Discusses the minimum competency movement and suggests standards for constructing and implementing exit competency requirements. (MKM)

These statements, letters, and supplemental materials were provided by: (1) Janet Jones Ballard, Assault on Literacy Program; (2) Representative Jim Cooper, Tennessee; (3) Mitch Snyder, Center for Creative Non-Violence; (4) Garrett Murphy, Division of Adult and Continuing Education Programs, New York; (5) W. Wilson Goode, mayor of Philadelphia;…

Proposes redefining the problem of illiteracy in terms of a "social-interaction perspective" that would emphasize the need "to acculturate students to the practices of reading in their communities" and the broad range of reading competencies required by today's society. (JBM)

This document contains a collection of direct quotations from the nearly 50 participants at a roundtable on workplace literacy. It also includes an executive summary, a list of participants, a list of related publications, and a synopsis of a presentation made at a follow-up activity.) The participants included business people, literacy experts,…

Teachers are faced with the problem of needing to do a better job of teaching the basics and the astrobasics (those skills needed to understand and respond to the complex bureaucratic demands of the space age, especially reading and filling in such forms as those required for class registration, student loans, and income tax preparation). At least…

This document traces the history of volunteerism in the literacy field, discusses the current role and use of volunteers, and assesses the potential and the limits of volunteerism as a current and future means for overcoming illiteracy in the United States. (The major conclusion is that the current delivery system of literacy activities can go no…

Details a study indicating that the minimal level of literacy necessary for adults in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is very high. Provides a master list of vocabulary words, symbols, numbers, abbreviations, computational skills, and writing skills needed for functional literacy. (MKM)

This document describes the British Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit (ALBSU) because information on the ALBSU experience might be useful to planners working to establish a similar national literacy center in the United States. (The ALBSU was formed in London in the mid-1970s to support the BBC's television-based national adult literacy…

Intended for the Literacy Coordinators of Alberta, this annotated bibliography reflects the needs of the PROSPECTS Adult Literacy Program clientele; therefore, it does not include resources for native learners and includes only resources available at the PROSPECTS library and the Edmonton Public Schools' adult literacy library. One hundred…

Designed to meet the needs of older nonreaders, this booklet provides teaching suggestions and classroom activities for functional or survival reading skills. The topics covered include using the telephone; figuring the cost of a purchase; following directions; survival vocabulary for public signs; vocabulary for the medicine chest; reading the…

As part of the development of a functional literacy test for fourth through eighth grade children in Title I compensatory education programs, this report enumerates a set of criteria for selecting appropriate tests. The criteria are grouped into six categories: (1) test background; (2) psychometric quality; (3) examinee appropriateness; (4)…

This guide is designed to provide secondary teachers and administrators with the information necessary to adapt or develop a functional curriculum for children and youth who display academic difficulties. (A functional curriculum teaches functional skills in the most appropriate setting for specific skill acquisition.) It provides suggestions of…

As part of the development of a functional literacy test for fourth through eigth grade children in Title I compensatory education programs, this report defines functional literacy for children and enumerates criteria for evaluating existing tests. Criteria for selection of a test include: (1) content, empirical, and construct validity; (2)…

Illiteracy is seen to be a feature of the Australian prisoner population. This belief has remained largely untested. A study compared the literacy abilities of prisoners to those found in the adult general population. Additionally, the study compared male and female prisoner literacy abilities. Assessments were made on a profile of literacy…

This report recommends that an annual report be made to the citizens of Florida about the state of literacy in Florida. The concept of literacy is defined in terms of levels of literacy and basic skills required to achieve the different levels. A review of the literature on literacy is the basis for three suggested levels of literacy: (1)…