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Canada's literacy rate below world standards

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Canada's literacy rate below world standards


Misc CDN | 206647 hits | Jun 12 8:20 pm | Posted by: Hyack
9 Comment

OTTAWA - The Canadian Council on Learning painted a discouraging picture of future literacy levels in a report released Thursday that predicts nearly half the Canadian population will have low literacy skills by 2031.

Comments

  1. by avatar Robair
    Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:54 pm
    "Currently, about 48 per cent of the adult population is considered to have below-standard skills."
    That's crazy, I have a hard time believing that number.

  2. by avatar DundasBill
    Fri Jun 13, 2008 3:22 pm
    Thats' unposible!!

  3. by cammi_d
    Sat Jun 14, 2008 5:46 am
    What data do these people use to make these assertions?
    What was the criteria and what defined the rankings?

    More idiots with nothing better to do than make outrageous statements so they can justify their jobs. I will bet they receive some sort of government support. Send them to Zimbabwe or the like and then make comparisons.

    Canada, ignore them, you are doing very well when compared to the rest of the world.

  4. by avatar martin14
    Sat Jun 14, 2008 5:59 am
    "DundasBill" said
    Thats' unposible!!





    doesn't that just say it all ?

    I know people who have lived in Canada for 30 years,
    still can't speak English properly, never mind read or write.

    That number will only increase as more immigrants come in,
    and we continue to not enforce any kind of standard for them to stay.

  5. by avatar C.M. Burns
    Sat Jun 14, 2008 5:24 pm
    "cammi_d" said
    What data do these people use to make these assertions?
    What was the criteria and what defined the rankings?

    More idiots with nothing better to do than make outrageous statements so they can justify their jobs. I will bet they receive some sort of government support. Send them to Zimbabwe or the like and then make comparisons.

    Canada, ignore them, you are doing very well when compared to the rest of the world.

    The answers to all your questions are contained in the full report and on the CCL's website.
    Apparently, you're either to lazy to look for the information, you're not interested in the facts or you're one of the low-skill people they describe in the report

    This forum is more than enough proof of their conclusion.

  6. by avatar commanderkai
    Sun Jun 15, 2008 12:04 am
    QUICK! Into the Delorean! :roll:

    "OTTAWA - The Canadian Council on Learning painted a discouraging picture of future literacy levels in a report released Thursday that predicts nearly half the Canadian population will have low literacy skills by 2031."

    Yay for time machines. If Canada has low literacy in 2031, either world standards are way too high, or low means 98% instead of 99.

  7. by avatar Streaker
    Sun Jun 15, 2008 12:37 am
    It all depends on how ''literacy'' gets defined, but judging from what I see on the net I'm inclined to agree with Mr. Burns.

  8. by avatar travior
    Sun Jun 15, 2008 1:00 am
    Many kids are so used to using mediums such as IM and such that they have forgotten how to use complete sentences and proper grammer. It might not be that they cannot read and write, it might be more along the lines of not being able to do so properly and clearly. Let's face it, how often do we just write anything anymore? If it is not entered into a computer, it almost does not exist.

  9. by avatar C.M. Burns
    Sun Jun 15, 2008 5:37 pm
    "commanderkai" said
    QUICK! Into the Delorean! :roll:

    "OTTAWA - The Canadian Council on Learning painted a discouraging picture of future literacy levels in a report released Thursday that predicts nearly half the Canadian population will have low literacy skills by 2031."

    Yay for time machines. If Canada has low literacy in 2031, either world standards are way too high, or low means 98% instead of 99.

    Let me try and explain it for those with low-literacy skills. The report is NOT about 'literacy', it is about literacy skills.
    Literacy has a very simple definition: the ability to read and write.
    Literacy skills is about functional competency... sorry, let me try again. Literacy skills is about how much you can do with your reading and writing skills.

    From the report:
    The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
    (OECD) defines the following five levels of literacy:
    Level 1—Very poor literacy skills.
    An individual at this level may, for example, be unable to
    determine from a package label the correct amount of medicine
    to give a child.
    Level 2—A capacity to deal only with simple, clear material
    involving uncomplicated tasks. People at this level may develop
    everyday coping skills, but their poor literacy skills make it hard to
    conquer challenges such as learning new job skills.
    Level 3—Adequate for coping with the demands of everyday
    life and work in an advanced society. This roughly denotes
    the skill level required for successful high school completion and
    college entry.
    Levels 4 and 5—Strong skills. Individuals at these levels can
    process information of a complex and demanding nature.


    Literacy levels are assessed on a scale of 500 and based on the completion of specific tasks. Some of these tasks are described in the table below.

    Level....... Score Range..... Required Literacy Tasks
    1........... 176 – 225 ...... Tasks at Level 1 require the ability to read relatively short text; to locate or enter a piece of information into that text; and to complete simple, one-step tasks such as counting, sorting dates or performing simple arithmetic.

    2 .......... 226 – 275....... Tasks at this level require the ability to sort through “distractors” (plausible but incorrect pieces of information), to integrate two or more pieces of information, to compare and contrast information, and to interpret simple graphs.

    3........... 276 – 325 ...... These tasks require the ability to integrate information from dense or lengthy text, to integrate multiple pieces of information, and to demonstrate an understanding of mathematical information represented in a range of different forms. Level 3 tasks typically involve a number of steps or processes in order to solve problems.

    4 .......... 326 – 375 ...... Tasks at this level involve multiple steps to find solutions to abstract problems. Tasks require the ability to integrate and synthesize multiple pieces of information from lengthy or complex passages, and to make inferences from the information.

    5 .......... 376 – 500 ...... Tasks at Level 5 require the ability to search for information in dense text that has a number of distractors, to make high-level inferences or use specialized background knowledge, and to understand complex representations of abstract formal and informal mathematical ideas.

    So, anyone care to revise their comment?

    Yes, I know the headline refers to the literacy rate but the actual text of the article makes it clear that they are writing about literacy skills. Apparently the editors of the Vancouver Sun and/or the reporter have some problems with their own literacy skills, or, more likely, they prefer the attention grabbing headline.

    Literacy in Canada is about 99% of the population. This is not a rate. A rate measures something in relation to something else. For example: The birth rate in Canada in 2007 was 10.75 births/1,000 population.



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  • proudcanukchick Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:16 pm
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