Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey (ALL)
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NCES Handbook of Survey Methods Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey (ALL) Website: https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/all/ Updated: August 2018 1. OVERVIEW ADULT LITERACY AND LIFESKILLS The Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey (ALL) is an international comparative study designed SURVEY to provide participating countries, including the United States, with information about the skills of their adult populations ages 16 to 65. The development and management of the study were ALL collected: coordinated by Statistics Canada and the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in collaboration with the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education; ➢ Background the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); the Regional Office of assessments Education for Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC); and the Institute for Statistics (UIS) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). ➢ Literacy assessments in prose literacy, ALL measured the literacy and numeracy skills of a nationally representative sample from each document literacy, participating country. On a pilot basis, ALL also measured adults’ problem-solving skills and numeracy, and gathered information on their familiarity with information and communication technology problem-solving (ICT). ALL builds on the foundation of earlier studies of adult literacy. Chief among these domains earlier studies is the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), which was conducted in three phases (1994, 1996, and 1998) in 20 nations, including the United States. The following six countries participated in ALL: Italy, Norway, Switzerland, Bermuda, Canada, and the United States. The Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey (ALL) is an international comparative study designed to provide participating countries, including the United States, with information about the skills of their adult populations ages 16 to 65. The development and management of the study were coordinated by Statistics Canada and the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in collaboration with the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education; the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); the Regional Office of Education for Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC); and the Institute for Statistics (UIS) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). ALL measured the literacy and numeracy skills of a nationally representative sample from each participating country. On a pilot basis, ALL also measured adults’ problem-solving skills and gathered information on their familiarity with information and communication technology (ICT). ALL builds on the foundation of earlier studies of adult literacy. Chief among these earlier studies is the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), which was conducted in three phases (1994, 1996, and 1998) in 20 nations, including the United States. The following six countries participated in ALL: Italy, Norway, Switzerland, Bermuda, Canada, and the United States. Purpose To (1) profile and compare the literacy skills in adult populations; (2) profile and compare the level and distribution of directly assessed numeracy skills among adult populations in participating countries; (3) profile and compare the level and distribution of problem-solving skills among the adult populations of the countries surveyed; and (4) collect comparable data on participation in formal adult education. Components Each ALL country was given a set of model administration manuals and survey instruments as well as guidelines for adapting and translating the survey instruments. ALL instruments consisted of three parts: (1) a background questionnaire, which collected demographic information about respondents; (2) a set of core literacy tasks, which screened out respondents with very limited literacy skills; and (3) a main booklet of literacy tasks, used to calibrate literacy levels. Background Questionnaire. The background questionnaire collected general participant information (such as sex, age, race/ethnicity, education level, and labor force status) and posed more targeted questions related to literacy practices, familiarity with ICT, education coursetaking, and health. ALL-1 NCES Handbook of Survey Methods Literacy Assessment. • What is the distribution of literacy and numeracy skills Core literacy tasks. The core literacy tasks were presented among American adults? How do these skill to respondents once they had completed the background distributions compare to those of other countries? questionnaire. The booklet for the core literacy tasks • contained six simple tasks. Only those who answered at What is the relationship between these literacy skills and least two of the core tasks correctly were given the full the economic, social, and personal characteristics of assessment. individuals? For example: Do different age or linguistic groups manifest different skill levels? Do males and Main literacy tasks. The main literacy tasks for the ALL females perform differently? At what kinds of jobs do psychometric assessment consisted of tasks in prose people at various literacy levels work? What wages do literacy, document literacy, numeracy, and problem- they earn? How do adults who have completed different solving domains. The assessment included four 30-minute levels of education perform? blocks of literacy items (i.e., prose and document literacy), • What is the relationship between these skills and the two 30-minute blocks of numeracy items, and two 30- economic and social characteristics of nations? For minute blocks of problem-solving items. A four-domain example, how do the skills of the adult labor force of a country match up with areas of the economy that are ALL assessment was implemented in Bermuda, Canada, growing? Italy, Norway, and the French- and German-language regions of Switzerland. The United States and the Italian- 3. KEY CONCEPTS language region of Switzerland carried out a three-domain ALL assessment that excluded the problem-solving Four skill domains are conceptualized in ALL: prose domain. The blocks of assessment items were organized literacy, document literacy, numeracy, and problem into 28 task booklets in the case of the four-domain solving. Two of them, namely, prose and document assessment and into 18 task booklets for the three-domain literacy, are defined and measured in the same manner as assessment. The assessment blocks were distributed to the in IALS (see IALS chapter). Numeracy and problem task booklets according to a balanced incomplete block solving are new domains. (BIB) design whereby each task booklet contained two blocks of items. Prose literacy. The knowledge and skills needed to understand and use information from texts, including Periodicity editorials, news stories, brochures, and instruction ALL was conducted between the fall of 2003 and early manuals. spring 2004. In the United States, data collection for the main study took place between January and June 2003. Document literacy. The knowledge and skills required to locate and use information contained in various formats, Data Availability including job applications, payroll forms, transportation Information on public-use data files from the ALL can be schedules, maps, tables, and charts. found by visiting https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/all/data.asp. Information on ALL restricted-use data files is available at Numeracy. The knowledge and skills required to https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/licenses.asp. effectively manage the mathematical demands of diverse situations. 2. USES OF DATA Problem solving. Problem solving involves goal-directed ALL sought to provide researchers with information on thinking and action in situations for which no routine skill gain and loss in the adult population. This was solution procedure is available. The problem solver has a achieved through the measurement of prose and document more or less well-defined goal, but does not immediately literacy. Furthermore, the study extended the range of know how to reach it. The incongruence of goals and skills measured by adding tasks for problem-solving, admissible operators constitutes a problem. The numeracy, and ICT skills. This allows researchers to understanding of the problem situation and its step-by-step examine the profiles of important foundation skills. The transformation based on planning and reasoning constitute study makes it possible to explore the interrelationships the process of problem solving. among skill domains as well as their links to major antecedents and outcomes, such as the quantity and quality Literacy scale. For each skill assessment domain, of initial education and the impact of skills on proficiency is denoted on a scale ranging from 0 to 500 employability, wages, and health. points. Each score denotes a point at which a person has an 80 percent chance of successfully completing tasks that are In addition, information from ALL addresses questions associated with a similar level of difficulty. For the prose such as the following: and document literacy domains as well as the numeracy ALL-2 NCES Handbook of Survey Methods domain, experts defined five broad levels of difficulty, The available sampling frames and resources varied from each corresponding to a range of scores. For the problem- one country to another. Therefore, the particular solving domain, experts defined four broad levels of probability sample design to be used was left to the difficulty. discretion of