http://www.oralitystrategies.org//about_list.cfm?ResourceType=7 Literacy reports about Orality. Copyright 2009 Orality Strategies Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:28:13 EST http://www.oralitystrategies.org/build_images/build_logo.jpg http://www.oralitystrategies.org//about_list.cfm?ResourceType=7 The (U. S.) National Center for Education Statistics examines the "profile and [basic reading skills] of America's least literate adults." The following study from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy shows that the majority of people... NCES Wed, 27 May 2009 11:50:25 EST Report on the world distribution of scriptures by Bible societies. Tue, 12 May 2009 15:02:37 EST In 2008 the United Nations released International Literacy Statistics: A Review of Concepts, Methodology and Current Data. It gave some interesting information about current realities and trends related to literacy. Excerpts are quoted in the attached document. Fri, 08 May 2009 15:08:06 EST When people encounter the Bible via oral methods, they frequently develop interest in learning to read the Bible for themselves. That is an admirable goal. We want to encourage literacy, especially for those who are motivated by a desire to understand the Bible better. Tue, 05 May 2009 20:49:07 EST Prison inmates have lower literacy skills on average than U. S. adults who are not in prison. That is one of the findings of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, which is releasing its findings in a series of studies. One of them, "Literacy behind Bars," reports that inmates in U. S. prisons showed consistently lower literacy skills than their counterparts who are not in prison... IES Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:15:34 EST "It is better for my children to be alive even if it means they must be illiterate." That's how Sayed Rasul explained keeping his two daughters home from school. According to a New York Times article, Rasul wanted to protect them from possible attack. The shooting of ten Afghan schoolgirls walking home from classes confirmed his decision... NY Times Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:08:42 EST The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy is a nationally representative assessment of English literacy among U. S. adults age 16 and older. Sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), NAAL is the nation's most comprehensive measure of adult literacy since the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS). Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:01:57 EST The 2006 Education For All report focused on the crucial role of literacy in education. It reported on progress nations were making in literacy, as well as in related areas such as educational policy and international funding for literacy initiatives. Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:46:40 EST The UNESCO goal of achieving primary education for all children by 2015 was admittedly ambitious when it was adopted in 2000. In its 2008 report, UNESCO examined how much progress had been made at the half-way point of this fifteen-year undertaking. It also looks at the other five major EFA goals and the progress made toward them. The report provides statistics by country and by region. Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:38:42 EST UNESCO's Education for All Initiative seeks to increase education and literacy worldwide. UNESCO has issued annual reports that address different aspects of the challenge. The 2009 report focused on governance of education and highlighted the inequality of educational opportunity in many countries. Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:33:51 EST The National Endowment for the Arts has commissioned three studies that asked Americans about their pleasure reading practices. After two studies, "Reading at Risk" and "To Read or Not to Read," showed a dramatic decline of pleasure reading, especially among the young, the most recent study, "Reading on the Rise," showed an increase in pleasure reading. All three reports are available as downloads. Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:28:12 EST The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) assessed the English literacy skills of a nationally representative sample of more than 19,000 U.S. adults (age 16 and older) residing in households and prisons. The report describes how American adults age 16 and older at varying literacy levels use written information in their everyday lives... Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:05:02 EST The National Center for Educational Statistics has a database that shows the number of people in each state and county who have "basic" or "below basic" literacy skills. The database is based on careful direct assessments of adults' literacy skills. The assessments were conducted in 1992 (NALS) and 2003 (NAAL). Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:56:01 EST Christine Rosen joins the debate about the impact online reading is having and will have on literacy as it has historically been understood and practiced. She argues that a new form of literacy is emerging that is different from book-based literacy. Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:48:46 EST The United Bible Societies track the number of languages that have a complete Bible, a New Testament, or a portion. Here is their latest report. To put these UBS statistics in context, the Ethnologue reports that there are 6912 living languages. The vast majority of languages without any Christian Scriptures have little other printed material in their language, hence little or no literacy in that language. Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:38:45 EST