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Document literacy requires more than just reading the words – it’s about using documents to achieve your purposes and solve problems.
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Document literacy requires more than just reading the words – it’s about using documents to achieve your purposes and solve problems.
We traditionally think of literacy as the ability to read and write basic text (this is known as prose literacy). Most developed countries claim close to 100% literacy using this simple definition. Document literacy is more demanding, referring to the ability to use written information to achieve purposes and solve problems.
In the latest iteration of the main international literacy survey (OECD 2021) document literacy is treated as one of a number of adult basic skills alongside numeracy, familiarity with technology, and problem-solving. The OECD defines literacy in this way:
Literacy is accessing, understanding, evaluating and reflecting on written texts in order to achieve one’s goals, to develop one’s knowledge and potential and to participate in society. (OECD 2021, page 42)
When you extend the concept of literacy in this way, the claimed literacy figures come crashing down.
The OECD survey defines five levels of literacy (level 1 being very basic, with level 5 being the most sophisticated). Level 3 is the critical level, which they define as “a suitable minimum for coping with everyday life and work in a complex, advanced society”. It requires the ability to integrate different sources of information and solve more complex problems. But nearly half the population in most developed countries don’t reach this level.
The tests used to measure document literacy mostly use visually organized documents rather than continuous prose: for example, forms, timetables, instructions, and user guides. Evetts and Gauthier (2005) include many examples.
Evetts, J., and M. Gauthier. 2005. Literacy task assessment guide. Ottawa, Canada: National Literacy Secretariat.
OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) (2021), The Assessment Frameworks for Cycle 2 of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, OECD Skills Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris