Selecting assessments for adults who struggle with reading can be difficult because few literacy measures used by reading researchers have been normed on this population, leaving uncertainty regarding the validity of these tests for adult learners. This study focused on the performance of 116 adults reading between the 3rd and 8th grade levels on…

Selecting assessments for adults who struggle with reading can be difficult because few literacy measures used by reading researchers have been normed on this population, leaving uncertainty regarding the validity of these tests for adult learners. This study focused on the performance of 116 adults reading between the 3rd and 8th grade levels on…

This article examines the educational leadership of the first African American female principal in Richmond, Virginia: Mrs. Ethel Thompson Overby. It seeks to ascertain, through a historical framework utilizing critical race theory, how this particular educational and instructional leader conceptualized academic achievement given the context of…

The functional literacy of various groups of 17-year-old students was assessed to discover whether the reading skills which are usually taught in the schools are adequate for functioning in everyday life. Eighty-six test exercises were classified according to the various formats of reading materials they represent and according to the types of…

The assessment records detailing the reading and spelling performance of a group of male juvenile justice detainees admitted over a 3-month period were examined in an attempt to quantify the basic literacy levels of juvenile offenders. Results of student self-ratings of their reading ability were also analysed. The participants comprised 68 males…

A study attempted to identify those performance-related factors that were responsible for subjects' errors on one measure of functional literacy. The analysis of errors revealed that the majority of errors could be explained in terms of information processing failures. (MKM)

As an initial effort to assess reading in correctional institutions, a questionnaire was sent to some 70 state directors of corrections, both adult and juvenile, by the National Clearinghouse for Offender Literacy Programs which is sponsored by the American Bar Association, the American Correctional Association, and the National Association of…

Currently available measures of functional literacy for adults are reviewed and evaluated. This report concentrates on tests that are referenced to literary skills important to an adequately functioning adult, such as life skills, coping skills, etc. Because functional literacy has frequently been defined in terms of a grade level equivalent or…

Results are presented from two studies involving 190 primary and high school students and 146 primary students with reading difficulties. These studies contributed toward the development of five 200 word standardized passages which may be employed interchangeably to monitor the performance of students with reading difficulties towards achieving…

Results of a 1977 assessment of the reading abilities of approximately 1,250 adults (26 to 35 years old) are reported in this paper and are compared with results of a similar assessment made in 1971. After discussing a typical comprehension exercise used in the assessment, the paper presents the materials and multiple choice questions used in…

This report describes the development of an experimental program of job reading training designed to provide a level of functional literacy appropriate to minimal job task reading requirements in six major career clusters. Program effectiveness for both general and job reading training is described in data based on the reading performance of some…

This handbook is designed to give background information on the Mini-Assessment of Functional Literacy, a criterion-referenced test designed to determine the extent of functional literacy among seventeen year olds in America. The five format categories identified for the test were passages; drawings, pictures, signs, etc.; charts, maps, graphs;…

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…

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…

Project ALMS (Adult Literacy Mission Support) was designed to improve the communication skills of semi-literate or illiterate adults, help participants become more self-sufficient, provide an ongoing program for other such individuals, and provide a manual of guidelines and suggestions for other programs. Three groups were established to make a…