6. Glossary

ALL – the Adult Literacy and Life Skills survey, which was conducted by 12 countries between 2003 and 2008/09 (as at mid-2008 three of these countries have still to complete their participation in ALL).

Document literacy – deals with discontinuous text, such as graphs, charts and tables.

IALS – the International Adult Literacy Survey, which was conducted by 23 countries/regions between 1994 and 1998.

Higher literacy or numeracy − levels 3, 4 or 5.

Levels − prose literacy, document literacy and numeracy are assigned five cognitive levels. 

• Level 1 - Read simple documents, accomplish literal information matching with no distracting information, and perform simple one-step calculations.
• Level 2 - Search a document and filter out some simple distracting information, make low-leve inferences, and execute one-or two-step calculations and estimations.
• Level 3 - Perform more complex information filtering, sometimes requiring inferences, and manipulate mathematical symbols, perhaps in several stages.
• Level 4 - Integrate information from a long passage, perform more complex inferences and complete multiple-step calculations requiring some reasoning.
• Level 5 - Make high-level inferences or syntheses, use specialised knowledge, filter out multiple distractors, and understand and use abstract mathematical ideas with justification.
  

Problem-solving has been assigned four cognitive levels. For a description of typical tasks for the problem-solving domain (and a fuller description of prose and document literacy, along with numeracy), see pages 17 and 18 of Learning a Living: First Results of the Adult Literacy and Life Skill.

Low literacy or numeracy − levels 1 or 2.

Mean – in general, the mean of a set of scores is the sum of the scores divided by the number of scores.

Numeracy – addresses mathematical and numerical information.

Problem-solving – involves analytical thinking, reasoning and logic.

Prose literacy – is concerned with continuous text, such as the type found in books and newspaper articles.

Up-skilling – undertaking further education and training.

• Formal – participation in any course that is part of a programme of study leading towards a certificate, degree or diploma.
• Non-formal – participation in any course that is not part of a programme of study leading towards a certificate, degree or diploma.
• Self-directed or none – either no participation in any up-skilling activities or participation in up-skilling activities such as guided tours, trade fairs, learning from instructional media, etc.

Very high literacy or numeracy − level 4 or 5.

Very low literacy or numeracy − level 1.