Vol. 3, Issue 2 February 2006    Bringing urban P-16 education resources to policymakers, parents, advocates, and district and school staff in the District of Columbia    Education News Research on DC Schools National Lessons Learned New Ideas   The State Education Office does not endorse the views expressed in the resources and reports contained in the SEO Ed Digest.	Related Links DCDOCS Subscribe to the digest. Education Center Find local information and resources. React! Share your thoughts about the digest. Research 101 Learn how to judge the quality of research. SEO_Ed_Digest@dc.gov Contact us.

 

This issue of the SEO Ed Digest covers recent and background research on the topic of literacy.  Because literacy is such an expansive topic, rather than ordering this digest by date, it is instead ordered by topic.  The research in this digest focuses on: early childhood literacy, adolescent literacy, adult literacy, and literacy and employment.  Literacy is an especially important topic because Mayor Anthony Williams has committed to making adult literacy one of his major priorities for the city.  He acknowledged that literacy, and education in general, was critical to the economic well being of the city and initiated the Citywide Literacy Initiative.    

 

 

 

 

 

The NIFL Literacy Fact Sheets include facts and statistics pulled from more than 50 research studies.  Links to digests of some of the major studies are also included.  Facts are organized by the major topic areas in the field of literacy and represent the types of information to be found.  These topics are: correctional education facts, family environment and family literacy, literacy and health, reading facts, workforce education, English as a second language literacy, learning disabilities, parental involvement in learning, and welfare and literacy. 

 

 

Currently, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is conducting the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study.  The study selected a nationally representative sample of kindergartners in the fall of 1998 and is following these children through the spring of fifth grade.  The study includes reading and mathematics assessments: the reading assessment captures information on children’s basic literacy skills, vocabulary, and comprehension; the mathematics assessment measures children’s conceptual understanding of numbers, shapes, patterns, mathematical operations, and processes for problem solving.  NCES recently released its fourth report, highlighting children’s gains in reading and mathematics over their first four years of school, from the start of kindergarten to when most children are finishing third grade.  The study found that from the start of kindergarten to the end of third grade, children's reading scale scores increased an average of 81 points, and their mathematics scale scores increased about 63 points. Between the start of kindergarten and the end of third grade, the reading and mathematics achievement gaps across certain groups of children widened. Black children had made smaller gains in reading and mathematics by the end of third grade than White, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander children. As the number of children's family risk factors increased (including living in a single-parent household, living below the federal poverty level, primary home language was non-English, mother’s highest education was less than a high school diploma/GED), children tended to gain less in both subject areas than children with fewer family risk factors.  After controlling for the other child, family, and school characteristics, Black third-graders had lower achievement scores than White, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander children in reading, mathematics and science, and Hispanic third-graders had lower overall achievement scores in science compared with White children. Those with more family risk factors had lower mean achievement scores in all subjects than those with fewer family risk factors.

 

 

This report discusses the findings of a study conducted by Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley, who observed 42 families for 2 and a half years for an hour each month to learn about what typically went on in homes with 1-and 2-year-old children learning to talk.  The data show that ordinary families differ immensely in the amount of experience with language and interaction they regularly provide their children and that differences in children’s experience are strongly linked to children’s language accomplishments at age 3.  The authors found that the 42 children turn out to be like their parents in activity levels, in vocabulary resources, and in language and interaction styles.  Eighty-six percent to 98 percent of the words recorded in each child’s vocabulary consisted of words also recorded in their parents’ vocabularies.  The researchers also estimated the amount of experience children of different SES groups might bring to preschool at age 4.  They found that the average child on welfare was having half as much experience per hour (616 words per hour) as the average working-class child (1,251 words per hour) and less than one-third that of the average child in a professional family (2,153 words per hour).  By age 4, the child in a welfare family might have 13 million fewer words of cumulative experience than the average child in a working-class family.  The researchers also found that children in professional families were hearing more affirmatives (encouraging words) than children in working class welfare families. 

 

 

 

The James Irvine Foundation launched the Communities Organizing Resources to Advance Learning (CORAL) initiative in 1999 with the goal of improving the academic achievement of children in the lowest-performing schools in five California cities. In 2004, CORAL adopted a more targeted approach toward reaching this goal by integrating a regular schedule of literacy instruction into its after-school programs. This interim report, based on research conducted between Fall 2004 and Summer 2005, documents CORAL's progress toward implementing high-quality and consistent literacy programming. The report presents early results in terms of youth's positive reading gains and describes the program components that appear to have contributed to these gains. It also identifies challenges CORAL sites faced and successful strategies for addressing those challenges.

 

Adolescent Literacy Policy Update (Updated June 2005)
http://www.all4ed.org/publications/Adolescent%20Literacy%20Policy%20Update.pdf

 

More than eight million children in America in grades four through twelve read at “below basic” levels, according to results from the most recent National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) test. In recent months, the policymaking community has begun to respond to this national crisis by making recommendations to provide resources for programs designed to help struggling older children improve their literacy skills. The Pathways for All Students to Succeed (PASS) Act and the Graduation for All Act are two of these initiatives; they are described in more detail in this brief.

 

 

Reading Next is a cutting-edge report that combines the best research currently available with well-crafted strategies for turning that research into practice. Written by five of the nation's leading researchers, Reading Next charts an immediate route to improving adolescent literacy. The authors outline 15 key elements of an effective literacy intervention, and call on public and private stakeholders to invest in the literacy of middle and high school students today while simultaneously building the knowledge base around adolescent literacy.

 

 

 

This resource presents the major issues, latest research, and best practices in the field of adult learning and literacy.  It is written to help policymakers, scholars, and practitioners dedicated to improving the quality of adult basic education, adult English for speakers of other languages, and adult secondary education programs.  The book presents chapters on demographic change and low-literacy Americans, the role of vocabulary in adult basic education (ABE), implications of research on spelling for ABE, issues in teaching speaking skills to adult ESOL learners, the preparation and stability of the ABE teaching workforce, the adult literacy system in Ireland, and broad-based organizing as a vehicle for promoting adult literacy.

 

 

The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) measures the English literacy of America's adults (people age 16 and older living in households and prisons). NAAL builds on the previous national assessment of literacy completed in 1992. The 2003 assessment defines literacy as “using printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.” Results are reported in terms of scale score averages and literacy levels on three literacy scales: prose, document, and quantitative. The literacy levels were described as below basic, basic, intermediate, and proficient. Each level corresponded to a specific range of scale scores and was described in terms of the abilities associated with each level and the types of tasks that adults could complete at that level. An additional component comprising 5 percent of the adult population was the non-literate in English. The non-literate in English included the 2 percent who could not be tested because they could not communicate in English or Spanish, and the 3 percent who took an alternative assessment because they were unable to complete a minimum number of simple literacy screening questions. This report is a first look at the data.  The 2003 study showed that the average quantitative literacy scores of adults increased 8 points between 1992 and 2003.  However, prose and document literacy did not differ significantly from 1992. Among Blacks, average prose literacy scores increased by 6 points and average document literacy scores rose by 8 points between 1992 and 2003. The average prose scores of Asians/Pacific Islanders increased as well, rising 16 points between 1992 and 2003.The average prose literacy scores of Hispanics fell 18 points from 1992 to 2003, while average document literacy scores decreased by 14 points. Average prose and document literacy scores among Whites did not change significantly.

 

 

This report discusses the role of the State Education Agency at the University of the District of Columbia and the adult literacy services they provide to District residents.  In FY2004, DC’s State Education Agency served 3,167 adult learners in the following programs: English as a second language; adult basic education; and adult secondary education.  The SEA helped adult learners become more skillful in reading, math, basic computer skills, English as a second language, and workplace readiness.  The report also provides statistics on the number of students served since 1998 and more information about the programs they run.

 

Adult Literacy in America: A First Look at the Findings of the National Adult Literacy Survey (April 2002)
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs93/93275.pdf
This report provides a first look at the 1993 findings of the National Adult Literacy Survey.  The aim of the survey is to profile the English literacy of adults in the United States based on their performance across a wide array of tasks that reflect the types of materials and demands they encounter in their daily lives.  This report describes the types and levels of literacy skills demonstrated by adults in this country and analyzes the variation in skills across major subgroups in the population.  It also explores connections between literacy skills and social and economic variables such as voting, economic status, weeks worked, and earnings.  The study found that 21 to 23%— 40 to 44 million of the 191 million adults in this country—demonstrated skills in the lowest level of prose, document, and quantitative proficiencies (Level 1).  These adults were able to total an entry in a deposit slip locate the time or place in a meeting on a form, and identify a piece of specific information on a news article.  However, they could not identify and enter background information on a social security card application or calculate the total cost of purchase from an order form.  The study found that individuals demonstrating higher levels of literacy were more likely to be employed than individuals demonstrating lower proficiencies.  Those who scored in Level 1 reported working only 18 to 19 weeks in the year compared to those in the three highest levels who worked between 33 to 44 weeks.  Individuals in the lowest levels reported median weekly earnings of about $230 to $245, compared with about $350 for those performing in level 3, and $620 to $680 for those in level 5.

 

 

This publication offers new insights into the factors that influence the development of adult skills in various settings across the 20 countries for which comparable household assessment results are included. Findings point to large differences in the average level and population distribution of literacy skills both within and between countries. Low literacy skills are evident among all adult groups in significant - albeit varying - proportions. However, the relationship between literacy skills and educational attainment is complex. Many adults have managed to attain high levels of literacy proficiency despite a low level of education; conversely, some have low literacy skills despite a high level of education. These differences matter both economically and socially: literacy affects, labor quality and flexibility, employment, training opportunities, income from work and wider participation in civic society. Improving the literacy skills of the population remains a large challenge for policymakers. The results suggest that high-quality foundation learning in schools is important but insufficient as a sole means to that end. Policies directed at the workplace and family settings are also needed. The employers' role in promoting and rewarding literacy skills is particularly important for skills development.

 

 

Following the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) in 1993, policymakers and adult literacy workers were eager to find out exactly what these numbers meant to their own states, counties, and cities.  This report provides that information.  The National Institute for Literacy has extrapolated NALS data for states, counties, Congressional districts, and cities with adult populations over 5,000. It is the best estimation of how many adults have low literacy skills.  According to the report, 37% of District of Columbia residents (one in three adults) read at a Level I Literacy proficiency, which is synonymous to a 3rd grade reading level.

 

 

 

This report shows how employment in occupations is projected to change over the 2004 to 2014 decade.  The charts show which occupations or occupational groups are expected to grow fastest or gain the most jobs.  The report predicts that the occupations that that are expected to have the largest unemployment declines include farming and lower skilled production occupations.  The occupations that are expected to gain the most new jobs have a wide range of earnings, responsibilities, and education and training requirements.  Of these occupations, those related to health care, education, business, and computers have the highest earnings.

 

 

This report argues that basic literacy skills required for economic security have changed and that insufficient skill levels among workers in Massachusetts put the state's future economic growth at risk.  It defines basic literacy skills needed to meet demands of the new economy and analyzes the ability of the state's population to meet those demands and describes the role of and demand for adult basic education (ABE) services. The report also presents case studies on building basic skills, examines the value of investing in ABE, and suggests ways to integrate ABE and other systems.

 

 

This report analyzes data containing information on the universe of school dropouts in New York and Florida who took the GED exams between 1986 and 1990 and were aged 16 to 21 when they last took these exams.  The data show that the average annual earning levels of young dropouts are quite low. Average unconditional earnings for males range from a low of $9,394 in New York in 1995 to a high of $10,869 in Florida in 1995. The comparable figures for females are a low of $6,886 in New York in 1995 and a high of $7,955 in Florida in 1994. Since these averages contain zero earnings for individuals who did not work in a year, they represent the combined effect of wages and labor supply on earnings.  For whites and minority-group members, males and females, skills are an important determinant of earnings. The results show that in the labor market of the early 1990s, young high school dropouts could expect higher annual earnings if they had higher levels of basic cognitive skills.    

 

This report evaluates the basic skills and employment prospects of current adult TANF recipients.  The researchers performed an analysis for the U.S. as a whole, as well as separate analyses for almost all of the 75 most populous U.S. counties plus the District of Columbia. The measure they used to base their analysis on was from the National Adult Literacy Survey. The results for the U.S. as a whole show that typical TANF recipients have extremely low basic skills. Because of their low basic skills, the vast majority of jobs are not open to TANF mothers. The nation’s economy would need to create 6 percent more low-skilled jobs to fully employ all welfare mothers.  The results also show that the counties that will have the greatest difficulty moving their welfare recipients into jobs are: Los Angeles, California; San Diego, California; Washington, D.C.; Newark, New Jersey; Detroit, Michigan; Baltimore, Maryland; Chicago, Illinois; New York City; and Miami, Florida.  The report concludes with a discussion on state welfare policies.  Currently, these policies place little importance on learning new math and reading skills, so recipients may not get the education and training necessary to move into higher paying jobs that lift their families out of poverty.  The challenge will be to help working parents acquire the skills they need to find better paying work while juggling the demands of work and family.

 

 

This book examines the trends that shape the economy and workforce, and combines them into a unique and fresh body of analysis. The authors set the record straight on the demographic makeup of the workforce in the years 2000 to 2020 and challenge the conventional wisdom on trends affecting American workers and employers. Analyzing important emerging issues, they detail the coming demographic changes in the workforce--and their potentially serious effects on the job market and the economy as a whole. The book also considers the effects of globalization on U.S. business and the American worker, the impact of rapid technological change, the "skills gap," and the need for a new model of education, training, and employment services to prepare workers for the jobs of the next century.

 

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