What Does Low Proficiency in Literacy Really Mean? Adult Skills in Focus. No. 2

In designing policies and programmes targeting populations with poor literacy skills, it is important to take into account differences in the level of these skills within and among these populations. For example, native speakers of the mainstream language may require different language-development training than non-native speakers; and most adults who have poor literacy skills have more trouble comprehending what they read than recognising individual words. Also, low proficiency populations across countries differ in the level of their basic reading skills and will thus require varying degree of assistance in the basic literacy training. Countries can use the evidence gathered through the Survey of Adult Skills to fine-tune their assistance to the least proficient adults. This survey finds that even adults with the lowest proficiency in literacy possess some basic reading skills, although the level of these skills varies considerably across countries. Basic reading skills are revealed in both the accuracy in and speed of responding to reading tasks, which indicate the level of ease and automaticity of reading. Among adults with low proficiency in literacy, those who took the survey in a language different from their mother tongue had much poorer basic reading skills than native speakers. [For the related reports: "Skills Matter: Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skills. OECD Skills Studies," see ED567018; and for "What Does Age Have to Do with Skills Proficiency? Adult Skills in Focus. No. 3," see ED567020.]