Scoping the Development of a Measure of Adults’ Numeracy (and Literacy) Practices

Abstract

We describe our research scoping the development of a measure of adults’ numeracy and literacy practices, focusing in particular on numeracy. Our ultimate aim is to develop a way of tracking changes in how adults use numeracy and literacy in the workplace, community and at home, to inform educational efforts. This is particularly important for numeracy because there is often a gap between the numeracy adults use in their daily lives and their performance on proficiency tests designed to measure their progress and assess their suitability for work or further training. We treat numeracy and literacy as both social practices and technical skills, against prevailing polarized positions in the academic and policy literature, and present a conceptual framework encompassing numeracy, reading, writing, speaking and listening practices, in real and virtual (digital) environments.