Kingsley Educational Pty Ltd

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In 1996, a literacy survey was conducted in Australia by experienced interviewers.

This survey was called The Survey of Aspects of Literacy (SAL). The focus was on functional literacy and numeracy, and the people surveyed were aged between 15 and 74.

Three different types of skills were tested: prose literacy, document literacy, and numeracy. The achievement level for each type of skill was divided into five levels, Level 1 being the lowest level of achievement and Level 5 being the highest.

Examples of the different tasks included at the different levels are:

Level	Prose Literacy	Document Literacy	Numeracy
1	Locating information on a medicine label giving the maximum number of days the medicine should be taken.	Using a simple chart to find a specified percentage.	Adding a handling charge to the total cost on an order form.
2	Using information in an article to explain what happens when a plant is exposed to low temperatures	Using a compound interest table to list all the rates which will yield more than $500 interest if $100 is invested for 20 years	Using a weather chart for Asia to calculate the difference between today's temperatures in Bangkok and Seoul
3	Explaining how to check for correct seat height on a bicycle, according to a page from a bicycle maintenance manual	Listing two features not included on any basic clock radio in a consumer advice table	Calculating the difference in oil consumption by a specified group across two different years
4	Contrasting two types of warranty described on a warranty card for an appliance	Writing a brief summary contrasting the distribution of oil consumption in two pie charts	Using a compound interest table, calculate the total interest earned if investing $100 at 6% for 10 years
5	Describing in their own words one difference between two types of job interview outlined in an employment pamphlet	Using a consumer advice table to identify the average advertised price for a clock radio meeting specified conditions	Using a table to calculate the percentage of calories derived from fat, given total fat in grams, calories, and the number of calories contained in each gram of fat

Conclusions

The conclusions arrived at regarding the standards of achievement were:

Level	Standards of Achievement	% of achievers (rounded)
1	achievers would experience considerable difficulty using printed materials in daily life (includes those who could not successfully complete even these simple tasks.)	19
2	achievers would experience some difficulty using printed materials in daily life.	27
3	achievers would cope with using printed materials in daily life, but not always at a high level of proficiency.	36
4	achievers are capable of managing the literacy demands of everyday life.	15
5	achievers are capable of managing the literacy demands of everyday life.	2

The results of the Survey show that only 17% of Australians are capable of managing the literacy demands of everyday life. They also showed that only 10 percent of people aged between 15 and 19 achieved Levels 4 or 5. (Even though the spread of people in this age group ranges between those dropping out of school and those in second year university, I would have expected a higher standard of achievement after ten to fifteen years of education).

This information also explains why the type of student who uses our curriculum is appreciated in the workplace and in tertiary institutions; these students are far more than capable. If they are hardworking, they are more likely to be judged exceptional.

One part of the survey which I found particularly interesting was the results of the section in which participants estimated their competency, before doing the tests. Of those who rated their skills as excellent:

• 28% achieved only at Levels 1 or 2 on the prose test;
• 23% achieved only at Levels 1 or 2 on the numeracy test.

What difference did educational achievement have on lifestyle? At least 30% of those in Level 1 were unemployed. 65% of people who had a tertiary (TAFE or university) qualification were in Levels 4 or 5.

It is important for Christian home schoolers to give their child the highest standard of education he is capable of achieving the type of education which will train up the child in the way he should go, remembering that children called to different occupations need different training.

This information is available on the internet. If you would like to print off a full copy, go to the Australian Bureau of Statistics then ask the search facility to search for Aspects of Literacy. When that comes up, look through the results for: Aspects of Literacy: Assessed Literacy Skills (the ABS number for this document is: 4228.0).

This article has been reproduced with the kind permission of our friends at Light Educational Ministries in Canberra, in the November 2003 edition of Light of Life magazine. The Acrobat version reproducing the actual magazine pages is available if you wish to study it in more detail.