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By targeting students nearing the end of their
degree programs, the study provides a broader
and more comprehensive picture of fundamental
college literacy skills than ever before.
"The surprisingly weak quantitative literacy
ability of many college graduates is troubling,"
says Dr. Stéphane Baldi, who directed the
AIR study. "A knowledgeable workforce is
vital to cope with the increasing demands of the
global marketplace."
Study findings include:
Students in 2- and 4-year colleges have the greatest
difficulty with quantitative literacy: approximately
30 percent of students in 2-year institutions
and nearly 20 percent of students in 4-year institutions
have only Basic quantitative literacy. Basic skills
are those necessary to compare ticket prices or
calculate the cost of a sandwich and a salad from
a menu.
Students about to graduate from college have higher
prose and document literacy than previous graduates
with similar levels of education; for quantitative
literacy, differences between current and former
college graduates are not significant.
There are no significant differences in the literacy
of students graduating from public and private
institutions. Additionally, in assessing literacy
levels, there are no differences between part-time
and full-time students. No overall relationship
exists between literacy and the length of time
it takes to earn a degree, or between literacy
and an academic major.
There are no significant differences between men
and women in college in their average prose, document,
and quantitative literacy - indicating that women
may be bridging a divide that has long existed
between the sexes.
The average prose and quantitative literacy of
Whites in 4-year institutions is higher than for
any other racial/ethnic group, mirroring trends
in the general population. The fact that white
students also have the highest prose and document
literacy among students in 2-year colleges provides
further evidence that the literacy gap between
minority and non-minority students persists.
The literacy skills of college students is directly
related to the education of their parents: children
whose parents graduated college or attended graduate
school have higher literacy than students whose
parents did not graduate high school or stopped
after receiving a high school diploma or GED.
Despite variations in income, most differences in
the literacy of students across income groups are
not significant. The most significant disparity
exists between students in 4-year institutions with
the lowest and highest income backgrounds. Students
in the highest income group (either their personal
income or the income of their parents) have higher
prose and document literacy than students in the
lowest income group.
Literacy level is significantly higher among students
who say their coursework places a strong emphasis
on applying theories or concepts to practical problems,
in comparison to students who say their coursework
rarely touch on these skills.
The results of the study are intended to help college
and university administrators identify specific
academic areas where students have literacy gaps
that should be addressed, as well as provide information
on how prepared students are to join the labor force.
The report includes comparisons with data contained
in the U.S. Department of Education's "National
Assessment of Adult Literacy" (NAAL), the
first nationwide assessment of the literacy skills
of U.S. adults aged 16 and older in more than
a decade. The first NAAL report, which was released
in December, was written by AIR authors.
"Despite the lackluster performance
of many graduates on quantitative literacy, we
should nevertheless be encouraged that current
college graduates are not falling behind in terms
of literacy when compared to graduates from earlier
generations", says Emerson Elliott,
a former Commissioner of Education Statistics
at the U.S. Department of Education.
"Higher education institutions should
take careful note of the important benefits derived
from emphasizing analytic and critical thinking,
and the application of theories in preparing students",
says Peter Ewell, vice president of the National
Center for Higher Education Management Systems.
Elliott and Ewell are members of the National
Advisory Panel that guided the direction of the
study. Other panel members include: Joni Finney,
vice president of the National Center for Public
Policy and Higher Education; George Kuh, director
of the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana
University; Margaret Miller, director of the Center
for the Study of Higher Education at the University
of Virginia; and Nichole Rowles, Planning and
Evaluation Officer for The Pew Charitable Trusts.
(source: the American Institutes for Research)
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