Journal ArticleDOI
Literacy and reading performance in the United States, from 1880 to the present
TLDR
The authors reviewed literacy and reading achievement trends over the past century and place current debates in a historical perspective, and suggested that students' reading performance at a given age remained stable until the 1970s and much of it can be explained by the changing demographics of test-takers.Abstract:
THE AUTHORS review literacy and reading achievement trends over the past century and place current debates in a historical perspective. Although then-and-now studies are methodologically weak, they suggest that students' reading performance at a given age remained stable until the 1970s. The test score decline that then occurred was not as great as many educators think, and much of it can be explained by the changing demographics of test-takers. The decline pales when compared to the tremendous increase in the population's educational attainment over the past 40 years. However, the strategy of ever-increasing schooling to meet ever-increasing literacy demands may have run its course. High school dropout rates are increasing, and educational attainment has leveled off. Researchers have identified substantial mismatches between workers' skills and job demands, and between job and school literacy skills. In spite of their flaws, functional literacy tests suggest that 20 percent of the adult population, or 30 million people, have serious difficulties with common reading tasks. Upgrading literacy skills now requires new initiatives by coalitions of educators, community groups, employers, and government agencies.read more
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BookDOI
Health literacy : a prescription to end confusion
TL;DR: Health Literacy: Prescription to End Confusion examines the body of knowledge that applies to the field of health literacy, and recommends actions to promote a health literate society.
Journal ArticleDOI
Schooling and the Acquisition of Knowledge
Journal ArticleDOI
Health Literacy Among Medicare Enrollees in a Managed Care Organization
Julie A. Gazmararian,David W. Baker,Mark V. Williams,Ruth M. Parker,Tracy Scott,Diane C. Green,S N Fehrenbach,J Ren,Jeffrey P. Koplan +8 more
TL;DR: Elderly managed care enrollees may not have the literacy skills necessary to function adequately in the health care environment, and low health literacy may impair elderly patients' understanding of health messages and limit their ability to care for their medical problems.
Health Literacy: Report of the Council on Scientific Affairs
Parker Rm,Williams Mv,Weiss Bd,Baker Dw,Davis Tc,Doak Cc,Doak Lg,K. Hein,Meade Cd,J. Nurss,Schwartzberg Jg,Somers Sa,Davis Rm,Riggs Ja,Champion Hc,Howe Jp,Altman Rd,Deitchman Sd,M. Genel,Karlan Ms,Khan Mk,Nielsen Nh,Williams Ma,Young Dc,J. Schwartzberg,Bresolin Lb,Dickinson Bd +26 more
Journal ArticleDOI
Intelligence: Is It the Epidemiologists' Elusive "Fundamental Cause" of Social Class Inequalities in Health?
TL;DR: Various bodies of evidence are concatenated to demonstrate that differences in general intelligence (g) may be that fundamental cause of health inequalities.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
A 50-Year Comparison of University of Minnesota Freshmen's Reading Performance.
APL Revised: Its Uses and Adaptation in States.
TL;DR: The value of APL has been its contribution to broadening the conceptions of how adult basic education can be organized and to enriching the body of curriculum materials on which adult educators can draw.
literacy Among Youths 12-17 Years, United States.
TL;DR: This report presents information on the extent of illiteracy among American youths as assessed by a test specially constructed for this purpose and administered as part of the Health Examination Survey during 1966-70.