• Materials/Texts. While no one would doubt that a literacy assessment should include a range of material, what is critical to the design and interpretation of the scores that are produced are the range and specific features of the text material that are included in constructing the tasks. Thus, a broad range of both prose and document text types are included in this survey.
• Processes/Strategies. This refers to the characteristics of the questions and directives that are given to adults for their response. Generally speaking, the questions and directives will refer to a goal or purpose the readers are asked to assume while they are reading and interacting with texts, and relate to one or more strategies that the reader is likely to use in producing their response.

Identifying and operationalizing the variables

In order to use these three main task characteristics in designing the assessment and, later, in interpreting the results, the task characteristics need to be operationalized. That is, various values that each of these characteristics can take on must be specified. This will allow item developers to categorize the materials they are working with and the questions and directives they construct so that they can be used in the reporting of the results. These variables can also be used to specify what proportions of the assessment ought to come from each category.

Context/Content

Materials that are selected for inclusion in the assessment need to represent a broad range of contexts and contents so that no single group is advantaged or disadvantaged in terms of familiarity or exposure. Six adult context/content categories have been identified as follows:

• Home and family includes materials dealing with interpersonal relationships, personal finance, housing, and insurance.
• Health and safety includes materials dealing with drugs and alcohol, disease prevention and treatment, safety and accident prevention, first aid, emergencies, and staying healthy.
• Community and citizenship includes materials dealing with community resources and staying informed.
• Consumer economics includes materials dealing with credit and banking, savings, advertising, making purchases, and maintaining personal possessions.
• Work includes materials that deal in general with various occupations but not job-specific texts, finding employment, finance, and being on the job.
• Leisure and recreation includes materials involving travel, recreational activities, and restaurants.

It is important to note that with respect to this variable, an attempt should be made to include as broad a range as possible across the six contexts, as well as to select universally relevant materials. Following this procedure will help to ensure that the content and materials that are included in the assessment are not so specialized as to be familiar only to certain groups and that any disadvantages for people with limited background knowledge might be minimized.