LSAL Frequently Asked Questions

1) Why do we need this study when we already have national studies on literacy and education?

Neither the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) nor the National Evaluation of Adult Education Programs (NEAEP) was designed to assess the extent to which literacy skills and knowledge increase over the adult life span, nor the impact that such gains have on work, family, or community. The National Adult Literacy Survey is broadly gauged to the whole adult population(s) whereas the LSAL will target people with specific levels of literacy skill. The NALS survey instrument has few questions that provide detail about the development and learning processes and a cross-sectional design (if repeated in NAAL 2002) isn't able to track interim learning and development gains and outcomes that can be causally related to literacy education and practices. The National Evaluation of Adult Education Programs (NEAEP) was intended as a program evaluation. The LSAL is learner centered. While looking at outcomes of learning by some program participants, it is not a program evaluation. Our unit of analysis is the learner and our sample includes non-program participants.

A Longitudinal Study of Adult Literacy could provide invaluable information about the changing and evolving needs for and benefits from adult education and the literacy development of adults over a sustained period of time.

2) What do you mean by a "longitudinal panel" study?

First we will select a panel or group of people for the study. We will follow these same individuals by re-interviewing them several times over the course of several years. This allows us to understand the changes in their literacy practices within the context of other changes in their lives. "Longitudinal" refers to following people over time; compared to "cross-sectional" which is a "snap shot" of a sample of people at one point in time.

3) How do you define "literacy"?

Because there are a variety of conceptions of literacy applicable to policy, research, educators, and learners, the LSAL will incorporate multiple approaches to defining and measuring literacy. Standardized assessments of literacy will measure people's technical reading and writing skills relative to functional tasks. Respondents will also self-report on their uses of literacy (literacy practices) in their daily lives at home, at work and in their communities. The limitations of a large scale survey make it difficult to explore "multiple literacies" in depth. However, the concurrent enriched data surveys should help us understand these interpretations.

4) Why are you following people not enrolled in adult education programs in addition to program participants?

In order to examine the effects of program participation, we need to compare people who participate in programs to people who do not. Since many people with less than a high school education never participate in adult education programs, information about their experiences may help make programs more accessible to them. Also, we suspect that literacy gains occur in a variety of contexts other than formal literacy programs. Tracking learners in and out of programs will help us understand more about this.

5) How will this study benefit us on the local or state planning level?

The LSAL was conceived of as a metropolitan defined geographic range for several reasons.  Urban areas have more internally consistent educational opportunity systems and labor market conditions than larger geographic units.  This helps limit the social contextual variables that might influence learning outcomes.  As the largest metropolitan area in Oregon, the findings have direct application to Oregon and local policy and planning interests.  Other state and local planners can compare their contexts to those of the Portland metropolitan area to judge the applicability of the findings to their local. 

LSAL has demonstrated that similar studies in other metropolitan areas are feasible and we would welcome the opportunity to replicate the study.