Preparing Youth for the Future: The Literacy of America’s Young Adults

About

Seeks to describe the background characteristics and literacy levels of youth, focusing particular attention on high school dropouts.

In the report, Preparing Youth for the Future: The Literacy of America’s Young Adults, the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) data is used to: 1) examine the characteristics and literacy proficiency of America’s young adults ages 16-18 and 19-24, with particular attention to high school drop-outs within these age cohorts; 2) compare the literacy proficiency of young adults with that of older age cohorts and discusses characteristics that are most associated with the low literacy of America’s young adults; and 3) discuss key findings. (Abstractor: Website Staff)

Major Findings and Recommendations

- "More male than female young adults dropped out of high school" (p.6). - "Hispanic and Black young adults were over-represented in the high-school drop-out population, especially among the drop-outs having low prose literacy" (p.6). - "The most frequently held jobs among young adults were in Service and Sales and related industries" (p.6). - "The vast majority (92%) of young adults ages 16-18 had at least some computer literacy. The percentage among adults ages 19-24 was lower (80%)" (p.6). - "Compared with the general young adult population ages 19-24, a higher percentage of the 19-24-year-old drop- outs had children and had received public assistance, but a lower percentage reported voting in the 2000 presidential election" (p.6). - "Young adults who did not have a high school diploma or a GED certificate, lacked computer literacy, and did not speak English before starting school were more likely to have low prose literacy" (p.6). - "Black young adults were nearly twice as likely as White young adults to have Below Basic literacy over Above Basic literacy" (p.6). (Abstractor: Author)

Materials

http://wdr.doleta.gov/research/FullText_Documents/Preparing%5FYouth%5Ffor%5Fthe%5FFuture%5FThe%5FLiteracy%5Fof%5FAmericas%5FYoung%5FAdults%2Epdf

Comments

Content Details

Methodology:

Characterization Quantification Analyses

Topics:

Adult Education Adult High School Basic Skills - General High School Equivalency Tests

Target Populations:

Youth - All

Programs:

Non-Program Specific

Geographic Locations:

National Scope

Industry Sectors:

Cross-Industry

Last Updated:
Created:
Resource Publication Date: 2009
Author(s): Jin, Ying; Kling, Joanna
Organizational Author(s): American Institutes for Research
Funding Source: Funding source not identified
Resource Availability: Publicly available
Posted by: Melissa Mack
Posted in: Workforce System Strategies