ALL (Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey)

Summary

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.

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 (please refer to the downloads/links inset box on the right).

In 2005, the OECD and Statistics Canada published a comparative ALL report, Learning a Living.  This report covered the seven countries that had participated in ALL up till then.  In December 2011, the OECD and Statistics Canada published a further report, Literacy for Life which added in four further countries including New Zealand and Australia.

IALS 1996 Publication

  Adult Literacy in New Zealand: Results from the International Adult Survey
    Adult Literacy in New Zealand: Results from the International Adult Literacy Survey
  This report provides a summary of New Zealand results of IALS 1996. 

International Sites of Interest

    Australian Bureau of Statistics   
    The 2006 Australian ALL Results are available on the ABS
    (Australian Bureau of Statistics) website.



    OECD 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.

The OECD's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is a new initiative to assess adult skills across countries. PIAAC data collection is underway in 2011/12.

    Statistics Canada
    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.


    National Centre for Education Statistics
    The National Centre for Education Statistics website has
    an Adult Literacy and Lifeskills homepage.

Further Information on Adult Literacy

Getting Results in Literacy and Numeracy

    National Centre of Literacy and Numeracy for Adults   
    The Tertiary Education Commission's paper Getting
    Results in Literacy and Numeracy provides an update of
    what has been achieved to date and outlines the next steps
    for literacy and numeracy in the tertiary education sector.

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.