With the advent of the UN Literacy Decade launched in 2003, there is increased emphasis on monitoring and evaluation of adult literacy around the globe. The present paper presents an overview of the main approaches that have been taken to measure adult literacy within and across countries. A particular focus of the present review is to compare and…

A survey found that the majority of learners enrolled in literacy schemes in Great Britain were making progress in their acquisition of reading and writing skills and that most tutors and learners were satisfied with the rate of progress being made. (CT)

The first part of the two-part paper discusses the literacy campaign and a literacy pilot project. Part two describes how reading materials were designed for adults with the use of tribal traditional stories. (JB)

An evaluation was conducted of a summer institute on assessment in adult literacy held at the University of Pittsburgh. The summer institute was designed to enable program administrators and instructors to hear experts in the field of adult assessment discuss, in depth, the issues that are common to all adult literacy providers. Participants had…

The Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit (ALBSU) is committed to improving the quality of basic skills provision in England and Wales. It has encouraged the development of quality assurance in basic skills so that potential and existing students know what they should be entitled to expect. ALBSU's Good Practice documents published since 1984 have…

This review of the California Literacy Campaign (CLC), a statewide, community-oriented, library-based program funded under the California Library Services Act, is designed to determine the extent to which CLC has been effective in carrying out its mission, the manner in which increased effectiveness may be achieved, and ways in which program…

This effectiveness review of the California Literacy Campaign (CLC), a program designed to significantly reduce the number of functionally illiterate adults in California, was submitted to the California State Library for consideration of continuation of state funding beyond 1984-85. The review includes an analysis of existing data (state library…

Goal five of the National Education Goals of America 2000 calls for dramatic improvement in the educational attainment of the nation's adult population. Encompassed in the goal is a charge to increase the number of college graduates who can think critically, communicate effectively, and solve problems. This paper focuses on measures that can be…

What has been learned from the study of relationships between abilities and outcomes learned in college and those abilities as they are performed at work is summarized to infer principles that should inform a national system to assess the higher order thinking and communications skills of college graduates in support of the National Education Goal…

College-level assessment efforts in New Jersey are described. For more than a dozen years, students in public colleges and universities in New Jersey have been assessed using a common statewide instrument, the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test. This test assesses reading, writing, and mathematics skills of entering college students as…

This paper presents the preliminary results of a short-term longitudinal study of the impact of literacy instruction on the lives of 76 adults enrolled in a literacy program at the Center for Literacy in Philadelphia. It begins with an extensive review of literature on literacy, adult literacy and adult literacy assessment. It describes the…

Project Even Start is an intergenerational literacy project that promotes adult literacy, trains parents to support the educational growth of their children, and prepares children for school. The program is designed to facilitate joint participation by parents and children. It includes home-based instruction and child care, and it is integrated…

Family literacy has developed over the past decade into an increasingly significant--and often contested--area of research, practice, and policymaking in the fields of literacy and family studies as well as in the broader arenas of education and schooling. The purpose of this chapter is to give the reader a better understanding of the general…

This resource guide was developed to help local adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) programs throughout Ohio implement the state's Indicators of Program Quality, which were drafted in 1992 in response to the National Literacy Act of 1991. The guide provides a context for using the Indicators in ABLE programs and includes suggestions for…

Designed to provide information about projects funded by States under Section 310 of the Adult Education Act, this catalog lists 400 projects. It is the eighth in a series of annual listings of special projects and staff development programs. The 400 projects are divided into 18 categories or subject areas. These categories are administration,…