In brief, respondents were first asked a series of questions to obtain background and demographic information. Once this background questionnaire was completed, the interviewer presented a booklet containing six simple tasks. If a respondent failed to complete at least two of these correctly, the interview was adjourned. Respondents who completed two or more tasks correctly were then given a much larger variety of tasks, printed in a separate booklet. The assessment was not timed, and respondents were urged to try each exercise. Respondents were thus given maximum opportunity to demonstrate their skills.
IALS was a large-scale co-operative effort by governments, national statistical agencies, research institutions and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Overall responsibility for the study was shared between Mr. T. Scott Murray and Ms. Nancy Darcovich of Statistics Canada and Mr. Albert Tuijnman, formerly of the OECD. The development and implementation of the survey were co-ordinated by Statistics Canada and the Educational Testing Service (ETS) of Princeton, New Jersey. Mr. Irwin Kirsch and Mr. Kentaro Yamamoto were ETS Project co-Directors. Ms. Marilyn Binkley of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) was the National Study Director for the U.S. component of the study. Mr. Stan Jones, consultant to Statistics Canada, acted as International Project Advisor.
Data collection constituted the largest cost to the countries that participated in the IALS program of work. Most paid the full cost of data collection5 and adhered to the international data collection guidelines specified by Statistics Canada and ETS. The costs of the international co-ordination, data analysis and reporting for the first survey cycle were covered principally by the Canadian Government and NCES. In further cycles the participating countries were required to assist in offsetting some of the international overhead costs. Limited funding was also obtained from the European Union and the OECD. NCES and the Division of Adult Education and Literacy, Office of Vocational and Adult Education of the U.S. Department of Education funded the national study in the United States.
This monograph presents summary findings for 21 of the 22 nations that took part in the assessment. The results presented in the next chapter were computed at ETS and Statistics Canada by analysts using sophisticated but recognized procedures for scaling and the calculation of plausible values, population mean scores and standard errors. The results presented are consistent with those published previously in the IALS final report.6
Chapter 1 presents 10 benchmarks for assessing adult literacy in North America against the backdrop of results achieved by other nations, the majority of them economically advanced Member countries of the OECD. Chapter 2 proposes ten targets and tools that might be employed to improve literacy in America. Successful policies will require a broad and encompassing approach, targeting different audiences and addressing a range of policy domains related to life-long learning. Chapter 3, finally, presents some overall conclusions for policy.
5. Chile and Poland received limited financial support from UNESCO and Slovenia did the same from the World Bank.
6. OECD and Statistics Canada (2000). Literacy in the Information Age: Final Report of the International Adult Literacy Survey, Paris and Ottawa.