Literacy in Canada

Extract

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE LITERACY SKILLS OF CANADIANS

Approximately 10 years ago, Canada and other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries began to cooperate in a program to measure literacy skills in their populations, and to share their results to allow for international comparisons. These initiatives were designed to provide a benchmark against which to gauge our performance, and they have revealed just how many Canadians are unprepared for the literacy demands of modern society.

The international tests summarize literacy skill in terms of five categories. Level 5, which indicates the highest level of skill, is attained by individuals who demonstrate command of higher-order information processing skills. Level 3 denotes the skill level typically required for high school completion in Canada. Scores at or below Level 2 are considered inadequate for full participation in society.

To illustrate, a person at Level 1 would typically be unable to determine the amount of medicine to administer to a child based on simple instructions printed on a bottle. Those at Level 2 can read simple materials only. Because they frequently develop coping skills that mask their difficulty and allow them to deal with everyday literacy demands, these individuals (and others) may overestimate their proficiency, although they have difficulty in novel situations, such as learning new job skills.