Learning Site for the CLCP > Statistics Related to Literacy
Statistics Related to Literacy
Literacy in Everyday Life: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of
Adult Literacy: The National Center
for Education Statistics (NCES) just released Literacy in Everyday Life,
the most recent publication of the 2003 National Assessment of Adult
Literacy (NAAL). This report provides extensive information on the
literacy of American adults age 16 and older and changes in their
performance since 1992. Furthermore, it examines the relationship
between literacy and several demographic variables including education,
occupation, and income.
Some of the key findings:
- Women have closed the gap with men in Quantitative literacy. They are doing better than men in Document and Prose literacy.
- Younger and older adults have lower literacy than adults in other age groups.
- Median weekly earnings increased with each level of literacy.
- At each higher level of Prose literacy, more adults were employed full time.
Adult Education in America:
A new study funded by OVAE, was released by the Educational Testing
Service (ETS) February 27, providing a comprehensive picture of
federally supported adult education activities in the U.S. Data from
more than 6,000 adult learners in 1,200 programs nationwide revealed
that a large share of learners demonstrated skills in the lowest level
on proficiency scales. This is the first nationally representative study
of learners and programs using comparable measures to assess
participants' literacy and numeracy skills. The survey is the first
allowing researchers to compare adult education students' skills to
those of the general adult population. The study also marks the first
time a large-scale measure of literacy skills was conducted in both
Spanish and English. An interactive data tool also is available. Get
the study and tool at
http://www.ets.org
Abstract and Full Report of the Adult Education Program Survey (AEPS)
Literacy Tool from ETS
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) "The National
Center for Education Statistics (NCES), located within the U.S.
Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences, is the
primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to
education."
The
Latest Census Information: This shows Georgia's high school
graduation rate (78.6%) in comparison to the national high school
graduation rate (80.4%). This data can be found in the item titled,
High school graduates, percentage of persons age 25+,2000. This page
provides statistics comparing Georgia rates to national rates in a
variety of areas.
United States Census 2000: This is the main
page of the US Census Bureau's 2002 Census information. From this page
you are able to access census data by using a number of tools including
the American FactFinder, State & County QuickFacts, a street address and
a Data Highlight link.
At the bottom each
web page on this site are Census Bureau Links to the Home page, Search,
Subjects A-Z, FAQ's, Data Tools, Catalog, Census 2000, Quality, Privacy
Policy and a Contact Us page.
The US Census is a
highly complex undertaking and that complexity is reflected by this web
site. There is often more than one way to access the same information
but for the purpose of this site we will describe 3 common tasks:
- How to find out how many (ABE/GED) undereducated people there are in a county?
- How to find out how many non-English speakers are in a county.
- How to find a map.
1. To
find out census information for Greene County, Georgia go to the
American Fact Finder web page and type Greene County in the "city/town,
county, or zip" field in the Fast Access to Information section of the
page. Next use the "state" pull down menu and select Georgia. Click the
red "GO" button and you will see the Census 2000 Demographic Profile
Highlights for Greene County, Georgia. This page includes four major
categories of information:
- General Characteristics,
- Social Characteristics,
- Economic Characteristics,
- Housing Characteristics.
To find information
about the undereducated population scroll down the page to the Social
Characteristics listing. Here you see the total population 25 years and
over 9,508 and that 6,662 (70.1%) have are high school graduates.
2.
To find out how many
non-English speakers there are in Greene County continue down the page
to the page and you see that there are 487 people over the age of 5
years who peak a language other than English at home.
3.
Each category on the
page includes a link to a popup map that illustrates the data.
U.S.
Census Bureau - Factfinder: "The Census Bureau conducts many
important censuses and surveys. The most well-known is the official
population census of the United States, called the decennial census. It
is conducted every ten years, most recently in April 2000. During each
decennial census, the Census Bureau collects data from every household
in the U.S. and its territories... Besides the decennial census, the
Census Bureau conducts nearly one hundred other surveys and censuses
every year. By law, no one is permitted to reveal information from these
censuses and surveys that could identify any person, household, or
business. Individual records from each decennial census are made public
72 years after the census has been taken. In the meantime, the
information collected for each census and survey is summarized by
geographic area and then published in a variety of formats, including
printed reports, CD-ROM, DVD, and on the Internet... American FactFinder
displays the results of a census or survey in
table and map
formats."
Georgia
County Guide: The premiere demographic resource for Georgia
counties. "It puts the answers you need right at your fingertips in a
comprehensive, easy-to-use format that covers all 159 counties in
Georgia with more variables than any other county data source."