HRSD-Learning Policy Directorate 1 LITERACY in Ontario Implications of Findings from IALSS 2003...

HRSD-Learning Policy Directorate

1

LITERACY in OntarioImplications of Findings

from IALSS 2003

Presented by

Satya Brink, Ph.D.

Director, National Learning Policy Research

Learning Policy Directorate, HRSDC

April 2006


2

Key Questions

• What is the level of literacy proficiency in Ontario? • How does Ontario compare to Canada, the provinces and other

territories? • How proficient are residents of Ontario in the different component

skills?• How is literacy performance distributed in the working age population

of Ontario?• How do age and education affect the literacy and numeracy

performance? • How does the performance of the French minority in Ontario compare

to the performance of the English majority. • How is literacy performance distributed in the labor force, immigration,

occupations, industries and earning groups? • What are the demographic characteristics of people with low literacy

proficiency and where are they located in Ontario?

Introduction


3

Literacy proficiency: the ability to understand and employ printed information in daily activities, at home, at work and in the community. It is not about whether or not one can read but how well one reads.

- Prose: The knowledge and skills needed to understand and use information from texts including editorials, news stories, brochures and instruction manuals.

- Document: The knowledge and skills required to locate and use information contained in various formats, including job applications, payroll forms, transportation schedules, maps, tables, and charts.

- Numeracy: The knowledge and skills required to apply arithmetic operations, either alone or sequentially, to numbers embedded in printed materials, such as balancing an account, figuring out a tip, completing an order form or determining the amount of interest on a loan from an advertisement .

- Problem Solving: Involves goal-directed thinking and action in situations for which no routine solution procedure is available. The understanding of the problem situation and its step-by-step transformation, based on planning and reasoning constitute the process of problem solving. (Only four proficiency levels)

4 Domains, measure skills at five levels :

•Level 1 0 - 225 points •Level 2 226 -275 points•Level 3 276-325 points* •Level 4 326 -375 points•Level 5 376 -500 points

* Proficiency level for modern economy and knowledge-based society

Introduction


4

Background information of importance for IALSS results: Ontario

Total population (2003) 12,259,600

Population/square km 12 app.

Population 15-64 (2005) 8,656,300

Population 65 and over (2005) 1,608,700

Immigrant population (2001) 3,030,075 Population by mother tongue

(Census 2001)

English only 7,965,225

French only 485,630

Non-official languages only 2,672,085

English and French 37,135

Eng. and non-off language 114,275

French and non-off language 8,000

Introduction

Source: Statistics Canada

Gender Distribution

(15-64, 2005)

Males 4,327,200

Females 4,329,100

Population 15 years and over by highest level of schooling

(Census 2001)

Less than high school 2,683,335

High school graduate 1,303,960

Trade Vocational cert. 287,540

College education 2,291,805

University 2,481,395


5

The number of persons (16 to 65) with low literacy rose from 8 m in 1994 to 9 m in 2003 though the percentage

(42%) did not change.

Source: IALSS, 2003; IALS, 1994.

14.6%

24.8% 27.3%

36.4% 38.6%

22.3% 19.5%

16.6%0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4/5

3.1 million

4.6 million

6.7 million

4.1 million 4.2 million

8.2 million

5.8 million

3.1 million

Total: 18.4 million Total: 21.4 million

* Differences at each level between IALS and IALSS are not statistically significant

Change between 1994 and 2003, Canada

IALS IALSS


6

Comparisons of provinces and territories based on average scores.

JurisdictionY.T. Sas. Alta. B.C. N.S. N.W.T. Man. P.E.I. Can. Ont. Que. N.B. N.L. Nvt

Yukon Territory

Saskatchewan

Alberta.

British Columbia

Nova Scotia

Northwest Territories

Manitoba

Prince Edward Island

Canada

Ontario

Quebec

New Brunswick

Newfoundland and Labrador

Nunavut

Prose, population 16 and older, 2003

Mean proficiency significantly higher than comparison jurisdiction

No statistically significant difference from comparison jurisdiction

Mean proficiency significantly lower than comparison jurisdiction

Ontario performance


7

Proficiency varied across domains and population age in Ontario.

Prose Document NumeracyProblem Solving*

16 and older 270 270 261 263

16 to 65

years of age279 279 270 271

Source: IALSS, 2003

Ontario literacy performance

Average proficiency scores, population 16 and older and population 16 to 65, Ontario, 2003

- Below level 3

* Proficiency levels are defined differently for problem solving


8

Ontario had average scores at level 3 in document and prose,but at level 2 in numeracy (population 16-65).

Province or Territory Document literacy

Prose literacy

Numeracy


Prince Edward Island

Nova Scotia

New Brunswick

Quebec

Ontario

Manitoba

Saskatchewan

Alberta

British Columbia

Nunavut Territory

Northwest Territory

Yukon Territory

269

281

284

270

273

279

283

294

290

290

234

280

294

271

282

286

273

275

279

283

294

289

288

232

280

296

257

269

272

262

269

270

271

284

281

279

220

269

283

Ontario performance

Source: IALSS, 2003

Below level 3 in 3 domains

Below level 3 in numeracy but not in literacy.


9

Yukon had the lowest proportion overall (31%) of prose literacy below level 3. In Ontario, 42% of the working-age population (16-

65) had an average prose literacy proficiency below level 3.

Source: IALSS, 2003

Percent of population 16 to 65 at each prose level by provinces and territories, 2003

40 43 39 42 42 41 39 38 37 38 37 36 3520

29 24 26 23 20 19 20 20 21 19 15 14 14

8

100

80

60

40

20

0

20

40

60

80

100

Per centLevel 2 Level 1 Level 3 Level 4/5

Ontario performance


10Source: IALSS, 2003

Percent of population 16 to 65 at each numeracy level by provinces and territories, 2003

Yukon had the lowest proportion of working-age adults below level 3 in numeracy (41%). In Ontario, the proportion of working-age

adults below level 3 in numeracy was 50%.

39 38 36 35 33 35 33 35 33 33 32 29 28 16

20 20 20 21 17 14 17 15 16 15 14 11 107

100

80

60

40

20

0

20

40

60

80

100

Per centLevel 2 Level 1 Level 3 Level 4/5

Ontario performance


11

100

80

60

40

20

0

20

40

60

80

100

C.B.

Alberta

Yukon

Sask

Man

itoba

Ontar

io

T.-N.-O

.

Canada

N.-É.

I.-P.É

.

Quebe

c

Nunavu

t

N.-B.

T.-N.

Percent level 2 level 1 level 3 levels 4/5

Significantly above Canadian average

Not significantly different than the Canadian average

Significantly below Canadian average

The importance of language: although Ontario keeps a distribution similar to the Canadian average, the proportion of Ontarians at level 3 or above increases by 7% when we only

consider people with French and/or English mother tongue.

Ontario performance

Distribution of the population aged 16 to 65 and whose mother tongue is English or French by prose level, Canada, provinces and territories

Source: EIACA, 2003


12

Prose Level 1 Level 2 Total

% Number % Number % Number


18.8 70,000 31.6 119,000 50.4 189,000

Prince Edward Island 14.0 13,000 28.8 27,000 42.8 40,000

Nova Scotia 11.9 75,000 26.5 168,000 38.4 243,000

New Brunswick 16.6 85,000 33.8 173,000 50.4 258,000

Quebec 15.6 800,000 33.0 1,700,000 48.6 2,500,000

Ontario 16.2 1,300,000 26.0 2,100,000 42.2 3,400,000

Manitoba 12.7 90,000 27.0 200,000 39.7 290,000

Saskatchewan 6.6 41,000 26.4 162,000 33.0 203,000

Alberta 9.7 209,000 25.3 544,000 35.0 753,000

British Columbia 13.8 400,000 20.9 600,000 34.7 1,000,000

Yukon 9.0 2,000 21.9 4,000 30.9 6,000

Northwest Territory 16.5 4,000 26.1 7,000 42.6 11,000

Nunavut 45.8 6,000 26.4 3,000 72.0 9,000

Impact of low literacy in the population 16-65.

Total 8,849,000

Ontario performance


13

Impact of low numeracy in the population 16-65.

Source: IALSS, 2003

Total 10,681,000

Ontario performance

Numeracy level 1 Numeracy level 2 Total

% Number % Number % Number


26.8 101,000 34.3 107,000 61.1 208,000

Prince Edward Island 19.2 18,000 34.8 33,000 54.0 51,000

Nova Scotia 19.7 125,000 30.9 196,000 50.6 321,000

New Brunswick 23.1 118,000 37.2 191,000 60.3 309,000

Quebec 20.0 1,026,000 33.1 1,697,000 53.1 2,723,000

Ontario 21.3 1,759,000 29.1 2,403,000 50.4 4,162,000

Manitoba 18.2 131,000 32.1 230,000 50.3 361,000

Saskatchewan 11.8 73,000 30.2 186,000 42.0 259,000

Alberta 15.1 324,000 29.3 629,000 44.4 953,000

British Columbia 16.7 471,000 27.0 762,000 43.7 1,233,000

Yukon 14.1 3,000 26.4 5,000 40.5 8,000

Northwest Territory 22.0 6,000 29.0 7,000 51.0 13,000

Nunavut 54.7 7,000 22.6 3,000 77.3 10,000


14255 260 265 270 275 280 285

Numeracy

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

50000

55000

GD

P.p

er.

capita

NL

PEI

NSNB

QC

ON

MB

SK

AB

BC

Canada

GDP per capita and Numeracy Proficiency, 2003IALSS 2003, 16-65 years

Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and numeracy proficiency average score in 2003, Canada and Provinces (population 16-65)

Sources: IALSS 2003 and Statistics Canada

Ontario performance


15Source: IALSS, 2003

Good

Poor

The proportion of Ontario residents at levels 1 and 2 varied by 8 percentage points between literacy and numeracy.

Per cent of population 16-65 performing at levels 1 and 2 in IALSS, 2003

5043

38

50 4942 40

33 35 3531

43

72

42

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Nfld a

nd La

brad

or

P.E.I.

Nova S

cotia

New Bru

nswick

Quebe

c

Ontar

io

Man

itoba

Saska

tchew

an

Alberta

British

Colu

mbia

Yukon

NWT

Nunavu

t

Canada

Prose Document Numeracy

Ontario performance


16

Residents of Ontario did not have average scores significantly different from the Canadian average in prose literacy at all levels

of education.

Mean S.E. Mean S.E. Mean S.E. Mean S.E. Mean S.E.Newfoundland and Labrador 219 (3.4) 265 (4.0) 286 (3.8) 290 (5.1) 321 (3.9)Prince Edward Island 230 (6.8) 280 (5.5) 279 (5.5) 303 (5.5) 319 (7.9)Nova Scotia 241 (4.4) 281 (4.2) 288 (3.2) 305 (3.5) 319 (4.2)New Brunswick 223 (4.6) 265 (5.1) 276 (7.1) 286 (4.5) 311 (7.2)Quebec 227 (2.0) 262 (2.3) 275 (2.1) 290 (2.2) 305 (2.5)Ontario 223 (4.9) 268 (3.9) 279 (3.9) 295 (4.1) 303 (3.1)Manitoba 246 (5.5) 273 (3.4) 291 (4.4) 293 (3.4) 312 (4.4)Saskatchewan 256 (6.2) 282 (7.0) 294 (3.3) 309 (4.3) 336 (5.2)Alberta 241 (7.1) 279 (4.5) 290 (3.8) 295 (4.0) 319 (4.2)British Columbia 239 (4.8) 277 (4.8) 290 (3.4) 306 (4.3) 316 (4.4)Yukon 241 (7.5) 288 (5.6) 297 (4.5) 308 (4.7) 326 (4.7)Northwest Territories 227 (6.3) 280 (7.6) 280 (3.6) 301 (4.0) 324 (6.3)Nunavut 199 (6.1) 269 (7.8) 241 (8.5) 290 (12.3) 311 (6.2)Canada 230 (1.8) 270 (1.8) 282 (1.7) 296 (1.8) 309 (2.0)

Less than high school High school

Trade vocational College University

Mean prose proficiency scores by education level, population 16 and over, Canada, provinces and territories, 2003

Source: IALSS, 2003

Ontario performance


17

In most jurisdictions, the majority of people aged 16-25 had prose literacy at level 3 or above. In Ontario, about 60% of young people had prose literacy scores at

level 3 or above.

100

80

60

40

20

0

20

40

60

80


Distribution of proficiency level on the prose literacy scale for youth age 16-25, Canada, provinces et territoires, 2003

Source: IALSS, 2003

Youth in Ontario


18

In Ontario, the majority of people aged 65 and above (1,608,700; 13% of the total population) had levels of proficiency below level 3 in prose

literacy.

100

80

60

40

20

0

20

40


Distribution of proficiency level on the prose literacy scale for those older than 65 years, provinces and territories, 2003

Source: IALSS, 2003

Seniors in Ontario


19

Average prose literacy scores by age group; Canada and Ontario, 2003.

288

281278

258

292

221217

254

275278

293

286

200

210

220

230

240

250

260

270

280

290

300

16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 65+Canada Ontario

Source : IALSS, 2003

In Canada, average prose literacy scores decreased with age. In Ontario, the populations aged 16-25, 26-35 and 36-45 had average prose scores at level 3.

Performance by age, Ontario


20

Population distribution of proficiency, population 16-65, Canada and Ontario, 2003.

14,6 % 16,2 %

27,3 % 26,0 %

38,6 % 38,3 %

19,5 % 19,5 %

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Canada Ontario

levels 4/5

level 3

level 2

level 11,3m

2,1m

3,2m

1,6m

8,3m

4,2m

8,2m

5,8m

3,1m

21,4m

Number of people by proficiency level

Source: IALSS, 2003

About 3,4 million residents of Ontario scored below level 3

in prose literacy.


21

Principal characteristics of people at levels 1 and 2 in prose literacy in Ontario (population 16 to 65).

Level 1• 1,3 million• 61% (817,000) were immigrants • 54% were male and 46% were

female • 62% were employed• 9% were unemployed• Education:

– 46% had not completed high school education

– 32% had completed high school education

– 22% had completed postsecondary education

• Mother tongue:– 40% English– 4% French– 55% others

Level 2• 2,1 millions• 33% (747,000) were immigrants • 52% were male and 48% were

female • 72% were employed• 9% were unemployed• Education:

– 25% had not completed high school education

– 36% had completed high school education

– 39% had completed postsecondary education

• Mother tongue :– 65% English – 5% French– 30% others

Source: IALSS, 2003

Low literacy scores in Ontario


22

In Ontario, 64% of Francophones chose to be evaluated in English (population 16 and above).

Half of Francophones outside Quebec who wrote the exam in English did not reach level 3 in prose literacy. On the other hand, 62% of Francophones evaluated in French did not reach level 3

French Minority in Ontario

•Outside Quebec, about 65% of Francophones chose to be evaluated in English.

•In Ontario, 64% of Francophones were evaluated in English.

In Canada, Francophones who were evaluated in English scored above Francophones who were evaluated in French

Source: IALSS, 2003


23

In Ontario, 56% of people with French mother tongue had a literacy level below level 3.

Distribution of the population according to mother tongue and prose literacy proficiency level, Quebec, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba and Canada, 2003

French minority in Ontario

Source: IALSS, 2003

80

60

40

20

0

20

40

60

80

English French English French English French English French English French

New Brunsw ick Quebec Ontario Manitoba Canada

Level 2 Level 1 Level 3 Levels 4-5


24

At all levels of education, Anglophones (outside Quebec) had higher average scores than Francophones (outside Quebec) in

prose literacy.

Source: IALSS, 2003

Average scores in prose literacy according to mother tongue and highest level of education completed, Canada without Quebec, population aged 16 and above, 2003.

French minority in Canada

Études universitaires

150

170

190

210

230

250

270

290

310

330

350

Elementary schoolor less

Lower High Schooleducation

Upper High Schooleducation

High School, tradeor college education

diploma

Postsecondaryeducation without a

university degree

University degree

English (outside Quebec) French (outside Quebec)


25

In Ontario, in prose literacy, Anglophones performed better than Francophones at all levels of education. People with a mother tongue other than English and

French performed below level 3 at all levels of education.

257 235 257202

286 274 276239

309 298 326274

0

100

200

300

400

English French English and French Others

Mother tongue

Average

Less than High School High School Postsecondary education

Average prose literacy proficiency scores according to mother tongue and highest level of education completed, population of Ontario 16-65, 2003.

Source: EIACA 2003

*Note that the estimated average scores for the group ‘English and French’ are not precise because of the small number of observations.

French minority in Ontario


26

80

60

40

20

0

20

40

60

80

Total Non-Aboriginal

UrbanAboriginal

Non-Aboriginal

UrbanAboriginal

Canada Saskatchewan Manitoba

Level 4/5

Level 3

Level 1

Level 2

Sub-populations – Aboriginals

In Manitoba and in Saskatchewan, the proficiency level in prose literacy of urban aboriginals was inferior by close to

10% to the level of proficiency of non-aboriginals.

Comparative distributions of prose literacy proficiency by level, per cent of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, aged 16 and over, 2003

Source : IALSS, 2003.


27

Over half of the Aboriginal people in the Yukon, 69 % of the Aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories and 88 % of

Inuit in Nunavut scored below level 3 in prose literacy

100

80

60

40

20

0

20

40

60

80

Total Aboriginal Non-Aboriginal

Aboriginal Non-Aboriginal

Inuit Non-Inuit

Canada Yukon Territory Northwest Territories Nunavut

Level 4/5

Level 3

Level 1

Level 2

Comparative distributions of prose literacy proficiency by level, per cent of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations in the Northern Territories, aged 16 and over, 2003

Source: IALSS, 2003

Subgroups – Aboriginal people


28

62% of those at level 1 and 73% of those at level 2 in Ontario were employed.

47

60

70

76

54

68

75

81

62

7377

82

66

7681 81

47

67

74

81

50

68

82

90

57

70

7681

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Leve

l 1

Leve

l 2

Leve

l 3

Leve

l 4/5

Leve

l 1

Leve

l 2

Leve

l 3

Leve

l 4/5

Leve

l 1

Leve

l 2

Leve

l 3

Leve

l 4/5

Leve

l 1

Leve

l 2

Leve

l 3

Leve

l 4/5

Leve

l 1

Leve

l 2

Leve

l 3

Leve

l 4/5

Leve

l 1

Leve

l 2

Leve

l 3

Leve

l 4/5

Leve

l 1

Leve

l 2

Leve

l 3

Leve

l 4/5

Atlantic Quebec Ontario Prairies British Columbia Territories Canada

Document Literacy Domain

% E

mp

loye

d

Source: IALSS, 2003

Per cent of employed population in each document literacy level, population 16 to 65, Canada and Regions, 2003

Literacy performance and employment


29

Average prose literacy by labour force status, Ontario and Canada

271

267263

266

286283

250

255

260

265

270

275

280

285

290

Ontario Canada

Not in theLabour forceUnemployed

Employed

Source: IALSS 2003

Literacy performance and employment

In Ontario, unemployed people and people not in the labour force scored on average at level 2 in prose literacy, while employed people scored

on average at level 3.


30

CanadaIndustries Level 1 Level 2

Manufacturing 445,000 696,000

Trade, finance, insurance, real estate and Leasing

325,000 951,000

Accommodation and food services

189,000 323,000

Construction 158,000 287,000

Health care and social assistance

140,000 409,000

Source: IALSS, 2003

(Population 16-65)

Low literacy and employment

Total:

Persons with low prose literacy were concentrated among certain industries, Canada and Ontario.

1,257,000 2,666,000 *These industries employed roughly 65% of the workers at levels 1 and 2

Ontario

Industries Below level 3

Manufacturing 504,289

Trade, finance, Insurance, real estate and leasing

491,530

Accomodation and food services

248,845

Health care and social assistance

215,864

Construction 198,712


31

The majority of knowledge experts scored at Level 3 or above in prose literacy in the regions and the territories.

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Canada Atlantic Quebec Ontario Prairies British Columbia Territories

Regions and Occupation Types

Per cent Level 3 Level 4/5

Per cent of Labour force population at prose levels 3 and 4/5 by type of occupations, population 16 to 65, Canada and regions, 2003

Source: IALSS, 2003

1 Knowledge expert 2 Managers 3 Information high-skills

4 Information low-skills 5 Services low-skills 6 Goods

Literacy performance- Occupation


32

Workers in knowledge-related occupations tended to engage more often in writing at work than do low-skill information, services and

goods production workers.Index scores of writing engagement at work on a standardized scale (centered on 2) by aggregated occupational types, labour force population, 16 to 65, 2003

Literacy performance- Occupation

Source: IALSS, 2003

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6


Wri

tin

g E

ng

ag

em

en

t at

Wo

rk In

dex

25th Percentile .95 Confidence interval (lower) mean .95 Confidence Interval (upper) 75th Percentile

Legend Occupation Types1 Knowledge expert 2 Managers3 Information high-skills 4 Information low-skills5 Services low-skills 6 Goods


33

All industrial sectors in Ontario had at least 40% of their workers at level 3 or above in numeracy.

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9


Region and Industry type

%

Level 3 Level4/51

Knowledge-intensive market service activities

2Public administration, defense, education and health

3Other community, social and personal services

4

High and medium-high-techonology manufacturing industries

5

Low and medium-low-technology manufacturing industries

6 Utilities and Construction

7Wholesale, retail, hotels and restaurants

8 Transport and storage

9 Primary industries

Source: IALSS, 2003

Per cent of labour force population at numeracy levels 3 and 4/5, by type of industry, population 16 to 65, Canada and regions, 2003

Literacy performance- Industry


34

Canadians with higher average scores earned more

Prose Document Numeracy Problem Solving

Male Less than 20,000 270 274 271 267

20,000 to 40,000 266 270 267 262

40,000 to 60,000 289 294 290 284

60,000 and more 303 309 308 297

Prose Document Numeracy Problem Solving

Female Less than 20,000 274 269 255 266

20,000 to 40,000 286 280 266 275

40,000 to 60,000 309 305 290 297

60,000 and more 323 319 307 309

Source: IALSS, 2003

Literacy performance-Labour force


35

Distribution of recent immigrant, established immigrant and native born populations by level of Prose performance, ages 16-65, Canada, 2003

100

80

60

40

20

0

20

40

60

80

Native Recent Established


Subgroups - Immigrants

Source: IALSS, 2003

A signficantly higher proportion of immigrants had low literacy compared to their Canadian-born counterparts, and the proportion

did not vary by their length of stay in Canada

Canadian born

10 years or less More than 10 years


36Source: IALS, 2003

The literacy performance of immigrants was higher among those with mother tongue the same as the language of test

(population 16-65)

Subgroups - Immigrants

Prose Document NumeracyProblem solving

Immigrant status Mean Mean Mean Mean

Canadian born 280 278 269 273

Immigrants - mother tongue same as test language 269 269 259 257

Immigrants - mother tongue different from test language 234 238 235 230


37

Regardless of their level of literacy proficiency, most immigrants were employed but were they under employed?

Immigrants Canadian born

Level 1 1,408,000 1,715,000

Employed Unemployed Employed Unemployed

893,000 135,000 (10%) 889,000 227,000 (13%)

Level 2 1,234,000 4,595,000


856,000 105,000 (9%) 3,255,000 381,000 (8%)

Level 3 1,284,000 6,967,000


966,000 99,000 5,329,000 429,000

Level 4/5 469,000 3,688,000


360,000 34,000 2,949,000 180,000

Source: IALSS, 2003

Literacy performance- Immigrants in Canada


38

A high number of immigrants at levels 1 and 2 proficiency in English or French have post secondary education.

Immigrants

Level 1 1,408,000

Less than HS HS PSE

567,000 (68.8%) 467,000 (36.2%) 374,000 (16.4%)

Level 2 1,234,000

Less than HS HS PSE

169,000 (20.5%) 423,000 (32.8%) 642,000 (28.1%)

Level 3 1,284,000

Less than HS HS PSE

77,000 (9.3%) 309,000 (23.9%) 898,000 ( 39.4%)

Level 4/5 469,000

Less than HS HS PSE

-- 92,000 (7.1%) 366,000 (16.1%)

Total -- (100%) 1,290,000 (100%) 2,279,000 (100%)

Source: IALSS, 2003

Literacy performance- Immigrants in Canada


39

In all provinces and territories there was a substantial difference between the participation rates in training of

those with the lowest and highest levels of literacy.

Source: IALSS, 2003

Per cent of population receiving adult education and training during the year preceding the interview, by document literacy levels, 16-65, Canada and regions, 2003

0

20

40

60

80

Canada Atlantic Quebec Ontario Prairies BritishColumbia

Territories

%


Literacy performance- Adult training participation


40

About 50% of workers participated in adult training in Ontario, the same as in Canada. Also a smaller proportion (22%) of workers took courses in

Ontario compared to Canada (25%).

Per cent of population receiving adult education and training the year preceding the interview, by type of participation, population 16 to 65, Canada, provinces and territories, 2003

Source: IALSS, 2003

Literacy performance- Adult training participation

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Total participation Took program Took course


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79% of Ontario residents had access to a computer at home compared to 76% of Canadians aged 16 to 65 years.

76

6267 70 68 70

7972 74

81 79 77

66

41

0

20

40

60

80

100

Canada N.L. P.E.I. N.S. N.B. Que. Ont. Man. Sask. Alta. B.C. Y.T. N.W.T. Nvt.

%

Computer access Internet access

Computer and Internet access at home Per cent of adults aged 16-65 who report having access to a computer and the Internet at home, Canada, provinces and territories, 2003

Literacy performance-ICT

Source: IALSS, 2003


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Generally, 16 to 65 year-olds in poor health had lower average document literacy scores.

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2

Yuk. N.W.T Nun. Alb. N-B Can. Ont. Sas. Man. B.C. Nfld Lab Que P.E.I. N.S.

Poor Fair, Good or Excellent1 16-65

2 66 and older

Physical Component Summary (PCS) scores by mean document literacy proficiency by age groups, Canada, provinces et territoires, 2003

Note : Orders the provinces and territories by the size of the difference in average document literacy between those in poor health and those in excellent health.

Literacy performance- Health

Source: IALSS, 2003


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Best options for improvement by points gained/lost, Canada and Ontario

-50-40-30-20-10

010203040

Canada

Ontario

16-25 46-65 Less than high school

Postsecondary

Base group:

-26-45

-Those with

high school

-Mother

tongue English

Source: IALSS 2003

Policy sensitive targets appear to be similar for Ontario and Canada.

Improving Literacy in Ontario

Mother tongue French

Regression analysis.

Mother tongue other than English or French


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Geographic distribution of people at levels 1 and 2 in prose in Ontario (IALSS population 16-65).

Source: IALSS 2003


45

Geographic distribution of people at levels 4 and 5 in prose in Ontario (IALSS population 16-65).

Source: IALSS 2003


46

Geographic distribution of people at levels 1 and 2 in prose in Southern Ontario (IALSS population 16-65).


47

Geographic distribution of people at levels 1 and 2 in prose in Toronto (IALSS population 16-65).


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Contact Information:

Satya Brink, Ph.D.Director, Policy ResearchLearning Policy DirectorateHuman Resources and Skills Development CanadaPlace du Portage, Phase IV, 3 Floor140 Promenade du PortageGatineau, QCK1A 0J9Tel: 819-953-6622Fax: 819-997-5433

[email protected]


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