Return-Path: <nifl-assessment@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id j5ODX1G07181; Fri, 24 Jun 2005 09:33:01 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 09:33:01 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <400D3423-CA50-4AD7-8FDD-DE3EAC56DA94@comcast.net> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-assessment@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-assessment@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-assessment@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: David Rosen <djrosen@comcast.net> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-assessment@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ASSESSMENT:1137] NAAL and NALS Questions X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.730) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Status: O Content-Length: 1746 Lines: 39 NIFL-Assessment colleagues, Some questions for our guests: The NALS, and now the NAAL, as I understand them, attempt to measure levels of literacy of a representative sample of the U.S. population. The audiences for this information may include practitioners, but they also include policy makers, researchers, the general public and others. 1. Do we have any evidence that the NALS data have been used by any of these audiences to improve adult literacy education services? My impression is that practitioners do not (perhaps cannot) use the NALS data to improve instruction. And my experience with policy makers is that the NALS findings -- the large numbers of Americans in need of literacy skills -- has been dismissed as an exaggeration, or has resulted in a throwing up of hands of hopelessness. What exactly, do you think, is the added value of these studies? For example, do you think the NAAL will be more useful to practitioners and policy makers than the NALS? If so, why? 2. In addition to literacy levels, "need, for literacy in our society," there are two other related questions whose answers might be of more use to practitioners and policy makers: a) what is the actual unmet demand for services to improve basic skills? That is, how many people who need these services have stepped forward and are on waiting lists? and b) what is the "latent demand," that is, the number of people in need who -- if they knew adult literacy education services were available -- would step forward to enroll in adult literacy education programs? Have there been -- or is anyone planning -- national studies of demand or latent demand? Thank you. David J. Rosen djrosen@comcast.net
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