2008 Woodie Awards
Adult literacy on the decline
Sarah Millar
Issue date: 3/11/08 Section: News
CUP Ontario Bureau Chief
TORONTO (CUP) - While more Canadians than ever before are furthering their education, literacy rates among adults are falling.
A recent report from Statistics Canada used data from University of British Columbia economics professors between 1993 and 2003.
While education levels were rising throughout those years, they found literacy rates were falling. In fact, the average literacy of a 35-year-old in 2003 was the equivalent to the literacy of a 25-year-old in that same year.
According to W. Craig Riddell, a co-author of the paper, the biggest changes in literacy skills are defined by those who are at the very top of the spectrum and at the very bottom.
At the bottom of the spectrum, the changes are positive - more people who had lower literacy skills in 1993, had higher literacy skills in 2003. However, those at the top spectrum of literacy skills went down substantially in the 10 year span.
"In the middle distribution, [though], there is not much change," Riddell said, noting that the majority of adults fall into the middle range.
There are many possibilities for this trend, said Kathryn McMullen of Statistics Canada.
"Perhaps schools were doing a poor job at imparting literacy skills, but there is a possible another explanation . . . over that 14-year period, the school system of all levels - elementary, secondary and post-secondary - have become more inclusive in terms of the school population," said McMullan.
McMullen cited the fact that 30 or more years ago, not as many people were attending post-secondary institutions because the schools were more exclusive. But in the past 30 years, due to governmental and public support for the institutions, post-secondary education opened up to a much wider segment of the population.
"We also see at the university level it's a much broader, more diverse population . . . we do have a much broader range of people part in the post-secondary system," she said.
Another surprising result from the research shows that high school dropouts today have more literacy skills than their university-educated counterparts.
TORONTO (CUP) - While more Canadians than ever before are furthering their education, literacy rates among adults are falling.
A recent report from Statistics Canada used data from University of British Columbia economics professors between 1993 and 2003.
While education levels were rising throughout those years, they found literacy rates were falling. In fact, the average literacy of a 35-year-old in 2003 was the equivalent to the literacy of a 25-year-old in that same year.
According to W. Craig Riddell, a co-author of the paper, the biggest changes in literacy skills are defined by those who are at the very top of the spectrum and at the very bottom.
At the bottom of the spectrum, the changes are positive - more people who had lower literacy skills in 1993, had higher literacy skills in 2003. However, those at the top spectrum of literacy skills went down substantially in the 10 year span.
"In the middle distribution, [though], there is not much change," Riddell said, noting that the majority of adults fall into the middle range.
There are many possibilities for this trend, said Kathryn McMullen of Statistics Canada.
"Perhaps schools were doing a poor job at imparting literacy skills, but there is a possible another explanation . . . over that 14-year period, the school system of all levels - elementary, secondary and post-secondary - have become more inclusive in terms of the school population," said McMullan.
McMullen cited the fact that 30 or more years ago, not as many people were attending post-secondary institutions because the schools were more exclusive. But in the past 30 years, due to governmental and public support for the institutions, post-secondary education opened up to a much wider segment of the population.
"We also see at the university level it's a much broader, more diverse population . . . we do have a much broader range of people part in the post-secondary system," she said.
Another surprising result from the research shows that high school dropouts today have more literacy skills than their university-educated counterparts.
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