Uses data from the National Adult Literacy Survey to examine the relationship of literacy practices at school and at work with document literacy. Finds that the workplace (1) can be an alternative and/or compensatory learning environment for some skills; and (2) may be a preferred setting for learning for some individuals or for some tasks. (SR)

Using data from the National Adult Literacy Survey (National Center for Education Statistics), explores the relationship between formal schooling and adult literacy proficiency overall and for members of different demographic subgroups, for high school noncompleters, for those scoring lowest on literacy tasks, and for individuals in the workplace.…

Mixed results for U.S. adults on the First International Adult Literacy Survey reveal the worthlessness of posting international test scores without considering cultural, social, and economic contexts. In the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, U.S. eighth-graders' performance was average, but fourth-graders' results were…

Labor market outcomes of 25- to 64-year-olds were examined as a function of sex, prose proficiency level, and highest educational level attained. The data for 1992 confirmed that educational attainment and literacy level are both positively associated with higher annual earnings and lower unemployment rates and that literacy is positively…

Although numeracy demands in today's workplace are rising steadily, the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) suggests that many workers do not possess sufficient higher-level numeracy skills. Analysis of the NALS results by occupation reveals that large percentages of workers in a wide variety of industries perform only at the two lower levels of…

This series of bilingual newsletters (English and Spanish) provides information to migrant youth who have dropped out of school. Newsletters describe the experiences of migrant youth who have obtained their General Educational Development (GED) certificate or have enrolled in vocational or college programs. Other topics treated in this volume…

Data from the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey were analyzed in a study of the relationship between literacy skill levels and dependency on welfare. The study focused on the following: literacy levels in the welfare population and in different demographic groups, the relationship between educational attainment and literacy and labor force…

Data from the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) were used to assess the prospects of California's welfare population versus those of the U.S. welfare population. Welfare recipients were found to have substantially lower basic skills than other adults do. Although 58% of California adults with basic skills and demographic characteristics…

The linkages between disability and health status and the returns to education and basic skills training were examined through an analysis of data from wave 3 of the 1993 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation and the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS). The data sets were used to estimate standard wage equations with…

According to the most recent National Adult Literacy Survey, nearly half of Illinois adults lack sufficient reading proficiency to ensure job success and advancement in 21st century workplaces. The Test of Adult Basic Education is currently used as a pretest/posttest in Illinois' existing adult basic education, adult secondary education, and…

This document, which is based on data gathered during the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS), examines the literacy skills of the U.S. civilian labor force, including the employed and unemployed. The following topics are among those discussed: (1) human resources and the U.S. economy; (2) literacy proficiencies of the nation's labor force;…

Having low literacy skills could impact everything from reading a newspaper and balancing a checkbook to wise consumer decisions and job advancement. This study estimates adult literacy measures for Cuyahoga County, Ohio and its municipalities. It is also important to have a sense of how many children are at risk for developing literacy problems…