Mecklenburg County
Index of Readiness
and Literacy
Harrison S. Campbell
Department of Geography and Earth Science
UNC-Charlotte
Terri M. Manning
Planning and Research
Central Piedmont Community College
Why a Literacy Index
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Project initiated by Charlotte Reads.
There was a desire of have a “measuring
stick” to mark progress in literacy annually.
Measurement would help constituent groups
focus interventions on specific groups.
To our knowledge, no other county in the
country is doing this.
Literacy by Definition

The US Congress incorporated the following
definition of literacy into the National Literacy Act
of 1991:

“an individual’s ability to read, write and speak
English and compute and solve problems at levels
of proficiency necessary to function on the job and
in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop
one’s knowledge and potential”
The Value of a Functionally
Literate Community
The Best Prevention
is a Real Future
Savings for Business and the Community
Relationship of Education to Social Problems
120
% unemployment
% welfare
% smoking
days absent
% alcohol abuse
% incarceration
100
80
60
40
20
0
<HS degree
HS degree
1 yrs college
AA
Source: CC Benefits, Economic Impact Study
3 yrs college
BA/BS
BA/BS +
Benefits for the IndividualAverage Annual Earnings
Based on Years of Education

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
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


Education Level
Average
Earnings
+ Value
Less than HS degree
High school degree
Certificate or diploma
Associate degree
Three years of college
Bachelors degree
Masters or 5 years
$16,451
$24,498
$28,902
$31,138
$35,846
$40,453
$49,629
+$8,048
+$4,403
+$2,236
+$4,708
+$4,607
+$9,176
Source: CC Benefits, Economic Impact Study
Major Difficulties with a Literacy
Index
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No data are available annually on the
educational attainment of adults.
The Census measures educational
attainment once every ten years.
Obtaining a true measure of educational
attainment is cost-prohibitive (surveying
county residents) .
An alternative source was selected that was
benchmarked again the Census data.
Data Elements Used
in the Index
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Pre-K, 3rd, 4th and 8th grade data from CMS and
private schools
Graduation numbers from CMS and private
schools
Adult (22+) data (highest grade completed) from
the ESC (benchmarked against the 1990 and
2000 educational data from Census)
Data Elements Were
Weighted

Based on:
–
–
–
Population numbers in school per age group
Total operative population of the county by year
(removing those we don’t expect to be literate or above
working age)
Conversion of percentages to scaled scores (1-10)
For Example…. One small piece of
the puzzle
Population of
Mecklenburg County
1998-99
1999-00
2000-01
2001-02
Operative population totals
566,150
580,984 599,516
(removing all unaffected individuals, preschoolers, retired, etc.)
632,208
Population 0-18 yrs
224,880
230,891 238,259
Population in CMS
97,586
99,403 102,013
Population in private schools 16,707
17,018
17,465
Total in School
114,293
116,421 119,478
Percent in school
20.2%
20.0%
19.9%
(total in school divided by the operational population)
247,814
105,172
17,246
122,418
19.4%
Using 3rd Grade as an
example…..
In 2000-2001:
Population
Percent passing EOGs
Scaled Score
Weighted value
CMS
8,719
72.8%
7.28
.0145
Private Schools
1,493
84.5%
8.45
.0025
(based on grade population divided by operative total population)
Value in Overall Index
.11
.02
(based on weighted value times the scaled score)
The Primary Grade Levels
Component
(K-8) 1999 - 2002
8.00
7.93
7.50
7.00
6.50
7.15
7.33
7.59
6.00
5.50
5.00
1999
2000
2001
Writing Assessment excluded from formula in 2002
2002
As the School System
Makes Progress in
Primary Grades

The index is only slightly
affected because they account
for a small piece of the total
population
Secondary Levels
(9th – 12th)
1999 - 2002
8
7.5
8.02
7.89
7.78
2000
2001
7.88
7
6.5
6
5.5
5
1999
Writing Assessment excluded from formula in 2002
2002
When Secondary Level
Progress Declines…

The index is even less affected
because secondary
students represent a smaller
portion of the population
than primary students.
Adult Component
1999 - 2002
10.00
9.00
8.00
7.00
8.67
8.61
8.46
8.59
1999
2000
2001
2002
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
As the County Looks
at Educational
Attainment in Adults..

The Index can be greatly affected
because adults make up
the vast majority of
the population.
We must make
an impact on adults.
How does the ESC data compare
to the Census data?
95
90
85
81.6
80
75
81.8
86.2
86.1
78.1
81.6
81.9
77.6
72.4
70
70
65
US
NC
MSA
Percent with high school degree
Meck
ESC (22+)
1990
2000
Weights Used in Index,
2002
15.19%
4.59%
79.86%
Primary
Secondary
Adult
Actual Index 1999 - 2002
10
9
8
7
8.41
8.39
8.3
8.45
1999
2000
2001
2002
6
5
4
3
2
1
For a Color Copy of
this Presentation:

Go to:

http://inside.cpcc.edu/planning/studies_reports
And click on “Readiness and Literacy Index”
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