In Canada, the range of scores between the 5th and 95th percentile is consistently large. On the prose scale, the difference in literacy scores between these percentiles is 219 points - the third largest difference of all countries included in the IALS study. This means that the discrepancy between people with low and high literacy skills is far larger in Canada than it is in many European countries, such as Denmark, Norway, Germany, Finland and Sweden. The same pattern is found on the document and quantitative literacy scales. The United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia are similar to Canada as the discrepancies between people with low and high literacy skills are large in those countries as well.

Self-assessment of Literacy Skills

The survey results show that only a minority of those persons with weak literacy skills, whether at work or at home, recognize a need to improve their levels. While it may seem that individuals at lower levels are overrating their skills, this may not be the case. Individuals were asked to relate their literacy skills to their job demands and IALS data show that for some individuals these demands are low. Therefore, in these situations even low skills would be satisfactory. Nevertheless, if only a minority with low skills see any need to improve their skills, that could become a concern for public policy. Without awareness of the need to improve, few Canadians will actively seek opportunities and ways to enhance their skills.

Literacy and Education

The Canadian results reveal a clear relationship between educational attainment and literacy levels. Most adults with no secondary education are at Level 1. Among those with some secondary education, most are at Level 2. The largest number of adults who hold a high school diploma perform at Level 3 or lower. Adults who took an academic program have stronger literacy skills than those who chose the vocational route. Of those who completed community college, most have Level 3 or higher while most adults with a university degree have Level 4/5. Among most recent school leavers, there are few individuals at Level 1, with most at Levels 2 and 3, a finding which belies any notion of widespread school failure.
Yet the connection between educational attainment and literacy levels, while strong, is not exclusive. Many individuals — one third of the population in fact — do not fit the general pattern. Surprisingly, one third of Canadians who have not completed secondary school reach Level 3 or higher while a quarter or more of those who have completed a community college program are at the lower levels (1 or 2). In all, the literacy levels of about 20% of the Canadian sample in IALS are lower than the model one would predict, and about 16% are higher. Clearly, education does not "fix" a person's literacy skills for a lifetime.