Literacy in Canada

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE LITERACY SKILLS OF CANADIANS

Approximately 10 years ago, Canada and other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries began to cooperate in a program to measure literacy skills in their populations, and to share their results to allow for international comparisons. These initiatives were designed to provide a benchmark against which to gauge our performance, and they have revealed just how many Canadians are unprepared for the literacy demands of modern society.

The international tests summarize literacy skill in terms of five categories. Level 5, which indicates the highest level of skill, is attained by individuals who demonstrate command of higher-order information processing skills. Level 3 denotes the skill level typically required for high school completion in Canada. Scores at or below Level 2 are considered inadequate for full participation in society.

To illustrate, a person at Level 1 would typically be unable to determine the amount of medicine to administer to a child based on simple instructions printed on a bottle. Those at Level 2 can read simple materials only. Because they frequently develop coping skills that mask their difficulty and allow them to deal with everyday literacy demands, these individuals (and others) may overestimate their proficiency, although they have difficulty in novel situations, such as learning new job skills.

Astonishingly, the estimates – over a range of tests and testing programs – are that approximately 42% of Canadians between the ages of 16 and 65 years fail to achieve Level 3 proficiency. Unless the situation can be remedied, the consequences for these persons and for other Canadians are daunting. Unfortunately, from the first findings in 1994 to the most recent in 2003, Canada’s results have shown little improvement (1).

Of course, the foundations for good language and literacy skills are laid early in life, and skill accumulates over time. We know that too many Canadian children are receiving a poor start. For example, the Ontario Ministry of Child and Youth Services has found that at four and five years of age, approximately one-fifth of all children show delays in vocabulary development (2). By grade 3, more than one in every three Ontario students fail to meet the provincial standards for reading and writing (3). Other provinces with formal measurement programs report similar results; in Manitoba, for example, almost two of every five grade 3 students fail to meet expectations in reading comprehension (4). Moreover, even those who achieve adequate literacy skills during their school years show a decline in proficiency later in life if they do not continue to be engaged in literacy-promoting work or other activities (5).

WHY LITERACY IS SO IMPORTANT FOR CANADIANS

Literacy skills are strongly related to health status. Seccomb et al (6) found that adults with lower levels of literacy proficiency were in poorer health, were less likely to have their own health service provider, were more likely to misunderstand written medical directions, and encountered more difficulty accessing care. They also used physician services, overnight hospital stays and emergency rooms more frequently, even when education, access, health, socioeconomic status and demographic characteristics were controlled (6). Rootman and Ronson (7) concluded that low literacy was related to both poor health and overuse or inappropriate use of Canadian health care facilities, especially hospital emergency rooms.

Beyond their impact on success in the formal educational system, literacy skills are a key determinant of social, educational and economic success for individuals and for nations. Stronger literacy skills facilitate higher levels of educational achievement, which leads to increased earnings and higher social status. We know, for example, that on average, each additional year of education a person receives increases earnings by approximately 8% a year, and that high school graduates earn approximately 50% more than those without high school diplomas (8).

More generally, however, higher skill levels facilitate the development of specific knowledge and skills, which can carry economic, social and personal benefits, in addition to its effect on educational achievement. In fact, economists have determined that a substantial proportion of the ‘educational’ premium reflects the increase in literacy skills that are associated with higher levels of education. Thus, over 60% of the earnings premium associated with high school graduation and slightly under 50% of the earnings premium associated with a university degree can be attributed to increased literacy skills (9).

Not surprisingly, adults who have higher literacy skill levels are more employable. For example, over 40% of Canadians who score at Level 1 are unemployed, and over 50% of Canadians who are unemployed at any given time score lower than Level 3. Individuals with poor literacy skills are also more likely to be out of work longer; those at Levels 1 and 2 are twice as likely to be unemployed for six or more months than those at or above Level 3 (10).

At the international level, variation in average skill level among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries fully explains 55% of the differences in economic growth since 1960 (9). Improving literacy levels in a country can have a significant impact: a 1% increment in the average literacy score is associated with a 2.5% increase in labour productivity and a 1.5% overall increase in GDP per capita (9). Based on these findings, increasing the proportion of Canadians who achieve Level 3 literacy by 1% would result in a permanent $18 billion/year increase in Canadian GDP (9).

Low literacy skills are associated with other social costs as well. For example, the Correctional Service of Canada reports that more than four of every five offenders have achieved less than a grade 10 education (11). Indeed, as Longfield (12) discusses, low literacy skill negatively affects every step of the criminal justice process – from understanding one’s rights if arrested, to testifying in court, to sentencing. Improving literacy skills may reduce crime; for example, recidivism decreases by 21% when offenders complete grade 10 before they are released on parole (13).

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

Literacy skills build on early language skills. Family is the strongest early influence, so it is not surprising that inter-generational effects are very strong. Activities that foster language development in children and model positive literacy activities increase the likelihood that young children will develop preliteracy and early literacy skills. For this reason, programs that target families can have positive impacts for both young and old. Much is known about how to foster such good development in both family and child care environments. Some of this information has been organized and distributed by the Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network and is available or cited on their Web site <www.cllrnet.ca>, as well as on the Web sites of advocacy groups such as ABC Canada <www.abc-canada.org/research> and the Movement for Canadian Literacy <www.literacy.ca>.

Less is known about the effectiveness of large-scale Canadian programs, because Canada’s education and early child development sectors are not yet committed to rigorous, systematic evaluation protocols, even in the critically important area of literacy skill development. However, work in other countries indicates that both preschool- and school-aged children can benefit significantly from appropriately targeted interventions (14–16). It is to be hoped that the large and increasing public investments in Canada’s education and child development sectors will be evidence-informed and accompanied by systematic studies of what works well and what does not.

We do know that identifying children whose language and preliteracy skills are not developing normally, and intervening to address sensory or language delays as soon as possible, are particularly important. Also important is facilitating the child’s exposure to books and positive literacy activities within their family environment. As with other health issues, earlier interventions tend to be associated with better outcomes. Moreover, paediatricians have a particularly important role to play in identifying those who are at risk for literacy challenges because they see children at an early age, and long before they enter the formal education system.