was designed to enhance the literacy levels of 24 multicultural seniors, aged 65 or older, who were recruited from senior centers throughout Erie County, Pennsylvania. Computer literacy and basic word processing skills were taught along with basic language/writing skills in a nonthreatening learning…

This coursebook contains materials for a course to help participants in a workplace literacy project put together a solid presentation that they can deliver with confidence. The course's stated goals are as follows: to enable participants to prepare interesting and informative presentations, use visual aids to enhance presentation, deliver…