The design will also permit the estimation of the inter-skill covariance matrix information critical to devising efficient and effective remedial education programs.

An attempt will also be made to link the quantitative literacy domain of the IALS study to the broader ALL numeracy assessment.

The ALL study will also provide:

• an index of respondent familiarity with and use of information and communication technologies. This data will be used to explore the degree to which such skills depend, in the first instance, on high levels of literacy and/or numeracy skill and the extent to which they amplify inequality in social economic, educational and health outcomes.
• A profile of respondent's participation in formal and informal adult education and training, one of the key suspected mechanisms of skill retention/acquisition.
• The inter-skill covariance matrix that reveals the degree to which skill in one domain depends on skill in other domains. Such dependencies have important implications for the structure and content of remedial education.
• The relationship of skill to a broad range of demographic variables to identify groups whose skill either places them at risk or provides significant advantages in various life contexts.
• The relationship of skill to a broad range of variables thought to influence the acquisition and maintenance of skills, including, as noted above, their participation in adult education and training.
• The relationship of skill in each domain to a range of objective economic, social, educational and health outcomes.
• Indices of respondent's use of skill at work and other life contexts.
• Measures of respondents' perceptions of their own skill levels and the degree to which they believe that their skill acts as a barrier to their life chances.

The ALL study was designed to yield data of unparalleled quality on a range of public policy issues broadly related to skills and learning. The research and development effort associated with the study has provided the scientific basis to support this goal.

Experience with assessment at the international level suggests that this is a necessary, but not a sufficient, step in ensuring valid, reliable comparable and interpretable results. Quality depends, ultimately as much on how the study is implemented as on the design.