International Adult Literacy
Survey (IALS)

Literacy: the ability to understand and employ printed information in daily activities, at home, at work, and in the community, to achieve one's goals and to develop one's knowledge and potential

Question asked was not "Can you read?" but rather, "How well do you read?".

• Yesterday there was discussion about how the results of the International Adult Literacy Study (IALS) and other significant studies point out why essential skills should be an important issue in today’s workplaces.
• Let’s begin by taking a brief look back at IALS.

Five Levels of Literacy
Level 1

People at this level ...

• very limited reading skills
• may not be able to read simple but important instructions such as those on medicine bottles

• Level 1 in terms of reading means that the person has great difficulty reading.
• The individual may not be able to read labels on containers.

Five Levels of Literacy
Level 2

People at this level …

• can deal with simple text, clearly laid out
• find new material confusing and frustrating

• Level 2 means limited skills.
• The person can read but cannot read well.
• These individuals have trouble learning new skills requiring higher literacy.
• They may be in the workplace and doing jobs that demand much higher literacy levels. The question is, how are they managing?
• They have developed coping skills. However, we must consider the safety factor, the accuracy factor when we talk about these situations.