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…

Discusses the decisions made in the development of a functional literacy test used in Philadelphia. (MKM)

Reviews five commercially available tests of functional literacy and discusses two concerns related to the testing of functional literacy. (MKM)

This study by Louis Harris and Associates was designed to determine the percentage of Americans lacking the functional or practical reading skills necessary to survive in this country. A test on reading and filling out application forms indicated that from 4.3 million to 18.5 million Americans are functionally illiterate. The average range of…

The variable nature of literacy is discussed in chapter one of this paper, including problems of arbitrary standards, instruments, and criteria. In the second chapter, some of the historical roots of the concept of literacy are traced both to show how the concept of literacy evolved and to show how literacy has always been closely tied to the…

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…

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 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…