ALL (Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey)
This is the home page for the ALL Survey, and its predecessor IALS (International Adult Literacy Survey). See below for information about the ALL Survey or follow one of the links to view information about individual adult literacy survey cycles.
New Zealand participated in the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL) in 2006. ALL measures the prose literacy, document literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills of a representative sample of respondents aged 16-65 from participating countries. ALL built on the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) which was undertaken in 24 countries - including New Zealand - in 1996.
Some FAQs about ALL are available.
ALL Publications
The Ministry of Education has published a number of research reports based on the 2006 assessment, which are available from the ALL publication home page.The OECD and Statistics Canada have published a detailed comparative report on ALL from the countries that have already participated in ALL.
IALS 1996 Publication
Adult Literacy in New Zealand: Results from the International Adult Literacy Survey provides a summary of New Zealand results of IALS 1996.
International Sites of Interest
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The 2006 Australian ALL Results are available on the ABS (Australia Bureau of Statistics) website. |
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The OECD website has a number of IALS, ALL, and adult literacy related publications. Either browse by topic (Education) or search using the phrase Adult Literacy. The OECD's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is a new initiative to assess adult skills across countries. PIAAC is under intensive development in 2009 and 2010, with data collection scheduled for 2011/12. |
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The Statistics Canada website has a number of IALS, ALL, and adult literacy related publications. Either browse by subject (People > Education) or search using the phrase Adult Literacy. |
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The National Center for Education Statistics website has an Adult Literacy and Lifeskills home page. |
Further Information on Adult Literacy
The New Zealand Skills Strategy and the Literacy, Language and Numeracy Action Plan
The Literacy Language and Numeracy Action Plan provides details of steps that will be taken to raise the literacy and numeracy skills of the workforce. The LLN Action Plan is within the broader skills strategy launched in 2008.
Further material on literacy, language and numeracy is available on the Tertiary Education Commission's website.
The Adult English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Strategy
The Adult English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Strategy has been developed to co-ordinate the government’s approach to adult ESOL in New Zealand. The Strategy articulates what is needed for effective adult ESOL provision that matches learner needs.
This page contains links to a range of material on adult literacy, numeracy, and language.
Contact Us
If you have a specific question about IALS or ALL 2006 you can send an e-mail to Paul Satherley the ALL Project Manager at the Ministry of Education.
Paul Satherley
Project Manager, Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey
Research Division
Ministry of Education
PO Box 1666
Wellington
New Zealand
Paul Satherley on ResearchAll.info@minedu.govt.nz
DDI: +64 4-463 2893
Fax: +64 4-463 8312