Is your chosen definition the "best" one? Stop and think before moving on.

As it happens, several of these definitions, or variants of them, have been preferred at some point by some countries as "official" definitions of literacy, at least for reporting data to international agencies. Each country had reasons for its choice. As will be discussed later, there is no one right answer to the question posed. This will become clearer once we discuss the implications of such definitions for assessment.

So, what is literacy?

All definitions presented earlier assume that, to be considered "literate," a person has to be able to cope with some reading and/or writing tasks. Yet, what level or type of reading and writing skills are needed?

Existing definitions of literacy differ in several ways. For example, some imply that literacy is static or absolute; once you are able to sign your name, or finish a certain grade level, you are considered "literate." Other definitions (which are now accepted by most educators and organizations) view literacy as dynamic or relative; they assume literacy should be defined only within a certain context of functioning, which may change from one country/culture to another, or over time. Some definitions also include as part of literacy other mental skills, such as numeracy and problem solving.

The bottom line is that literacy is not a simple concept with a single, accepted meaning.

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Assessment Aspects

Below are three definitions of literacy. Answer the question that follows:

1. A person is literate if s/he can both read and write a short simple statement describing his/her everyday life.
2. A person is functionally literate if s/he can engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective functioning of his/her group and community and also for enabling him/her to continue to use reading, writing, and calculation for his own and the community's development.
3. A person is literate if s/he has completed 5 or more years of schooling.

If you had to collect information about the literacy skills of ALL of the citizens of YOUR country, which definition would you choose (as the basis for an assessment of literacy)? Why? Think about it.

Definition #3 has been widely criticized, for example because it assumes that people can be categorized as either "literate" or "illiterate," or because adults with 5 or more years of schooling may still be functionally illiterate, while people with less that 4 years of schooling may have acquired literacy skills by nonformal means. Yet, it enables quick and cheap estimation of a nation's literacy status, and allows for comparisons between countries. Hence, definition #3 is used by many countries when reporting data.

As data based on definition #3 is the only data on literacy provided by many countries, UNESCO utilizes it in its statistical tables despite the limitations of such information. UNESCO's own view of literacy is described by definitions such as #1 and #2, which appear in it's official publications.

It is important to realize that there are several possible ways to assess literacy skills for reporting purposes, and each has some advantages and disadvantages. You would probably look for a quick and easy measure that would not cost much, as all country have limited budgets. "Quick and cheap" assessments may be practical but are usually less reliable and valid than more thorough assessments (which require more money and time). Every assessment method involves sacrificing the quality of one aspect for another.

Now you can move on to Basic statistics but we suggest continuing on to Assessment Issues.

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