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…

The study used data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress report to examine the relationship for young adults between functional literacy skills and educational attainment. Educational attainment was classified into four categories: less than a high school graduate, high school graduate, some postsecondary education, and college…

The report details some aspects of the American Friends Service Committee's (AFSC) and the Mali government's cooperative rehabilitation project for nomad families along the shores of Lake Faguibine. Covering the years 1975-81, the report contains five sections. The introduction provides background information on nomads and the Sahel; drought,…

In Malawi, adult literacy deserves immediate attention in order to promote health, family planning, and productivity. While policy commitment for adult literacy promotion has not been lacking, intensified action has been. In 1979 the government accepted the Unesco Mission Report to undertake a functional literacy program on the successful…

This resource manual of ideas for incorporating functional literacy applications into student lessons is intended for volunteers trained to teach one-to-one in adult literacy programs and for teachers of adult students. The ideas are designed to increase beginning student exposure to and familiarity with functional literacy materials. It provides…

A program funded by USAID to help the Adult Literacy Organization of Zimbabwe (ALOZ) increase its capacity to provide training and supervision for adult literacy teachers and to publish and distribute literacy texts is evaluated. Methodology used included questionnaires, interviews with ALOZ staff, observation of grant activities, and a review of…

A project is described that attempted to formulate a meaningful concept of adult performance levels, to devise instruments to measure performance at those levels, and to use those instruments to assess the functional competence of a representative sample of the population of the United States. Three levels of competence are defined in terms of…

A response to United States Senator George McGovern's call for congressional legislation to establish an independent national commission on literacy is necessary. Two considerations that must be taken into account by any individual, group, or commission addressing issues of criteria for competency in literacy are: (1) literacy competence is a…

In recognition of the trend toward functional illiteracy, this study developed and evaluated a criterion-referenced functional literacy test for use in diagnosis and evaluation of Miami-Dade Community College English students. The instrument was pilot-tested on 135 composition students in the fall of 1976, then revised after item analysis and…

There is a prevalent public outcry against the putative decline in the quality of world, and especially American, linguistic expression. This paper examines the accuracy of this claim, and weighs the significant supporting and opposing evidence, which includes informed opinion, expert witness, and results of standardized reading and writing…

Adults, whatever their competence, are not obsolete. Education for adults is the font we must draw on to make possible the new environment in education that we call lifetime learning and recurrent education. Following the lead of Europe in planning broad-based adult education programs, the United States has begun to fund and operate diversified…

The document was prepared as part of a UNESCO contract to train 16 counterpart officials of UNESCO-sponsored literacy projects. Functional literacy was studied in three parts, all dealing with the total planning process. First was project planning. Literacy projects must consider national educational plans and be related to relevant economic…

This book of readings accompanies the "Handbook for Teachers of Reading in Adult Basic Education"; each part is meant to supplement each chapter in the handbook. Articles are grouped into the following categories: (1) an overview of adult literacy training; (2) social and psychological bases of adult basic education; (3) basic reading…

This position paper outlines the essential characteristics of a reading program which will enable the schools of the state of New York to eliminate functional illiteracy among thousands of elementary and secondary students and to attain the ultimate goal of reading education: people who can and do use reading for the achievement of educational and…

This document summarizes the authors ideas and ideas which were communicated during his meetings with various members of various national and international organizations. The purpose of these conversations was to study and evaluate the importance of the human factor which has determined the success of a demonstration farm at Vientiane and to…