The self-assessed literacy index: Reliability and validity

Authors

Kristen Olson, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Jolene D. Smyth, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Ying Wang, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jennie E. Pearson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

9-2011

Comments

Published in Social Science Research 40:5 (September 2011), pp. 1465–1476; doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2011.05.002 Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. Used by permission.

Abstract

Literacy is associated with many outcomes of research interest as well as with respondents’ ability to even participate in surveys, yet very few surveys attempt to measure it because doing so is often complex, requiring extensive tests. The central goal of this paper is to develop a parsimonious measure of respondents’ reading ability that does not require a complex literacy test. We use data from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy to identify correlates of reading ability to form a literacy index. These correlates include self-assessments of one’s ability to understand, read and write English, and literacy practices at home. Our literacy index reliably discerns literacy test scores above educational attainment, and the index shows high internal consistency (coefficient alpha = 0.78) and validity. The paper concludes with implications of these findings for survey research practitioners and suggestions for future research.