Organization of this report

This report is organized into three parts.

Part I includes three chapters.

Chapter 1 provides readers with an overview of the policy issues that motivatedthe IALS, the study upon which the ALL study sought to build. The chapter identifiesthe explicit objectives that were set for the ALL study, the pragmatic considerationsthat influenced the design and documents the overall approach taken to the developmentand validation of the instrumentation applied in the study.

Chapter 2 introduces conceptual frameworks for understanding and assessingadult literacy and life skills. It provides readers with a summary of the DeSeCo generalconceptual frame of reference for key competencies.

Chapter 3 traces development of the ALL study from the general theory thatunderlies the assessment through the research and development that led to final design.Readers are provided with insight into the thinking that went into the selection of skilldomains, the process that was followed to develop assessment frameworks and relatedinstrumentation in each domain, how the assessment instrumentation was validated,what criteria were established for measures to be included in the international comparativeassessment of skill and where development managed to produce measures of sufficientquality.