Literacy is a continuum where everyone has some level of proficiency, which may or may not be enough to meet daily demands. Literacy requires different skills to understand and use information in a variety of reading materials. The IALS developed three broad categories to measure these different skills. Most people can read but have serious difficulty dealing with printed materials. Because of very low basic skills, people would have trouble finding the correct dosage for aspirin to give a child from the directions on the label.
People have limited skills.
They can read, but not well. People at this level often do not realize they have literacy problems. Their literacy skills may be adequate for the present, but they would find it difficult to learn new job skills requiring a higher level of literacy. People at this level have reading skills that are effective for many situations and jobs, but may have problems reading or writing outside of a routine nature. The survey was sponsored by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and was managed by Statistics Canada.