Measuring Literacy : Performance Levels for Adults

by Hauser, Robert Mason; Edley, Christopher F.; Koenig, Judith Anderson; Elliott, Stuart W.

• ISBN13: 9780309096522
• ISBN10: 0309096529
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-12-30
• Publisher: Natl Academy Pr

Summary

The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) is a household survey conducted periodically by the Department of Education that evaluates the literacy skills of a sample of adults in the United Stages ages 16 and older. NAAL results are used to characterize adultsrs" literacy skills and to inform policy and programmatic decisions. The Committee on Performance Levels for Adult Literacy was convened at the Departmentrs"s request for assistance in determining a means for booking assessment results that would be useful and understandable for NAALrs"S many varied audiences. Through a process detailed in the book, the committee determined that five performance level categories should be used to characterize adultsrs" literacy skills: nonliterate in English, below basic literacy, basic literacy, intermediate literacy, and advanced literacy. This book documents the process the committee used to determine these performance categories, estimates the percentages of adults whose literacy skills fall into each category, recommends ways to communicate about adultsrs" literacy skills based on NAAL, and makes suggestions for ways to improve future assessments of adult literacy.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary	1	(14)
Introduction	15	(8)
Problem Statement	15	(3)
Overarching Goals	18	(1)
Limitations on Inferences About Literacy Skills	19	(2)
Committee's Approach to the Charge	21	(1)
Overview of the Report	22	(1)
Adult Literacy Assessments and Adult Education	23	(27)
Literacy Demands and the Need for Assessments	23	(2)
Literacy Assessments	25	(6)
Uses of Results of Adult Literacy Assessments	31	(19)
Developing Performance Levels for the National Adult Literacy Survey	50	(37)
Background on Developing Performance Levels	50	(2)
Development of NALS Tasks	52	(2)
Development of Performance-Level Descriptions and Cut Scores	54	(15)
Choice of Response Probability Values	69	(2)
Mapping Items to Performance Levels	71	(1)
Conclusion	72	(1)
Technical Note	73	(14)
Determining Performance Levels for the National Assessment of Adult Literacy	87	(21)
Stakeholder Views	88	(4)
Relationships Between Literacy Scores and Background Characteristics	92	(13)
Developing Policy-Relevant Performance Levels	105	(3)
Developing Performance-Level Descriptions and Setting Cut Scores	108	(59)
The Bookmark Standard-Setting Method	111	(6)
Bookmark Standard Setting with 1992 Data	117	(4)
Bookmark Standard Setting with 2003 Data	121	(9)
Results from the Standard-Setting Sessions	130	(16)
Contrasting Groups Standard-Setting Method	146	(13)
Adjusting the Bookmark Cut Scores	159	(2)
Difficulties with the Upper and Lower Ends of the Score Scale	161	(6)
Communicating and Using the Results of Literacy Assessments	167	(15)
Communicating Results	167	(8)
Communication Strategies	175	(2)
Examples of Ways NAAL Results May Be Used	177	(5)
Recommendations for Future Literacy Assessments	182	(14)
Demand-Side Analysis of Critical Skills	183	(5)
Improving the Assessment of Quantitative Skills	188	(3)
Improving the Information Collected About Adult Non-English Speakers	191	(2)
Rethinking and Broadening the Definition of Literacy	193	(2)
Conclusion	195	(1)
REFERENCES	196	(131)
APPENDIXES
A. The Committee's Public Forums on Performance Levels for NAAL	203	(11)
B. Examination of the Dimensionality of NALS	214	(7)
C. July 2004 Bookmark Standard-Setting Session with the 1992 NALS Data	221	(64)
D. September 2004 Bookmark Standard-Setting Session with the 2003 NAAL Data	285	(42)
E. Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff	327