tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082226991800167507.post8994501696083781438..comments2023-12-08T03:29:25.202-05:00Comments on Adult Literacy @ VCU: Assessment of the "Literacy Rate": Who Gets to Decide, Anyway?Susan Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203951366654414340noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082226991800167507.post-13393987053799106552014-02-17T16:03:25.425-05:002014-02-17T16:03:25.425-05:00Rachel, I would like to believe that those who dev...Rachel, I would like to believe that those who develop, fund, and implement these global literacy assessments/surveys intend them to benefit all segments of a nation’s population. I recall reading a statement by Irwin Kirsch, in his report “The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS): Understanding What Was Measured” as saying “…the primary reason for developing and conducting this large-scale international assessment is to provide empirically grounded interpretations upon which to inform policy decisions.” http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/RR-01-25-Kirsch.pdf<br /><br />Nevertheless, the questions you raised are a good reminder that the current portfolio of global literacy assessments can be improved. For example, viewing literacy from the lens of a “critical literacy” approach might enables us to better respond to the issues/concerns raised by your questions by an “…analysis that seeks to uncover the social interests at work, to ascertain what is at stake in textual and social practices. Who benefits? Who is disadvantaged?” (Janks, 2010, p 12). <br /> <br />Through the lens of “critical literacy,” the policy makers, funders, and developers of literacy assessment might improve the design of their assessments to enhance their accuracy. After all, the goal of these assessment is to enable the nation’s leadership to prescribe improvements or interventions that will better enable members of the population to acquire the necessary skills and literacies to move up the social-economic ladder, raise their standard of living, and ultimately “make the world a fairer place.” (Janks, 2010, p 19). <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082226991800167507.post-6760925641174155462014-02-17T15:59:41.760-05:002014-02-17T15:59:41.760-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082226991800167507.post-13215899034741394492014-02-17T15:02:31.542-05:002014-02-17T15:02:31.542-05:00I too struggle with the theory behind literacy rat...I too struggle with the theory behind literacy rates. And I only think it is fair to compare literacy rates of different nation if the measurement s are equal. Most like UNESCO provided the very limited definition of Literacy to allow for measureable result. UNESCO’s definition of literacy is only adequate for the analysis UNESCO performed. As you have stated using their definition outside of the study doesn’t make sense and seems one sided. <br /><br />This is another example of where the definition of literacy is heavily dependent upon context. I hope this helps<br /><br />Great reflection.<br />ShannonShannon Beyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14029749932013504967noreply@blogger.com