Summer Institute 2013
LEARNING FROM IALS, PREPARING FOR PIAAC
June 26-28, 2013
Montreal, QC
Adult Literacy Testing in Germany
While within UNESCO functional literacy is sometimes discussed from the perspective of
functional illiteracy (Street, 1992), this is nearly always the case regarding German adult
education. While illiteracy is a difficult term that creates a dichotomous separation between
populations, and is stigmatizing and excluding, it is necessary for negotiating resources with
policy makers in Germany.
Nation-wide tests regarding adult literacy in Germany:
IALS (1995)
LEO (2011)
PIAAC (2013)
In 1995, Germany ranked among the top third of the IALS countries. 14.4 percent of Germans
reached only prose level one. At that time, however, this was not considered as functional
illiteracy.
LEO Results and Alpha-Levels
Alpha-Levels subdivide the so-called Level One into smaller steps. According to the German
interpretation of functional illiteracy (which is more tightly defined compared to the
UNESCO definition), alpha-level a1-a3 represent functional illiterates (see descriptions on the
next page and http://blogs.epb.uni-hamburg.de/leo/).
Adult Literacy Testing in Germany
Rev.: June 2013
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Summer Institute 2013
LEARNING FROM IALS, PREPARING FOR PIAAC
June 26-28, 2013
Montreal, QC
The German story:
Practitioners learned in 1974 via prisoners that functional illiteracy exists in Germany. Radio
and TV created a scandal around the problem. Ubiquitous adult education institutions
(Volkshochschulen) offer ABE classes, with today about 20,000 participants instructed by
some 800 educators. The courses use Robin Hood funding – that means selling expensive
software courses, etc. and keeping the profit to reinvest it into basic education, a common
crossover budgeting system in German Volkshochschulen. In the meantime, the estimation
of 4 million functional illiterates was launched (informed by former UNESCO estimation,
and school dropout figures), communicated by the ‘Bundesverband Alphabetisierung’. These
thirty years of practitioners’ work and lobbying led to a first nation-wide research program
on functional illiteracy (30 Million Euro).
Within the first research program, the alpha-levels were developed, following the “lower
rung approach”. Level one was subdivided into smaller sublevels. The primary domains
were reading and writing.
Within the first program, the formative assessment tool (LEA) was developed and offered
on line. LEA contains about 400 items for formative purposes and asks learners and
educators to compare results using an individual reference norm. LEA items have been
developed according to the alpha-levels and scaled using item response theory (IRT) with a
sample size of 182 program participants.
LEO (n=8.436)
LEO, the Level One Survey, an add-on module to the representative Adult Education Survey
(AES), was launched, and results published in February 2011. Mass media showed
reasonable interest, not calling it an “Alpha-Shock” as compared to the German “Pisa-Shock”,
but since then media coverage has steadily increased.
AlphaPanel (n=some 500 in wave 1, about 350 in wave 2 and 3)
Within the first research program, a learner panel was launched. A short version of the LEO
test was inserted into wave two. The results show that ABE classes reach especially learners
on alpha-level 1 and 2, but fewer on alpha-level 3.
Adult Literacy Testing in Germany
Rev.: June 2013
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Summer Institute 2013
LEARNING FROM IALS, PREPARING FOR PIAAC
June 26-28, 2013
Montreal, QC
Comparison of participants (AlphaPanel) and addressees (LEO): Ending clichés
Household surveys like the leo.-survey inform us about populations while most adult
education research focuses primarily on participants such as those represented in the
AlphaPanel. A lack of research on non-participants leads to the notion that participants and
addressees might be similar in their structure. The AlphaPanel uses the same background
questionnaire as the Adult Education Survey and the LEO. This allows the comparison of
participants and addressees, ending assumptions that derive from research with participants
only, for example that they are all unemployed, isolated people with no school degree. This
may apply to the majority of Adult Basic Education (ABE) participants, but not to the
majority of functional illiterates as a whole.
National Strategy
With the publication of the LEO results, the Educational Minister Prof., Dr. Annette Schavan,
launched a National Strategy and promised a second research and development fund (20
million Euro). The funds are dedicated to workforce literacy, professionalization and
networking.
Curricular Framework (Rahmencurriculum) and Good Practice Examples
Hot debates continue about the need of a curricular framework and the right to participate in
tests and receive a certification. The curricular framework includes reading, writing,
mathematics and two workplace areas (nursing and metal branch). Online resources (in
German):
Ich-will-lernen.de
Leo.-app (to be launched on World Literacy Day 2013):
Adult Literacy Testing in Germany
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Summer Institute 2013
LEARNING FROM IALS, PREPARING FOR PIAAC
June 26-28, 2013
Montreal, QC
Adult Literacy Testing in Germany
Rev.: June 2013
Page |4