Adult Literacy : An International Perspective. Working Paper Series / Marilyn Binkley, Nancy Matheson and Trevor Williams.

The comparison of adult literacy in the United States and in other countries is based on data gathered in interviews with a sample of individuals representative of the population aged 16-65 in twelve countries: Sweden, the Netherlands, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, and Poland. Respondents' literacy was measured using 114 literacy tasks found to be valid across cultures and reflecting three domains of literacy: prose, document, and quantitative. An introductory section gives background information on the study, definition of literacy, and methodology used in the survey. Subsequent sections contain the findings, in tables and narrative, concerning: national literacy averages and distribution of literacy skills at five levels; the relationship of literacy to employment status (unemployed, employed, out of workforce, student), occupational status (professionals, managers, technicians, clerical, sales/service, skilled craft, machine operators, agricultural/primary), and income, and the importance of literacy to individuals. Contains three references. (MSE) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education)

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