(from the monograph by J. Douglas Willmsfor the complete document, see the NALD website under monographs: http://www.nald.ca/nls/introduc.htm)

A country’s economic performance relies heavily on the ability of its labour market to adapt quickly to developments and changes in the global economy. Economic and social inequalities - along social class lines, between the sexes and among ethnic groups - are associated with the distribution of literacy skills. Human capital theories assume a direct relationship between literacy and economic success: in a competitive labour market, individuals’ skills and capabilities affect their productivity, which in turn is closely related to their remuneration. Inequalities in literacy, therefore, contribute directly to inequalities in income and occupational status, in that those with low literacy skills have restricted access to certain labour markets.

Because literacy skills are central to a country’s economic success and social cohesion, seven countries collaborated on the first International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) in 1994 to determine the level and distribution of literacy among their adult population. The study was to “investigate and compare factors relevant to literacy in a variety of countries”.

Literacy Skills of Canadian Youth examines in greater detail the distribution of literacy skills within this age group. A thorough analysis is significant for many reasons. Adults aged 16 to 25 can be described as “in transition” from completing their formal schooling to entering the labour market. Thus, the analyses examine the effects of formal schooling on literacy levels. The analyses also examine interprovincial differences in literacy levels and gradients, with substantial implications for educational policies.

Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Quebec were ranked the top four provinces with literacy skills for young people of average socioeconomic background. Newfoundland, British Columbia and New Brunswick were at the bottom of this scale. 39% of the national variation in youth literacy scores is directly related to socioeconomic factors, including parental education as well as employment status.

The relationshop between literacy and age is dramatic. The highest literacy scores on were attained by adults ages (approximately) 20 to 40. After age 40, the scores decline sharply, and continue to decline through to age 90. The relationship with age is not only statistically significant, it is also substantively large: the scores decline more than 3% of a standard deviation per year. Analyses within this report show that much of the decline is associated with the educational attainment of individuals of different ages, and not with aging per say. Nevertheless, the unadjusted age distribution of literacy scores is important in that literacy proficiency is a key indicator of human capital. Moreover, the age distribution adjusted for adults’ schooling experience provides evidence that literary proficiency is resistant to the effects of aging until late in life.

The level of literacy of a society’s youth, and disparities in literacy skills among youth with differing characteristics and family backgrounds, are two important societal indicators. They indicate how the previous generation’s investments of material, social, and cultural resources have translated into skills and competencies in the present generation. An explicit goal of public education is to assure equal opportunity across successive generations; therefore, levels of literacy and inequalities mark the success of a society’s educational system. But these indicators also measure the pool of economic and cultural capital for sustaining the labour market over the next two or three generations. Thus they stand as measures of past investments and as measures of future successes.