ABC Life Literacy Canada

General Questions About Literacy

Q: We hear a lot of numbers and statistics thrown around: 9 million adult Canadians, 15 per cent of the population, 27 per cent of the population - which one's right?

A: They're all correct. Fifteen per cent of the Canadian adult population has serious difficulty reading even basic material. An additional 27 per cent can only deal with material that is simple and where their limited comprehension makes it difficult for them to face novel demands such as learning new job skills. In total, these two groups make up 42 per cent of adult Canadians – 9 million – who are deemed to have low literacy skills.

Q: Where do these statistics come from?

A: Most of the statistics you hear being quoted come from two reports released by Statistics Canada and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2005.

The Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey, released May, 2005 and presented by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Statistics Canada, uses data collected in 2003 and further builds on the picture of literacy in this country that was begun with earlier surveys. The survey also compares the literacy levels in Canada with those of Bermuda, Italy, Norway, the Mexican State of Nuevo Leon, Switzerland and the United States.

Following that survey, November, 2005 saw the release of the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS), by Statistics Canada, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and the US National Center for Education Statistics.

These findings add to the fund of knowledge gleaned in three earlier rounds of data collection: Literacy, Economy and Society: Results of the first International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) Database (OECD and Statistics Canada, 1995), with data collected in seven countries in the fall of 1994; Literacy Skills for the Knowledge Society: Further results on the International Adult Literacy Survey Database (OECD, Human Resources Development Canada and the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada, 1997), with data collected in 1996; and Literacy in the Information Age: Final Report on the International Adult Literacy Survey Database (OECD and Statistics Canada, 2000), with data collected in 1998.

Researchers for the first round of surveys broke down literacy into three scales: prose literacy – the knowledge and skills required to understand and use information (texts like news stories, poems and fiction); document literacy - the knowledge and skills required to locate and use information contained on forms like job applications, maps and graphs; and quantitative literacy - the knowledge and skills required to apply basic math equations to printed materials - like a chequebook, a bill or an order form.

The two latest reports still refer to prose literacy and document literacy, but break out ‘quantitative literacy’ further into two scales: numeracy – the knowledge and skills required to effectively manage the mathematical demands of diverse situations; and problem-solving – goal-directed thinking and action in situations for which no routine solution procedure is available or immediately apparent.

Throughout all these reports, the researchers divided the various literacy ‘scales’ or skills into five literacy levels, ranging from the lowest level of literacy (Level 1) to the highest levels (Levels 4 and 5).

Q: What do the levels (1-5) represent?

A: There are five literacy levels - although usually levels 4 and 5 are lumped together.

Level 1: people have great difficulty reading simple texts and using printed information (e.g., they would have trouble locating an intersection on a map, understanding a prescription, following directions in a cookbook).

Level 2: people who have limited reading skills - they can only deal with material that is simple and clearly laid out (e.g., they would have trouble filling out a job application or a bank deposit slip).

Level 3: people have the minimum requisite literacy skills suitable for coping with the demands of everyday life and work in a complex, advanced society. It denotes roughly the skill level required for successful completion of secondary school and college entry. Like higher levels, it requires the ability to integrate several sources of information and solve more complex problems.

Levels 4 and 5: people who demonstrate a command of higher-order information-processing skills.

Q: When you talk about the literacy levels (1-5), how do these compare in grade levels? For example is the lowest level, Level 1, the equivalent to a Grade 5 or a Grade 6 reading level?

A: That would be like comparing apples to oranges. These five levels, and the questions that determined which level Canadians would fall into, were determined using a specific research formula that makes it difficult to compare them to actual grade levels.

Q: Is literacy such a big issue in Canada? How many people are actually illiterate?

A: The word “illiterate” is no longer used in literacy circles as it denotes an extremely small percentage of people who would not be able to recognize any words whatsoever. It is more a question of degrees of literacy skill acquisition. Those at Level 1 score the lowest literacy level, and both those at Level 1 and Level 2 are deemed to have “low literacy.” This represents four out of 10 Canadian adults, or 9 million.

Q: What part of the Canadian population is most likely to have low literacy levels?

A: The highest percentage of people in Canada with low literacy skills is comprised of older Canadians. Statistics tell us the older you are, the less likely you are to have the literacy skills needed for everyday life - this is due in large part to the fact that 40% of Canadians over 65 have not completed primary school. Low literacy levels can have serious consequences for seniors. Poor literacy skills may lower their quality of life and may even increase their health and safety risks.

Q: How does this break down regionally across the country?

A: Canadians' literacy skills vary from region to region. Generally, there are more Canadians with higher literacy skills in the Western provinces, and large numbers of Canadians with lower literacy skills in the Eastern provinces.

Q: Why is it important for those living in underdeveloped areas to read?

A: Studies have shown that low literacy skills have a direct socio-economic impact. According to People with low literacy skills (42 per cent of adult Canadians) are about twice as likely to be unemployed for six or more months, than those with higher skills. Fifty per cent of adult Canadians score low numeracy levels and are 2.5 times more likely to receive social assistance, compared with those scoring higher levels.

Literacy affects the well-being of Canadians in so many different ways, from self-esteem issues to communication with their family, their community, and their ability to find a job or seek advancement at their workplace.

Q: Level of schooling must play a role in literacy levels?

A: Yes, there is a strong relationship between educational attainment and literacy level. Seventy-four per cent of young Canadians who graduate from high school have strong literacy skills. The remaining percentage can handle simple reading and writing tasks. Those who leave school before graduation generally have lower literacy skills. However, about 20% of Canadians have lower literacy skills than their education might indicate and 16% have higher skills. This fact gives credibility to the concept that literacy is on a continuum - meaning people can gain and lose literacy ability as they age.

Q: Is there a connection between literacy levels and income or job prospects?

A: A recent Statistics Canada study says those of us with more education and higher literacy skills land better paying jobs. This study even puts a dollar figure on how much literacy levels can pump up a paycheque. Literacy levels account for approximately one third of the return on education. Each additional year of education boosts an individual's annual wages by an average of 8.3 per cent, with 3.1 per cent of this being traced to literacy levels (in dollars, based on an average $30,000 salary, this represents approx. $2,500 and $772 respectively.)

Common Misconceptions About Literacy

Q: I can't believe the numbers are as high as that, I don't know anyone who is illiterate.

A: Literacy is no longer viewed as an "all or nothing skill," which is why we don't use the term "illiterate" anymore - illiteracy affects a very small percentage of the Canadian population (less than 5 %), we prefer to use the term "low literacy skills" which is a more accurate description of what we are talking about. In fact it is suggested that literacy abilities exist along a continuum. Stats Can defines literacy as "the information processing skills needed to use the printed material commonly encountered at work, home or in the community." So by this definition literacy can be understood as being about more than just whether you can or can't read a novel. It's about being able to read, understand and process printed information found in everyday life - from reading a bus schedule to understanding the prescription on a bottle of medication.

Q: Isn't the large percentage of people with low literacy skills due to our large immigrant population?

A: While it is true that the proportion of immigrants at the lowest level of literacy is larger than the proportion of those born in Canada who are at this level, there are also proportionally more immigrants at the highest levels of literacy.

Q: Surely these numbers include those whose first language is not English or French?

A: The IALS was conducted with adult Canadians who were at ease in one of the two official languages. Two million Canadians were excluded from the survey because they did not feel comfortable speaking English or French, or they refused to answer some of the test questions.

Q: Isn't technology replacing the need for basic reading, writing and math?

A: Now more than ever there is a need for a solid foundation of reading, writing and math skills. In fact, often people enrol in literacy upgrading programs once they realize that their skills are not in line with those required for today's workplace. There is increasing demand for higher literacy skills in the workplace, even for entry into positions where the skills are underused.

Q: Who are these people? How can there be so many people in Canada with low literacy skills? What is the cause of this?

A: Literacy is a universal problem in Canada. You can't pigeonhole a person with low literacy skills into one particular category. Those with low literacy skills range in gender, age and socio-economic status. They could be people who are unemployed who couldn't keep up with changing technology in their workplace, people who dropped out of high school because of negative school and schooling experiences, or because they needed to help at home or provide an additional revenue source. They could even be those who have lost their literacy skills because they didn't use them on a daily basis, or even those people who managed to get through the school system without knowing how to read and write properly by developing coping skills and tricks to hide their low literacy skills. The face of literacy could be your neighbour, your coworker, or even a relative.

The Importance of Literacy

Q: What is the impact of low literacy? Why should Canadians be concerned about literacy rates in this country?

A: Research indicates that people who lack literacy skills are seriously disadvantaged. There's a strong correlation between low literacy levels and poor health, higher than average rates of unemployment, low income, poor academic achievement by children of parents with low literacy, poor social integration and low self-esteem. Things most people take for granted can be difficult and even dangerous for those who can't read. When shopping, different products with same packaging could be dangerous, as could taking medication, if you can't read the instructions on the bottle. Just think of what it's like when you visit a country in which you have only the most basic understanding of the language, then imagine having to live and interact in this country, and never improving your skills in that language.

Q: What are the implications of low literacy levels for Canada as a country?

A: From a collective perspective, the implications for a country with citizens with low literacy levels are enormous. The literacy level of a nation's population is likely the most important indicator of its ability to thrive in a world in which knowledge-based industries now dominate job creation and dictate economic growth. For Canada to remain competitive in the global economy, raising literacy skills must be a top priority.

Literacy: Who is Responsible?

Q: Isn't it the government's responsibility to ensure that Canadians who need literacy upgrading have access to it?

A: Of course, governments have a role to play in shaping a better future for citizens. And the federal government has recognized that Canada must continuously upgrade the skills of its workforce. However, Canada is one of the few industrialized countries without a coordinated national system of adult basic education. The involvement of a full range of partners at the national, provincial, regional, local, and organizational levels is necessary in developing a strategy that values the country's human assets. Partners in this initiative should include government, business, labour, education and community groups.

Q: What can the general public/media/corporations do to make a serious dent in the literacy issue?

A: Preventive measures - that's what family literacy is all about - like reinforcing the importance of an early start for children where literacy is concerned. Social programs like early childhood education and family literacy initiatives are among the most powerful tools available to narrow the literacy gap and to raise overall literacy levels among Canadians. For adults, reinforcement of the importance of lifelong learning to ensure that those basic skills are maintained well into the golden years. Media interest that will get people talking about the importance of literacy both within government and corporate Canada is also needed. It's also important to encourage more corporations to help fund literacy programs in communities across Canada, and/or develop workplace literacy programs for their own employees.

Q: Isn't it a lot to ask of a corporation to have them pay for and coordinate a workplace literacy program? After all, time is money!

A: Corporations have a lot to gain from these types of programs. Research indicates that the benefits of workplace literacy programs include greater employee self-confidence, improved literacy skills, increased participation in other training, better problem solving skills, better team-building skills, increased ability to use technology, increased health and safety and improved labour-management relations. All these benefits will - either directly or indirectly - improve a company's bottom line.