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Contents
PREFACE .................................................................................................................. 4
1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 5
2. USES OF LITERACY ASSESSMENT DATA ...................................................... 7
2.1 Users of Assessment Data and Their Technical Competence
.................................................................... 8
2.2 The Issues That Literacy Assessment Data Can Address
........................................................................ 13
2.2.1
Understanding the Learning Needs of Adults at Various Levels of Literacy and Numeracy
Skills and Determining Perceived Barriers to Improved Literacy Levels
........................................................... 14
2.2.2
Literacy’s Relationship to Inequalities in Social and Cultural Outcomes .......................................... 14
2.2.3
The Quality of Education Provided by the Formal System
..................................................................... 15
2.2.4
The Adequacy of Adult Learning Systems
................................................................................................... 16
2.2.5
Literacy as a Barrier to Achieving High Rates of Macro-Economic Growth
................................... 16
2.2.6
Literacy’s Relationship to Social Inequality in Economic Outcomes at Individual Level ........... 17
2.2.7
The Relationship between Self-Declared Literacy and Individual Literacy Skills
......................... 18
2.2.8
Other Uses of Literacy Assessment Data
...................................................................................................... 18
3. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COUNTRIES .................................................... 21
4. TABULATION PLAN ......................................................................................... 22
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The Analytical Guidelines and Tabulation Plan builds upon a project “Common
Framework for a Literacy Survey” which was executed by the Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) Secretariat under funding provided by the Inter-American Development
Bank (IDB) Regional Public Goods Facility. The main aim of the project was intended to design a common approach to the measurement of literacy in countries. This common framework is built upon international methodologies and fundamentally the International
Survey of Reading Skills (ISRS) that enable reliable measurement of literacy than what presently exists in the Region.
The literacy assessment is designed to measure functional literacy. In other words, it will determine an individual’s literacy level by employing a series of questions designed to demonstrate the use of their literacy skills. This involves two steps – the objective testing of an adult’s skill level and the application of a proficiency standard that defines the level of mastery achieved. The assessment measures the proficiency of respondents on three continuous literacy scales - prose, document and numeracy. In addition it will collect information on reading component skills. Component skills are thought to be the building blocks upon which the emergence of reading fluency is based. Information on the reading component skills will be collected from people at the lower end of the literacy scale only.
The testing phase is preceded by a selection phase which includes the administering of a
Background or Household questionnaire and post the selection of the respondent from the specific household an initial pre-assessment is undertaken through a filter test booklet to determine what type of assessment should be undertaken in the testing phase.
A consultant, Mr. Scott Murray of Canada was hired to undertake the provision of services on this project. The CARICOM Secretariat (including Regional Statistics and
Human and Social Development Directorate) and the CARICOM Advisory Group on
Statistics (AGS) were instrumental in the execution of the project throughout all phases.
In addition, there was participation by Member States and some Associate Members relative to the technical rollout of the instruments and documents.
This document is aimed at providing <<country undertaking a Literacy Survey>> with guidelines that can enable the analysis of the literacy survey data as recommended under the IDB-funded CARICOM project. A draft tabulation plan is also included.
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This document sets out analytical guidelines for a Literacy Assessment that supports the generation of several estimates including the following:

Average proficiency scores for prose literacy, document literacy and numeracy

Numbers and proportions of adults at each proficiency level for prose literacy, document literacy and numeracy

Scores on each of the reading components tests

The classification of adults with Levels 1 and 2 prose skills into groups sharing common patterns of strength and weakness on the reading components tests

Correlations between skills and variables thought to determine observed differences in skills within and between countries

Correlations between skills and variables thought of as labour market, education, health and social outcomes
These can be undertaken at the level of the entire adult population or for any sub-groups for which sufficient sample has been included to support reliable estimates.
In addition to this document, further details could be found in several of the international reports, national reports and thematic reports from the IALS and ALL studies. A few useful examples include:

Coulombe, S., Tremblay, JF and S. Marchand. (2004). Literacy Scores, Human
Capital and Growth across Fourteen OECD Countries. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.
Cat. No. 89-552-MIE, no. 11.

Coulombe, S. and Tremblay , JF (2006) Human Capital and Canadian Provincial
Standards of living

Coulombe, S. and Tremblay , JF (2006) Migration, Human Capital, and Skills
Redistribution across the Canadian Provinces, Working Paper 2006 D-07
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
Green, D.A. & Riddell, W.C. (2001). Literacy, Numeracy and Labour
Market Outcomes in Canada . Ottawa and Hull: Statistics Canada and Human
Resource Development Canada

Green, D.A. & Riddell, W.C. (2002). Literacy and Earnings: An Investigation of the Interaction of Cognitive and Unobserved Skills in Earnings Generation

Green, D.A. and Riddell, C. (2007) Literacy and the Labour Market: The
Generation of Literacy and its Impact on Earnings, Statistics Canada and
HRSDC, Ottawa

Raudenbush, S. W., & Kasim, R. M. (2002). Adult Literacy, Social Inequality, and the Information Economy: Findings from the National Adult Literacy
Survey . Ottawa and Hull: Statistics Canada and Human Resource Development
Canada.

Rubensson, K. and Desjardins, R. (2007) Adult Learning in Canada: A
Comparative Perspective,Statistics Canada and HRSDC

Shalla, V. and Schellenberg, G. (1998) The Value of Words: Literacy and
Economic Security in Canada, Statistics Canada and HRDC, Ottawa

Statistics Canada and OECD (1995), Literacy, Economy and Society: First results of the International Adult Literacy Survey, Ottawa and Paris

Statistics Canada and HRDC, (1996) Reading the Future: A portrait of literacy in
Canada, Ottawa.

Statistics Canada and OECD (2000), Literacy Skills for the Information Age:
Final results of the International Adult Literacy Survey , Ottawa and Paris.

Statistics Canada and HRSDC (2004), Literacy scores, human capital and growth across fourteen OECD countries , Coulombe, Tremblay and Marchand, authors, Ottawa
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At the highest level, the use of any data can be divided into two categories:
 Uses that are ‘policy-related’ i.e. the data they produce have no direct bearing on decisions taken about individual units but are used indirectly to formulate national policy, establish priorities, allocate funds and decide on implementation methodologies. These non-administrative uses have little direct bearing on the outcomes of individuals in the short run but may have a profound impact on outcomes in the long run because of their influence on policy, funding or practice.
 Uses that are “administrative” in nature i.e. the data are used to take decisions that have a direct impact on an individual unit – be it a student, a teacher, an administrator, a school or some larger unit. For example, administrative uses involve using assessment data to guide instruction for a particular student or to signal mastery of a particular level, to determine programme eligibility for particular students, or to assign supplemental resources to particular schools.
However, in its basic form, the Literacy Assessment is designed to provide data for the former, to inform public policy debate, be used to formulate policy and to monitor policy impact. It is not designed to serve administrative uses although the instruments could be applied to separate samples of students to serve these purposes.
Policy-oriented assessment systems can be classified within a framework devised to describe the uses of official statistics in multiple domains (Overgaag and Goddeburre,
1989). This framework proposes the following categories of use:

For knowledge generation i.e. to understand the casual structure of the domain(s) of interest and their relationship to key covariates;
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
To inform policy and programme design i.e. to identify the nature and scope of the problem to be fixed, the relative priority for action, the cost of inaction and key elements of the remedial intervention;

To monitor indicators of key outcomes with a view to identifying any unanticipated departures from established trends or relationships; and

To evaluate the impact of specific policy and/or programme interventions undertaken at the macro-level.
This Literacy Assessment will not be able to assess individual literacy programs as it is designed to provide the above information for the national population or possibly large sub-populations. With this design, individual literacy programmes cannot be assessed because there will not be enough respondents from any one literacy programme in the sample to give reliable results. However, national planners or administrators may wish to use the same instruments for such an assessment by organizing a separate survey of all, or a sample, of participants from a specific literacy programme.
The fitness of any statistical data may be judged only in terms of two criteria:

The use to which the data will be put; and

The technical ability of the users.
At the risk of stating the obvious, users vary greatly in their interest and ability to understand and apply statistical information in their decision-making.
Statistical products that fail to respect this fact are likely to fail to reach maximum impact.
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Similarly, statistical products and services that fail to support the uses foreseen by key users will fail to achieve maximum impact.
The potential users of literacy assessment data are numerous and extraordinarily diverse in their ability to deal with drawing inferences from complex statistical data. In many cases, the same user has a need for a range of products and services to meet a variety of uses of differing technical content.
Key user groups are as follows:

Citizens- Citizens need information to judge whether the education system is meeting its social, cultural and economic goals and whether it is doing so in an efficient and effective way. Most citizens have limited statistical acumen and little interest in details and nuance – they want and need a set of stylized facts about the performance of the system.

Educational administrators- Educational administrators at several levels need information for multiple purposes such as:
-
Directors of literacy and non-formal education programmes- Directors of literacy and non-formal education programmes need information to reflect upon the performance of teachers in particular domains and on the performance of specific groups of students, to adjust teaching priorities and curricula, to formulate targeted in service training for teachers, to design compensatory programmes and supports, to demonstrate performance to administrators higher up in the system and to argue for additional resources. Directors are generally reasonably comfortable with statistical data but have little time to undertake primary analysis themselves.
-
Subject matter and diagnostic specialists- Subject matter and diagnostic specialists need information for the same reasons but also to reflect on the relative performance of programmes and to take action to improve same.
As a group, they have mixed statistical skills – the specialists generally
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have advanced analytic skills and an interest and ability to use statistical information
-
Administrators at the regional, provincial and national level-
Administrators at the regional, provincial and national level, including specialists in particular assessment domains and those responsible for accountability measures and reporting, need information for the same reasons. As a group they have access to statistical expertise and the resources to apply them but have a need for stylized facts about the performance of their part of the system. Their key clients are politicians, including the minister(s) responsible for education and learning, teachers and citizens.
-
Community leaders- Community leaders, including local politicians, need information to assess whether literacy programmes are producing what the community needs to meet their social, cultural and economic goals. Most community leaders have very limited quantitative skills but can usually access what they need in the community.
-
Training institutions- Training institutions responsible for the training of new teachers require information on the performance of current approaches to teacher training, curricula and instruction. As a rule the staffs have access to statistical expertise required to use assessment data.
-
Non-governmental agencies, research institutes and social advocates-
Non-governmental agencies, research institutes and social advocates need information to monitor trends in educational outcomes and to argue for structural and policy changes. As a group these agencies have mixed ability to deal with statistical data.
-
Politicians and policy-makers- Politicians and policy-makers in a variety of national ministries need information for several purposes. All ministers and ministries need information to understand the ability of their clients to use print and to adjust their communication strategies and channels accordingly.
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o Education ministries need information for a variety of purposes:
1.
to understand the performance of the current education system and what factors influence relative success;
2.
to adjust the level and distribution available funds to achieve maximum return on investment;
3.
to adjust programme design, curriculum, instructional methods and delivery mechanisms to match learning needs;
4.
to argue for additional resources; and
5.
to inform pre-service and in-service training of instructors. o Labour ministers and their policy-makers need information to understand the quality and quantity of literacy and numeracy skills and the labour market needs for these skills. o Culture ministers and their policy-makers need information to understand the relative position of linguistic and cultural minorities either in the official language(s) or minority languages. o Health ministers and their policy-makers need information to understand the relationship of literacy to population health and to design appropriate communication strategies. o Tax officials and their policy-makers need information to understand the literacy levels of the taxpaying public so that they can engineer their reporting systems accordingly. o Social development ministers and their policy-makers need information to understand trends in literacy levels and the role that they play in creating social inequity in economic, educational, social and other outcomes.
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o Agriculture ministers and their policy-makers need information to understand the connections between literacy level and changes in agricultural practice. o Industry ministers and their policy-makers need information to monitor the supply of literates that are available to the workforce. As a rule ministers and policy-makers do not have strong quantitative skills nor do they have an interest in doing analysis themselves. They want generally only want stylized facts provided by their own technicians.

The media - Print, radio and television play a central role in disseminating the results of any national Literacy Assessment as it is by this means that the main messages first reach many users. Failure to get the media to report on the assessment system in an objective way that encourages users to seek more information can doom even the best assessment systems to obscurity. Similarly, where media are critical of the assessment or create sensational messages that do not reflect the data, national assessment programmes will be threatened. At a minimum national study teams will spend a lot of time “fighting fires”.
As noted above literacy assessment systems have the potential to create winners and losers. As a result, different groups of users will be predisposed to support, or to argue against assessments, depending on what they perceive it to be in their interest. Viewed from a communication standpoint, the goal of the national project team is:
- To maintain the support of users who are initially supportive;
- To win the support of additional users who may be neutral or mildly opposed; and
- To address the concerns of opponents in a balanced and neutral way in all publications and related analyses.
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Having identified the general uses to which literacy assessment data will be put and the likely users, it is important to set out the issues of public policy upon which these methods have been designed to shed empirical light. These issues are important in the first instance because they provide the rationale for participating countries to invest scarce resources in implementing the study. They are also important because they provide a starting point for planning an analysis programme that will produce products and services that match the needs and technical competence of key users. Dissemination and communication programmes will ensure that these products and services reach the intended audience.
As currently designed, the literacy assessment approach can inform seven issues that are of central importance to policy development in all countries. These issues include:
2.2.1 Understanding the learning needs of adults at various levels of literacy and numeracy skills and determining perceived barriers to improved literacy levels;
2.2.2 Literacy’s relationship to inequalities in social and cultural outcome;
2.2.3 The quality of education provided by the formal system;
2.2.4 The adequacy of adult learning systems;
2.2.5 Literacy as a barrier to achieving high rates of macro-economic growth;
2.2.6 Literacy’s relationship to social inequalities in economic outcomes at the individual level; and
2.2.7 The relationship between self-declared literacy and individual literacy skills.
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2.2.1 Understanding the Learning Needs of Adults at Various Levels of Literacy and Numeracy Skills and Determining Perceived Barriers to Improved Literacy
Levels
The design is such that it will provide data that can be used to serve educational ends.
Specifically the assessment will allow users to explore questions such as:
- What is the distribution of component reading skills in the adult population?
- How are component reading skills related to the emergence of fluency as defined in the literacy and numeracy measures?
- What do these patterns imply for the design of curricula, instruction and delivery?
- Can one identify particular population sub-groups that share patterns of need?
If so what do these patterns imply for curriculum, instruction, delivery and funding allocations?
- What patterns of weakness are displayed in the higher level proficiency?
- Can one identify population sub-groups that share patterns of weakness? If so, what do these patterns imply for curriculum, instruction, programme design and funding allocation?
- What barriers do individuals perceive are preventing them from improving their literacy level?
Validity at the national level will be established by linking the assessment of skill in each domain to a theory that explains a significant proportion of the variation in relative difficulty among heterogeneous language groups. The assessment also identifies the characteristics of text and task that underlie the relative difficulty of fluent reading.
2.2.2 Literacy’s Relationship to Inequalities in Social and Cultural Outcomes
National and international policy-makers are concerned about the level of social and cultural development achieved by their citizens.
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Analysis of existing data suggests that literacy as measured by the assessment plays a role in an adult’s level of engagement in the broader society and in their own culture.
The design allows users to explore questions such as:
- To what extent do individuals with low skills appear to be less engaged in the broader society (community service, social and cultural activities)?
- How do individuals with low skill levels cope with their everyday reading and numeracy demands? To what extent do these coping mechanisms make these individuals reliant on others?
- To what extent does the engagement of linguistic, ethnic or cultural minorities appear to be inhibited by their lack of skill in the language of the test?
2.2.3 The Quality of Education Provided by the Formal System
The assessment provides data for the entire adult population, including estimates of literacy and numeracy skills for individuals aged 16 –25 who may have recently left the formal education system. These data provide some insight into trends in the quality of recent educational output, allowing users to explore questions such as:
- What is the relative quality of current educational output, denominated in literacy and numeracy, benchmarked against other countries?
- Does the quality of education appear to be rising?
- Are there population sub-groups who appear to be underserved by the current system?
Analysis of data from the IALS study demonstrates that directly tested literacy levels are far more variable across countries than suggested by differences in national profiles of educational attainment. This suggests far more variability in the quality of initial education than generally assumed, a fact that has been confirmed by international
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comparative assessments of students such as the OECD PISA study, IEA’s TIMSS and
PIRLS studies and UNESCO OREALC’s mathematics and reading assessments.
The comparative dimension of the study will also allow users to explore, through statistical analysis the influence of various background questions on literacy, where policy might have the most impact.
2.2.4 The Adequacy of Adult Learning Systems
Many countries are investing public resources to support higher levels of formal, nonformal and informal adult learning. These investments are motivated by a perceived need to compensate for low educational participation and educational quality in earlier periods, for skill loss and to meet rising skill demands. By profiling the level and context of participation in non-formal adult learning, the assessment will allow users to explore questions such as the following:
- Who is participating in the various adult learning classes?
- Quality of adult education with respect to literacy skills outcomes?
- Is the volume of adult learning sufficient to meet expected levels of literacy demand?
- To what extent are particular population sub-groups excluded from adult learning systems?
[Note: this assumes that there will be enough people in the sample who are participating in adult education programmes. This will have an impact on sample size and as a result may not be appropriate to all countries.]
2.2.5 Literacy as a Barrier to Achieving High Rates of Macro-Economic Growth
The assessment will provide data to shed light on a number of critical macro-economic policy issues such as the following:
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- Are literacy and numeracy levels high enough to support the national economic objectives?
- To what extent are overall levels of macro-economic growth being constrained by the level of literacy and numeracy skill available to the economy?
- Could overall levels of economic growth be improved by increasing the level of public investment in social institutions that create literacy and numeracy skills?
If so, where would such investments have the largest impact?
It is an accepted fact that education is fundamental to economic and social development; further, reading literacy and numeracy are two of the key outcomes expected of the education system that lead to economic growth. The importance of literacy and numeracy as educational outcomes is reflected in their inclusion in highly visible international political statements such as the Millennium Development Goals and the Education For
All targets.
This is confirmed by the level of emphasis placed on reading literacy and numeracy in national educational curricula, performance expectations and proportion of public resources that are devoted to the basic education of children and adults.
2.2.6 Literacy’s Relationship to Social Inequality in Economic Outcomes at
Individual Level
Macroeconomic evidence suggests that literacy and numeracy skills are important elements of human capital and that they play a significant role in securing economic development.
Policy-makers in all countries are concerned about the distribution of the wealth generated by economic activity.
The assessment allows them to ask policy questions such as:
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- To what extent are literacy skills related to social inequity in economic outcomes such as employment rates?
- Do the literacy levels of specific groups place them at particular risk?
At the individual level, literacy and numeracy skills can be viewed as productive assets that individuals bring to the labour market. It follows from labour market theory that these skills will play a role in creating social inequality in economic outcomes. Current work organizations and technologies of production impose a set of skill demands, employers recruit and reward employees according to their skill levels. Generally labour markets sees large differences in skills among individuals. Different population subgroups workers with high skills get stable, well paid employment while workers with lower skills will be excluded from employment or will be relegated to intermittent employment and lower wages.
2.2.7 The Relationship between Self-Declared Literacy and Individual Literacy
Skills
Some countries have attempted to collect information about the literacy of their populations by asking survey or census respondents whether or not they are literate (selfassessment). Unfortunately there is little evidence that personal responses to such questions provide reliable results. The assessment asks respondents this question as well as administering a literacy assessment. The correlation between self-assessment and true assessment will assist countries in determining whether such self-assessment questions on future surveys have any predictive value (are worth the investment).
2.2.8 Other Uses of Literacy Assessment Data
Aside from direct use of the data the findings can be used for:
- increasing understanding of the concept of literacy;
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- ownership of assessment and survey methodology, reusing it for related exercises (Strengthened capacity); and
- spurring debate and action at community level. For example through the awareness campaign, or, following the survey, using the survey tools (with or without data results) to generate discussion, reflection and interest in programmes.
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Each participating country should develop an analysis, dissemination and communication strategy to guide their use of the survey results.
At a minimum, countries should produce their national report that focus on national priorities. Participating countries should, in the course of selecting their sample design, sample size and sample allocation, set a foundation for their analysis.
Countries should also produce their technical report that documents key technical aspects of their implementation.
Beyond that, countries are free to produce additional reports to suit their specific preoccupations and priorities within the constraints of their national budgets.
Countries are also encouraged to translate key findings from whatever analyses are undertaken into products that are framed in a way to reach key audiences who may not have the technical skill to use the findings in their native forms.
Further, countries are also encouraged to organize processes to ensure that key findings reach their intended audiences. Conferences, workshops, seminars and research briefs are commonly used for this purpose.
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This section sets out a basic tabulation plan that could be considered when processing and analysing the data from the Literacy Assessment. The tabulation plan is designed to inform the national report. The basic structure involves showing that significant skill differences exist, that they are the product of a small set of known determinants and that they matter socially and economically. The background questionnaire includes some 900 variables and therefore will support a huge amount of additional analysis.
Chapter 1 - the study objectives, report objectives and report content.
Chapter 2- this should be the first substantive chapter that should document the distribution of skills in several ways, overall and for key sub-populations. The overall goal is to identify the existence of statistically, socially and economically significant differences among population sub-groups. This is achieved through the comparison along several dimensions such as the following:

Average scores

Percents at each proficiency level

Distributions of scores

Gaps between the 5 th and 95 th percentile scores
Table 2.1- Comparisons of countries based on average scores, populations aged 16 to 65,
<<Year of Survey>>.
Table 2.2- Mean scores with 95 percent confidence interval and scores at the 5th, 25th,
75 th
and 95th percentiles on skills scales ranging from 0 to 500 points, populations aged
16 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>.
Table 2.3- Percent population aged 16 to 65 years at each skills level, <<Year of
Survey>>.
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Table 2.4A- Mean scores with 95 percent confidence interval and scores at the 5th, 25th,
75th, and 95th percentiles on the document scale, population aged 16 to 25, 26 to 45 and
46 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. To show that average scores differ by age in response to changes in the quantity and quality of initial education, rates of participation and skill(s ) gain and skill(s) loss in adulthood .
Table 2.4B- Percent population aged 16 to 25, 26 to 45 and 46 to 65 at each level on the document scale, <<Year of Survey>>. To show that score distributions differ by age in response to changes in the quantity and quality of initial education, rates of participation and skill(s) gain and skill(s) loss in adulthood.
Table 2.5- Relationship between age and literacy scores on the document literacy scale, with adjustment for level education, population aged 16 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. To show that some, but not all of the observed decline of skill by age is accounted for by education .
Table 2.6- Mean skills proficiencies between men and women on the prose, document, and numeracy scales, <<Year of Survey>>. To show the size of the gender gap in skills.
Table 2.7- Mean skills and proportions by proficiency level by ethnic background,
<<Year of Survey>>. To show the size of gaps in skill among ethnic groups.
Table 2.8- Mean skills and proportions by proficiency level by urban/ rural, <<Year of
Survey>>. To show the size of gaps in skill among urban and rural groups .
Chapter 3
This chapter explores the educational determinants of observed distributions of skill. This information is critical to understanding the impact that policy has had on skill formation in the past, which variables are the most amenable to policy and, by extension, how quickly skill supply might be expanded and inequality in skill reduced.
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The following tables are examples of what should be produced to explore determinants.
Table 3.1- Mean numeracy scores on a scale with range 0 to 500 points, by level of educational attainment; populations aged 16 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. Education explains an average of 60% of observed variance in skill across populations but this percentage varies somewhat.
Table 3.2A- Mean combined prose and document scores on a scale with range 0 to 500 points, by level of educational attainment, populations aged 26 to 35, <<Year of
Survey>>. Similar to Table 3.1A
Table 3.2B- Mean combined prose and document scores on a scale with range 0 to 500 points, by level of educational attainment, populations aged 56 to 65, <<Year of
Survey>> Similar to Table 3.1
.
Table 3.3- The odds of scoring at Levels 1 or 2 on the numeracy scale by upper secondary education status, adjusted for age and native language status, persons aged 16 to 30, <<Year of Survey>>. Explores the degree to which people fail to obtain high school education are clustered at Levels 1 and 2.
Table 3.4- All skills-education profiles for persons aged 16 to 25 who have completed at least upper secondary education, adjusted for age and native language status, prose scale,
<<Year of Survey>> To look at the quality of recent graduates from the K – 12.
Table 3.5- Determinants of skills based on a multivariate, multi-level model, <<Year of
Survey>> To show the relative effect size of each of a set of known determinants including education, participation in adult education, labour force status, occupation and reading indices.
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Chapter 4
Chapter 4 explores the relationship between skills and various forms of adult education and training. Examples of tables that should be produced include:
Table 4.1- Percent population aged 16 to 65 receiving adult education and training during the year preceding the interview, by types of participation, <<Year of Survey>>.
Table 4.2- Percent population aged 16 to 65 receiving adult education and training during the year preceding the interview, by document literacy levels, <<Year of Survey>>.
Table 4.3- Adjusted odds ratios showing the likelihood of adults aged 16 to 65 receiving adult education and training (AET) during the year preceding the interview, by document literacy levels, <<Year of Survey>>. Differences in AET participation are related to differences in a number of variables in addition to skill. Adjusted odds reveal the marginal impact of skill on participation.
Table 4.4- Percent of population aged 16 to 65 participating in informal learning activities during the year preceding the interview, by mode of engagement, <<Year of
Survey>>. Theory says that informal learning can have as much impact as formal and non-formal learning. The data suggest otherwise –This could mean that informal learning does not increase skills.
Table 4.5- Percent of populations aged 16 to 65 participating in active modes of informal learning in the year preceding the interview, by education attainment, <<Year of
Survey>>. Same analysis but focused on active,i.e. intentional forms of informal learning.
Table 4.6- Adjusted odds ratios showing the likelihood of adults aged 16 to 65 participating in active modes of informal adult learning during the year preceding the interview, by document literacy levels, <<Year of Survey>>. To show the relationship between skill and informal learning net of other effects such as age, gender, education
25

level.
Table 4.7- Percent of men and women participating in adult education and training who receive financial support from various sources, populations aged 16 to 65, <<Year of
Survey>>. To show gender gap in employer-financed AET participation
Table 4.8- Percent of participants in adult education and training who received financial support from various sources, by document literacy, populations aged 16 to 65 who worked in the last 12 months, <<Year of Survey>>. To show differences in how AET is financed.
Table 4.9- Adjusted odds ratios showing the likelihood of receiving employer sponsored adult education and training during the year preceding the interview, by combined levels of engagement in reading, writing and numeracy practices at work, populations aged 16 to 65, <<Year of Survey>> Net effect of receiving employer support for AET by skill use index
Chapter 5
Chapter 5 begins the exploration of the link between skills and labour market outcomes.
Table 5.1- Score of the 75th percentile on a scale with range 0 to 500 points, labour force population aged 16 to 25, 26 to 45 and 46 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. Differences in score at 75 th
percentile
Table 5.2- Score of the 25th percentile on a scale with range 0 to 500 points, labour force populations aged 16 to 25, 26 to 45 and 46 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. Differences in score at 25 th percentile
Table 5.3- Odds ratios showing the likelihood of experiencing labour force inactivity for
6 months or more in the last 12 months compared to being employed all year, by
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numeracy levels, populations aged 16 to 65, excluding students and retirees, <<Year of
Survey>>. Explores the degree to which long term unemployment is concentrated in low skilled groups after controlling for a broad range of other variables that influence unemployment.
Table 5.4- Odds ratios showing the likelihood of experiencing unemployment for 6 months or more in the last 12 months compared to being employed all year, by numeracy levels, labour force populations aged 16 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. Compares the degree to which long term unemployment is concentrated in low skilled groups after controlling for a broad range of other variables that influence unemployment in the youth cohort .
Table 5.5- The probabilities of unemployed adults aged 16 to 65 to exit unemployment over a 52 week period, by low (Levels 1 and 2) and medium to high (Levels 3 and 4/5) skills, document scale, <<Year of Survey>>. Shows the half life of unemployment spells at different skill levels .
Table 5.6- The probabilities of unemployed adults aged 16 to 30 to exit unemployment over a 52 week period, by low (Levels 1 and 2) and medium to high (Levels 3 and 4/5) skills, document scale, <<Year of Survey>> Same as Table 5.6 but for youth cohort only .
Table 5.7 The probabilities of unemployed adults aged 50 to 65 to exit unemployment over a 52 week period, by low (Levels 1 and 2) and medium to high (Levels 3 and 4/5) skills, document scale, <<Year of Survey>> Same as Table 5.6 but for seniors .
Chapter 6
Chapter 6 explores the relationship between skills and practice/engagement – a proxy for the social and economic demand for skill. Engagement indices explain about 15% of the variance in skill across countries.
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Table 6.1- Percent of labour force populations aged 16 to 65 at document literacy Levels
3 and 4/5, by type of industry, <<Year of Survey>>. To show concentration of high skilled in high demand industries
Table 6.2- Percent of labour force populations aged 16 to 65 at skills Levels 3 and 4/5, by type of occupation, <<Year of Survey>>. To show differences in concentration of high skilled workers in occupations
Table 6.3- Index scores of reading, writing and numeracy engagement at work on a standardized scale (centred on 2), by skills levels, labour force population aged 16 to 65,
<<Year of Survey>>. To show differences in skill use by skill level
Table 6.4- Relationship between combined index scores of reading, writing and numeracy engagement at work on a standardized scale (centred on 2) and skills scores on scales 0 to 500 points, adjusted for years of schooling and native language status, labour force population aged 16 to 65, <<Year of Survey>> Relationship between skill use and skill adjusted for education and language .
Table 6.5- Index scores of reading, writing and numeracy engagement at work on a standardized scale (centred on 2) by aggregated occupational types, labour force population aged 16 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. Variation in skill use by occupation
Table 6.6- Percent of labour force populations aged 16 to 65 whose skills match or mismatch their level of practice engagement at work, <<Year of Survey>>. Skill use reflects the underlying technology and work organization. People with higher skill levels imply market inefficiency.
Chapter 7
Chapter 7 explores the relationship between skills and various forms of income, one of the key outcomes under a conventional human capital interpretation.
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Table 7.1- Three stage least squares estimates of the effect of observed skills (percentile scale) on weekly log-earnings, prose, document, numeracy and problem solving scales, labour force populations aged 16 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. Impact of skill on wages
Table 7.2- Percent difference of expected weekly earnings for each occupational type relative to “goods related” occupations, labour force population aged 16 to 65, <<Year of
Survey>>. Shows that workers in higher value added occupations get higher rents for their skills.
Table 7.3- Adjusted and unadjusted odds ratios showing the likelihood of low skilled adults (Levels 1 and 2) collecting social assistance payments, numeracy scale, populations aged 16 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. Shows that receipt of social assistance benefits is highly related to skill (largely because of the impact of skill on labour market outcomes)
Table 7.4- Adjusted and unadjusted odds ratios showing the likelihood of medium to high skilled adults (Levels 3 and 4/5) earning investment income, numeracy scale, populations aged 16 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. High skills translate into high earnings that translate into being able to invest and receive investment income.
Chapter 8
Chapter 8 explores the relationship between skills and an index of computer use. Analysis of the joint relationship between skill and computer-use shows that computer use depends on skill and amplifies skill-based inequalities.
Table 8.1- Percent of adults aged 16 to 65 who report having access to a computer and the Internet at home, <<Year of Survey>>. ICTs amplify productivity of skill and therefore amplify skill-based inequalities. Without access people cannot benefit.
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Table 8.2- Percent of adults aged 16 to 65 who report having access to a computer at home, by household income quartiles, <<Year of Survey>>. ICT access depends on income – this table shows the size of income inequality in ICT access.
Table 8.3- Mean scores on the prose literacy scale ranging from 0 to 500 points, by whether respondents are computer users or non-users, populations aged 16 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. Shows degree to which ICT use depends on skill.
Table 8.4- Mean index scores on three scales of ICT use and familiarity, perceived usefulness and attitude toward computers, diversity and intensity of Internet use, and use of computers for specific task-oriented purposes, population aged 16 to 65, <<Year of
Survey>>.
Attitudes toward ICT’s influence use. This table shows the size of the effect.
Table 8.5- Mean index scores on a scale measuring the intensity of use of computers for specific task-oriented purposes, by prose literacy levels, populations aged 16 to 65,
<<Year of Survey>>. Table shows how much the intensity of instrumental ICT use depends on skill.
Table 8.6- Mean index scores on a scale measuring the intensity of use of computers for specific task-oriented purposes, by age groups, population aged 16 to 65, <<Year of
Survey>>. Highlights differences in ICT skill use by age.
Table 8.7- Mean index scores on a scale measuring the intensity of use of computers for specific task-oriented purposes, by gender, populations aged 16 to 65, <<Year of
Survey>>. Highlights differences in ICT skill use by gender .
Table 8.8- Mean index scores on a scale measuring the intensity of use of computers for specific task-oriented purposes, by educational attainment, population aged 16 to 65,
<<Year of Survey>>. Highlights differences in ICT skill use by education level.
Table 8.9- Mean index scores on a scale measuring the intensity of use of computers for
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specific task-oriented purposes, by type of occupations, population aged 16 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. Highlights differences in ICT skill use by occupation.
Table 8.10- Adjusted odds ratio showing the likelihood of adults aged 16 to 65 of being high-intensity computer users, by prose literacy levels, <<Year of Survey>>. Net effect of skill on likelihood of being a high intensity ICT user .
Table 8.11- Percent of adults aged 16 to 65 in each combined literacy and computer use profile, <<Year of Survey>>. Explores the degree to which intensity of ICT use and skill combine.
Table 8.12- Adjusted odds ratio showing the likelihood of adults aged 16 to 65 of being a top income quartile earning, by combined literacy and computer user profiles, <<Year of
Survey>>. Shows the link between high skill, intense computer use and high income net of other effects .
Chapter 9
Chapter 9 explores the link between skill and conditions that translate into lower skills and poorer outcomes such as immigrant status and/or a linguistic or ethnic minority, etc .
Table 9.1- The number of births minus number of deaths from 1950 to 1999 and projections to 2050. Shows big changes in demographics.
Table 9.2- Percent of foreign-born population and labour force for countries participating,
<<Year of Survey>>. Shows high variation in proportion of immigrants.
Table 9.3- Percent of population aged 16 to 65 at each level of educational attainment, by recent versus established immigration status, <<Year of Survey>>. Shows large variation in education level of immigrants over time.
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Table 9.4- Percent of populations aged 16 to 65 at each skill level, by recent versus established immigrant status, <<Year of Survey>>. Shows large differences in skill level between recent and established immigrants .
Table 9.5- Percent of adults aged 16 to 65 at each literacy level on the prose scale, by whether their native tongue is same or different from the official language(s) of host country, <<Year of Survey>>. Shows variation in skill by whether adult speaks language of the test.
Table 9.6- Adjusted odds ratios indicating the likelihood of low skilled (Levels 1 and 2) and medium to high skilled (Levels 3 and 4/5) foreign born and native-born populations aged 16 to 65 of being unemployed, prose literacy scale, <<Year of Survey>>. Shows relative labour market disadvantage of low skilled immigrants versus native born net of range of other variables.
Table 9.7- Adjusted odds ratios indicating the likelihood of low skilled (Levels 1 and 2) and medium to high skilled (Levels 3 and 4/5) foreign-born and native-born population aged 16 to 65 of being in the lowest personal earnings income quartile, prose literacy scale, <<Year of Survey>>. Shows relative incomes disadvantage of low skilled immigrants versus native-born net of range of other variables.
Chapter 10
Research has shown that skill is transmitted inter-generationally but that the effect varies significantly from country to country. Chapter 10 explores the relationship between parental education and skill.
Table 10.1- Relationship between respondent’s prose literacy scores and parents’ education in years, populations aged 16 to 25, <<Year of Survey>>. Highlights differences in attainment across generations.
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Table 10.2- Relationship between respondent’s prose literacy scores and parents’ education in years, populations aged 16 to 25. Shows variation in skill and parental education.
Table 10.3- Relationship between respondent’s prose literacy scores and parents’ education in years, populations aged 16 to 25, 26 to 45 and 46 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>.
Shows if relationship between skill and parental education has changed over generations.
Table 10.4- Relationship between prose literacy scores and engagement in literacy practices at home and in daily life, adjusted for respondent’s and parents’ education, populations aged 16 to 25, 26 to 45 and 46 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. Explores the use of skill outside of work to skill net of the effect of own and parental education.
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 explores the relationship between skill and health.
Table 11.1- Response profiles in the four latent classes based on general health status, populations aged 16 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. Analysis identifies four groups of adults based upon their health status.
Table 11.2- Per cent of adults in each of four general health status groups by country, populations aged 16 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. Shows differences in the proportions of adults in each of the four health groups.
Table 11.3- Mean scores on the prose, document and numeracy scales ranging from 0 to
500 points by key demographic variables, populations aged 16 to 65, <<Year of
Survey>>. Shows differences in skill by demographic group.
Table 11.4- Response profiles in the four latent classes based on work-related health
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status, populations aged 16 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. Response profiles for four health groups by work-related health status.
Table 11.5- Per cent of adults in each of four work-related health status groups by country, populations aged 16 to 65, <<Year of Survey>>. Shows variation in proportion of adults in each of the four work-related health status groups.
Table 11.6- Mean scores on the prose, document and numeracy scales ranging from 0 to
500 points by key demographic variables, populations aged 16 to 65, <<Year of
Survey>>. Shows how skill levels vary within the four-health status groups.
Annex A
Annex A documents key aspects of implementation
Table A1: Sample frame and target population exclusions
Table A2: Sample size by assessment language
Table A3: Survey collection period
Table A4: Interviewer information
Table B5: Benchmark variables by country
Table B6: Sample size and response rate summary
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