How prevalent are literacy needs?

In 1994/95 Canada participated in an international study of literacy skills. The report from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) includes basic facts on the distribution of literacy skills in Canada. The report also redefines "literacy" for the information age.

" Literacy now means more than the basic ability to read and write. Literacy skill levels now also reflect a person’s ability to understand and use information, a key function in a world where daily living requires higher communication and information processing skills."

The report shows that a significant number of Canadians have difficulty with everyday literacy tasks.

• about 22% of adult Canadians 16 and over fall in the lowest level of literacy. They have serious difficulty dealing with printed materials and most likely identify themselves as people who have difficulties reading.
• about 24-26% fall in the second lowest level. Such people can deal only with material that is simple and clearly laid out, where the tasks involved are not too complex. They read, but not well.

The report also found that those who receive some kind of income support had lower skills than those who did not. As well, those who received social assistance had lower skills than those Canadians on unemployment insurance. The report also makes a link between lower skills and educational attainment. It states that 60% of social assistance recipients have not completed secondary school. This partially explains their lower levels of literacy.

The IALS study also looked at Francophone literacy. The report notes that there is a "marked disparity in educational attainment between francophones and anglophones." More Francophones are at Level 1 and 2 mainly because in general Francophones have lower levels of education than Anglophones.

This study did not collect data on the homeless population. It is generally believed that the literacy skills among the homeless population may be lower than those of the general public.

Source: Reading the Future: A Portrait of Literacy in Canada. Highlights from the Canadian Report. http://www.nald.ca/nls/ials/ialsreps/high1.htm.