Reading and Literacy

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Featured Report

	Measuring Literacy: Performance Levels for Adults (2005) The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) is a household survey conducted periodically by the Department of Education that evaluates the literacy skills of a sample of adults in the United Stages ages 16 and older. NAAL results are used to characterize adults’ literacy skills and to inform policy and programmatic decisions. The Committee on Performance Levels for Adult Literacy was convened at the Department’s request for assistance in determining a means for booking assessment results that would be useful and understandable for NAAL’s many varied audiences. Through a process detailed in the book, the committee determined that five performance level categories should be used to characterize adults’ literacy skills: non-literate in English, below basic literacy, basic literacy, intermediate literacy, and advanced literacy. This book documents the process the committee used to determine these performance categories, estimates the percentages of adults whose literacy skills fall into each category, recommends ways to communicate about adults literacy skills based on NAAL, and makes suggestions for ways to improve future assessments of adult literacy. Order Now | Read the Report Online | Executive Summary PDF

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NRC Units with Projects/Reports in the Topic Center for Education Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences Board on Children, Youth, and Families Board on Science Education Board on Testing and Assessment

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More NRC Publications

	Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy (2006) outlines how the federal government, state governments, and the private sector should develop tests and surveys to measure Americans' knowledge of technology, how they use it in their daily lives, and their ability to make informed decisions on issues involving technology. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11691.html
	ICT Fluency and High Schools: A Workshop Summary (2006) summarizes a workshop which explored how the three components of ICT fluency identified in the report Being Fluent with Information Technology (1999) [intellectual capabilities, IT concepts, and IT skills] can be developed at the high-school level. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11709.html
	Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children's Reading Success (1999) discusses how best to help children succeed in reading. The book includes 55 activities to do with children to help them become successful readers, a list of recommended children's books, and a guide to CD-ROMs and websites. You may read and search the full text of the book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=6014
	Evaluation of the Voluntary National Tests, Year 2: Final Report (1999) assesses several aspects of the first year’s development activities of the proposed voluntary national tests in fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade mathematics. It examines test specifications and frameworks, plans for pilot and field testing, the technical quality of selected test items, and also comments on overall plans and procedures for test-development review and revision. You may read and search the full text of the book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9684
	Embedding Questions: The Pursuit of a Common Measure in Uncommon Tests (1999) focuses on how to determine the technical feasibility, validity, and reliability of embedding test items from the NAEP or other tests in state and district assessments in fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade mathematics for the purpose of developing a valid measure of student achievement within states and districts and in terms of national performance standards or scales. You may read and search the full text of the book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9683
	Being Fluent with Information Technology (1999) sets the standard for what everyone should know about IT in order to use it effectively now and in the future and presents detailed descriptions and examples of current skills and timeless concepts and capabilities, which will be useful to individuals who use IT and to the instructors who teach them. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=6482
	Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children (1998) draws upon the expertise of psychologists, neurobiologists, and educators to establish clear recommendations on several prominent education controversies. This book explores how to prevent reading difficulties in the context of social, historical, cultural, and biological factors. You may read and search the full text of the book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=6023
	Every Child a Scientist: Achieving Scientific Literacy for All (1998) provides guidance to parents and others, explains why high-quality science education is important for all children and young adults, and shows how the quality of school science programs can be measured. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=6005
	Educating Language-Minority Children (1998) discusses a broad range of educational issues: how students learn a second language; how reading and writing skills develop in the first and second languages; how information on specific subjects (for example, biology) is stored and learned and the implications for second-language learners; how social and motivational factors affect learning for English-language learners; how the English proficiency and subject matter knowledge of English-language learners are assessed; and what is known about the attributes of effective schools and classrooms that serve English-language learners. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=6025

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