Thus, the multifaceted nature of literacy had often been glossed over through the use of grade-level equivalent scores.

It was from this multifaceted perspective that several large-scale assessments of literacy were conducted in Australia (Wickert, 1989), Canada (Montigny, Kelly, and Jones, 1991), and the United States (Kirsch and Jungeblut, 1986; Kirsch et al., 1993).

In 1992, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (OECD and Statistics Canada, 1992) concluded that low literacy levels were a serious threat to economic performance and social cohesion on an international level. But a broader understanding of literacy problems across industrialized nations—and consequent lessons for policymakers—was hindered due to a lack of comparable international data. Statistics Canada and Educational Testing Service (ETS) teamed up to build and deliver an international comparative study. After some discussion and debate, the framework and methodology used in NALS was applied to the first largescale International Adult Literacy Survey.

NALS, which was funded by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) as part of its overall assessment program in adult literacy, was the largest and most comprehensive study of adult literacy ever conducted in the United States. Like all large-scale assessments funded by the NCES, NALS was guided by a committee, which was comprised of a group of nationally recognized scholars, practitioners, and administrators who adopted the following definition of literacy:

Literacy is using printed and written information to function in
society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge
and potential.

This definition captures the initial work of the committee guiding the development of the assessment, and provides the basis for creating other aspects of the framework to be discussed. It also carries several assumptions made by panel members; thus, it is important to consider various parts of this definition in turn.

Literacy is …