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WHAT IS LITERACY?

What is Literacy?

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 defines literacy as "an individual's ability to read, write, speak in English, compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family of the individual and in society." This is a broader view of literacy than just an individual's ability to read, the more traditional concept of literacy. As information and technology have increasingly shaped our society, the skills we need to function successfully have gone beyond reading, and literacy has come to include the skills listed in the current definition.

For more information visit http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/faqs.html#literacy

How is literacy measured?

When literacy was simply a synonym for reading skill, it was typically measured in grade-level equivalents. In other words, an adult's literacy skill was described as equivalent to reading at a grade in the kindergarten-12th grade system.

A more complex, more realistic conception of literacy that emphasizes its uses in adult activities helped create momentum for new forms of literacy measurement. To determine the literacy skills of American adults, the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) used test items that resembled everyday life tasks involving prose, document and quantitative skills. The NALS classified the results into five levels that are now commonly used to describe adults' literacy skills.

Almost all adults in Level 1 can read a little but not well enough to fill out an application, read a food label, or read a simple story to a child. Adults in Level 2 usually can perform more complex tasks such as comparing, contrasting, or integrating pieces of information, but usually not higher level reading and problem-solving skills. Adults in levels 3 through 5 usually can perform the same types of more complex tasks on increasingly lengthy and dense texts and documents. The 2003 results are projected to be released in 2005 from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy.

For more information visit http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/facts/NALS.html

What are ABE and ASE?

Adult Basic Education (ABE) is adult instruction in basic skills below the 9th grade level.
Adult Secondary Education (ASE) is adult instruction in basic skills from the 9th grade level through 12th grade level.

What is Community Education?

Community Education is an opportunity for local citizens and community schools, agencies and institutions to become active partners in addressing education and community concerns such as literacy, and diploma and degree completion.

For more information visit http://www.coloradocommunityeducators.org/index.html

Developmental Education

Developmental education programs and services commonly address academic preparedness, diagnostic assessment and placement, development of general and discipline-specific learning strategies, and affective barriers to learning.
Developmental education includes, but is not limited to all forms of learning assistance, such as tutoring, mentoring, and supplemental instruction.

For more information visit www.nade.net.

English as a Second Language (ESL)/English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

Both terms, which are used interchangeably, refer to instruction for students whose native language is not English.

For more information visit http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/facts/esl.html or www.colorado.edu/iec/cotesol/

EvenStart

EvenStart is a federal initiative that serves low income families through the integration of adult literacy, early childhood education and parenting support.

For more information visit www.cde.state.co.us/cdecare/evenstart.htm

Family Literacy

Family literacy helps parents help their children succeed. In family literacy programs, adults and children learn side by side. Children develop the language and literacy skills they need with the support of their parents or primary caregivers, who also have the opportunity to improve their own skills.

The four components are:

Adult Education
Parent literacy training that leads to economic self-sufficiency
Early Childhood Education
An age-appropriate education to prepare children for success in school and life experiences
Parenting Support
Training and support for parents regarding how to be the primary teacher for their children and how to be full partners in the education of their home
Parent and Child Together
Interactive literacy activities between parents and their children

For more information visit www.famlit.org or www.coloradoliteracy.net.

General Educational Development (GED)

The GED Test is a standardized, international test which measures the knowledge and academic skills of the test-taker against those of traditional U.S. high school graduates. Coloradoans who successfully complete all five parts of the GED Test (Language Arts-Writing, Language Arts-Reading, Social Studies, Science, and Math) earn a High School Equivalency Diploma issued by the Colorado Department of Education.

For more information visit http://www.acenet.edu

For Colorado GED information visit http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeadult/GEDindex.htm

LITERACY Links

For more Literacy FAQs visit: http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/faqs.html

Literacy and Corrections

http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/facts/correctional.html

Literacy Denver

The Learning Source for Adults and Families www.coloradoliteracy.org

Literacy Coalition of Jefferson County www.literacyjeffco.org

Literacy and Families

http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/facts/family.html

Literacy Southwest Colorado