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 is participating in the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL). 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 builds 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 Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Age and Literacy presents an overview of New Zealanders’ skills in relation to age and compares results from the 1996 International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) with results from the 2006 ALL survey.

The Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Gender, Ethnicity and Literacy presents an overview of New Zealanders’ skills in relation to gender and ethnicity and compares results from the 1996 International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) with results from the 2006 ALL survey.

The Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey: Education, Work and Literacy presents an overview of New Zealanders’ skills in relation to educational and labour force characteristics and compares results from the 1996 International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) with results from the 2006 ALL survey.

The Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey: Overview and International Comparisons compares results from the 1996 International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) with results from the 2006 ALL survey. It also looks at how New Zealand compares with some of the other ALL participants – Australia, Canada and the USA.

The Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey: An Introduction explains the nature of the survey, its application and how the results will be presented.

The Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey: Headline Results and Background provides the first headline results of the ALL Survey together with some background information.

The Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey: Further Investigation provides further headline results on numeracy and document literacy analysed by selected sub populations.

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

	The 2006 Australian ALL Results are available on the ABS (Australia Bureau of Statistics) website.
	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. http://www.oecd.org
	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. http://www.statcan.ca/start.html
	The National Center for Education Statistics website has an Adult Literacy and Lifeskills home page. http://www.nces.ed.gov/surveys/all/

Further Information on Adult Literacy

The New Zealand Adult Literacy Strategy

Low levels of adult literacy in New Zealand (confirmed by the 1996 International Adult Literacy Survey) are a serious impediment to the development of a skilled workforce.

Raising literacy skills will be essential for the development of the knowledge society New Zealand needs for success in the 21st century.

The New Zealand Adult Literacy Strategy (1.32 MB)

This sets out a plan to improve New Zealand's adult literacy rates. The Government's Adult Literacy Strategy will make it easier for more New Zealanders to get help in a way that suits their needs.

Learning for Living

Learning for Living is a programme of initiatives on adult foundation learning, including literacy, numeracy and language skills. This foundation allows further learning and development, in a context that is relevant to the tasks they perform in everyday life. The Learning for Living Newsletters provide updates on Foundation Learning.

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.

Adult Foundation Learning

This page contains links to a range of material on adult literacy, numeracy, and language.