-
able to sign his/her name
-
able to read/write a simple
sentence describing one's daily activities
-
able to read and write,
by his/her self-report (not based on a test)
-
able to pass a written
test of reading comprehension at a level comparable to that achieved
by an average student at grade
4
-
able to engage in all those activities in which literacy
is required for effective functioning in his/her
community
- A person is literate if s/he can both read and write a short simple
statement describing his/her everyday life.
- A person is functionally
literate if s/he can engage in all those activities in which literacy
is required for effective functioning of his/her
group and community and also for enabling him/her to continue to
use reading, writing, and calculation for his own and the community's
development.
- A person is literate if s/he has completed 5 or more years
of schooling.
Is your chosen definition the "best" one?
Some Statistics about Text Literacy
-
75% of unemployed adults have reading or writing
difficulties.
-
Among adults with low literacy skills, 43%
live in poverty and 17% receive food stamps.
-
70% of prisoners scored
in the two lowest literacy levels of the National Adult Literacy
Survey. This means that
while they
have some
reading and
writing skills,
they are not adequately equipped to perform tasks
like writing a letter, explaining an error on a credit card bill,
or understanding
a bus schedule.
If we are not
successful at increasing the literacy of the population when it is
fairly simple why should we expand the definition?
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