There are 55 tasks ordered along the 500-point prose literacy
scale representing 19
IALS prose literacy tasks and 36 new prose literacy tasks designed
and developed for
the IALSS survey. These tasks range in difficulty value from
169 to 439. One of the
easiest tasks (receiving a difficulty value of 188 and falling
in Level 1) directs the
reader to look at a medicine label to determine the “maximum
number of days you
should take this medicine.” In terms of our process variables,
type of match was scored as easy because the reader was required to locate a single piece of information
that was literally stated in the medicine label. The label contained only one reference
to number of days and this information was located under the label dosage. Type of
information was scored as easy because it asked for a number of days and plausibility
of distractor was judged to be easy because there is no other reference to days in the
medicine label.
MEDCO ASPIRIN
500
INDICATIONS: Headaches, muscle pains, rheumatic pains,
toothaches, earaches. RELIEVES COMMON COLD SYMPTOMS.
DOSAGE: ORAL. 1 or 2 tablets every 6 hours, preferably
accompanied by food, for not longer than 7 days. Store in a cool,
dry place.
CAUTION: Do not use for gastritis or peptic ulcer. Do not use if
taking anticoagulant drugs. Do not use for serious liver illness or
bronchial asthma. If taken in large doses and for an extended
period, may cause harm to kidneys. Before using this medication
for chicken pox or influenza in children, consult with a doctor about
Reyes Syndrome, a rare but serious illness. During lactation and
pregnancy, consult with a doctor before using this product,
especially in the last trimester of pregnancy. If symptoms persist,
or in case of an accidental overdose, consult a doctor. Keep out of
reach of children.
INGREDIENTS: Each tablet contains
500 mg acetylsalicicylic acid.
Excipient c.b.p. 1 tablet.
Reg. No. 88246
Made in Canada by STERLING PRODUCTS, INC.
1600 Industrial Blvd., Montreal, Quebec H9J 3P1
A second prose literacy task directs the reader to look at
an article about
impatiens. This task falls in the middle of Level 2 and has
a difficulty value of 254.
It asks the reader to identify “what the smooth leaf
surfaces and the stems suggest
about the plant.”
Again, the task directed the reader
to locate information contained
in the text so it was scored easy for type of information.
The last sentence in the
second paragraph under the heading Appearance states: “The
smooth leaf surfaces
and the stems indicate a great need of water.”
Type of
information was scored as
being moderate because it directs the reader to identify a
condition. Plausibility of
distractor was scored as being moderate also because the same
paragraph contained
a sentence which serves to distract a number of readers. This
sentence states,“… stems are branched and very juicy, which means, because of
the tropical origin, that
the plant is sensitive to cold.”