The Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey, released May 11, 2005 and presented by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Statistics Canada, uses data collected in 2003 and further builds the picture of literacy in this country and in Bermuda, Italy, Norway, the Mexican State of Nuevo Leon, Switzerland and the United States.
These findings add to the fund of knowledge gleaned in three earlier rounds of data collection: Literacy, Economy and Society: Results of the first International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) Database (OECD and Statistics Canada, 1995), with data collected in seven countries in the fall of 1994; Literacy Skills for the Knowledge Society: Further results on the International Adult Literacy Survey Database (OECD, Human Resources Development Canada and the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada, 1997), with data collected in 1996; and Literacy in the Information Age: Final Report on the International Adult Literacy Survey Database (OECD and Statistics Canada, 2000), with data collected in 1998.
The three IALS surveys painted a world with a significant challenge of low literacy. It also afforded an opportunity to compare Canada’s literacy performance with 21 other countries, and to gain insight into literacy issues within our country.
This Summary highlights the key points arising from the ALL Survey, an international comparison between Canada and the six other countries. A follow-up report, to be released in October, 2005, will provide further detailsconcerning literacy performance in Canada and the provinces and territories
