The measurement of the evolution of illiteracy is the focus of this study. An elementary method for estimating the short-term evolution of the number of illiterates forms the subject of the first part of this analysis. This method is based on the demographic growth rate, the product of the school system and past trends. The second part is devoted…

Modeling and data collection efforts needed to develop a test of the effectiveness of adult literacy and language training programs in increasing the earnings of trainees are reviewed. After reviewing the framework developed for the Manpower Development and Training Act and the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) evaluations and the…

The 63 items on skills in acquiring and using information from written documents contained in the Survey of Young Adult Literacy in the 1985 National Assessment of Educational Progress are analyzed. The analyses are based on a qualitative cognitive model and an item-response theory model. (TJH)

To calculate the economic benefits of schooling and compensatory education, a statistical model estimated the effects of schooling and literacy on earnings and employment. The literacy measure was obtained for a probable sample of the U.S. population in 1972, from the National Reading Survey. The measure was administered with a background…

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…