Mapping Adult Literacy Performance. Background Paper

Language, literacy and numeracy are necessary for greater workforce participation, productivity and social inclusion. Being able to measure the level of proficiency in these skills, and any changes in the level of skills, is important for getting a sense of how well language, literacy and numeracy programs are working. Two measurement tools used in Australia are the Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALLS) survey and the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). This paper outlines a National Centre for Vocational Education Research study which will investigate whether it is possible to map the performance levels of the ALLS to the performance levels of the ACSF in order to gain more frequent information than is currently available about the literacy and numeracy progression of adult learners against national goals. Appended are: (1) About the ALLS survey and the ACSF; and (2) Delphi method and descriptions of ALLS items. (Contains 1 table and 9 footnotes.)