Framework for Literacy: 1993 and Beyond

Int ro d u c Ï„ ι ο ν Framework for Literacy: 1393 and Beyond What does literacy mean for children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing? What are the federal standards for literacy in the current decade and for "America 2000," and how do these standards affect the instruction of deaf students? What components are used in the definition of literacy, and what criteria are being used to designate literacy levels for each component? For students who are deaf, what are the implications of these standards —and of the functional literacy levels required by the workplace itself—both now and in the near future? These questions are of vital importance to the current instruction and future lives of deaf students, but discussions of literacy frequently founder on points of definition—how broad, how narrow , how inclusive, how relevant. A common reference point is essential for meaningful discussion of literacy questions and their ramifications, but such a point has yet to be established. This edition of the American Annals of the Deaf 'Reference Issue, therefore , offers one framework for such discussions, focusing upon literacy foundations for the workplace. It will include a series of brief articles devoted to different but interrelated aspects of literacy and to their relevance for deaf students as they prepare to enter the workforce and to sustain meaningful employment. This workplace focus was selected not as the only goal of literacy— nor even as the most important goal—but as one very critical element which affects almost all students today and which could, in turn, help direct our literacy discussions. In the workplace of 1993 and the decades to come, it is clear that literacy will assume an increasingly leading role, with new requirements for literacy itself and with greater gaps in employment opportunities between those who have and those who lack The "Selected Topics of Interest" was initiated as a section of the Annals Reference Issue in April 1974 as a means of providing additional statistical and reference-type data on current focal concerns . An index of articles published from 1974 to 1984 is provided in the April 1984 Reference Issue. the requisite literacy skills. In a highly complex society, where technology and information systems permeate the everyday lives and jobs of almost every citizen, old definitions of literacy no longer hold true. The criterion for literacy of the 1800s—ability to write one's own signature—is no longer valid; and, in fact, this standard would now be met by almost all young American adults (Kirsch & Jungeblut, 1986). More recent standards, too, have become outmoded, as literacy becomes an integral ingredient of contemporary life. Thus, almost 95% of young adults today are estimated to reach or exceed the standard of the 1930s—a fourth-grade reading equivalency; and 80% meet or exceed the eighth-grade level in reading, set as a standard in the 1960s (Kirsch & Jungeblut, 1986). However, even literacy performance that meets the most stringent of these single standards is proving to be insufficient for the increasingly complex workplace and information society of today. Standard Literacy Components The definition of literacy that has become the federal standard for literacy assessment was adopted for both the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 1985 and the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (Literacy Definition Committee, 1992), as authorized by Congress through the Adult Education Amendments of 1988. For this purpose, literacy has been defined as: Using printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potential. Two words that are especially critical in this definition are using and written. The emphasis on using information specifies that literacy skills must be functional for working, living, and learning. It also "implies a set of complex information-processing skills that go beyond decoding and comprehending textual materials " (Kirsch & Jungeblut, p. 3). Thus, a single standard, a surface level understanding of written materials, is no longer adequate . To be literate, one must also be able to demonstrate this understanding through writing and, more critically, to "reason ef- fectively about one's reading and writing" (Applebee, Langer, & MullÃ-s, 1987, p. 9). The expectations imbedded in this standard are that readers should...