This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the link between age and proficiency in information-processing skills, based on information drawn from the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). The data reveal significant age-related differences in proficiencies, strongly suggesting that proficiency tends to "naturally" decline with age. Age…

Existing cross-national research on educational attainment does not fully address whether the same level of educational attainment generates the same level of literacy skills in different countries. We analyze literacy skills data for young adults from 19 countries in the 1994-1998 International Adult Literacy Survey and find that in all…

Recent research on reading comes from a variety of different kinds of studies all of which report the same bleak picture of college students' and adults' reading abilities. Researchers, theorists and faculty members can benefit from this detailed review of the various types of studies. These include large scale direct tests of reading ability in…

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…

Identifies three significant findings about Canadian literacy from the first International Adult Literacy Survey, examines their significance for educators and policymakers, and proposes a number of interventions to support literacy learning, especially for families from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Makes the case for a concerted effort by…

The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) was conducted in 1994 in seven European countries with the aim of producing literacy profiles to be used in individual national analyses as well as in international comparisons. It was assumed that the test items could be divided into three unidimensional scales corresponding to the aspects…

Systematic knowledge about the dimensions and levels of literacy and information about its distribution are prerequisites for forming good educational policy. This issue discusses the conduct and findings of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). The IALS was not intended to rank literacy skills across countries, but was intended to make…