Statistical Analyses 1

Running Head: STATISTICAL ANALYSES USING THE NALS

A Review of Statistical Analyses of the National Adult Literacy Survey:

Implications for Policy Recommendations

Janet K. Sheehan-Holt

M Cecil Smith

Northern Illinois University

Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research

Association, New Orleans, April 24-28, 2000.

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Abstract

A content review of all studies published using the National Adult Literacy

Survey was conducted for three purposes: to assess whether authors accounted for

important design features of the NALS; to examine the complexity and appropriateness

of the statistical analyses conducted and, to identify innovative data analytic procedures

that capitalized on unique aspects of the data to address important adult literacy issues.

From this content review we conclude that important findings regarding adult literacy,

which can inform policy, have resulted from this data. Yet, appropriate attention needs to

be given to the design issues of the NALS in order to make accurate inferences from the

data. Opportunities exist to formulate adult literacy models which can mirror the

complexities of the factors related to adult literacy when full use is made of the data and

these design considerations are taken into account.

 Statistical Analyses 3

A Review of Statistical Analyses of the National Adult Literacy Survey:

Implications for Policy Recommendations

Large-scale national databases provide social scientists with a bounty of

potentially useful information that can be used to examine questions that cannot be easily

addressed in smaller, local studies. The National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS), for

example, is the only large and national-level survey that contains extensive information

about adults' literacy abilities. Data regarding educational, language, and occupational

characteristics that are assumed to be critical to literacy are present in the NALS. These

data became widely available to social scientists in 1993. Since that time, the

NALS has been used for several studies that have investigated relationships between

literacy and various background factors (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, occupation).

Educational and social policy recommendations have been made as a result of a few of

these studies, although the extent to which these recommendations have been acted

upon is unknown.

Analysts who use data from national surveys such as the NALS can take

advantage of the assets of the large-scale nature of the survey to test multivariate models,

involving many variables and make inferences from the data at the national level.

However, analysts must also work within the constraints of the original survey design,

the specific populations studied, and the questions and tasks posed to participants in the

survey. In some ways, analysis of large-scale data sets is quite different from smaller-

scale surveys because unique features of the survey design need to be considered. In the

NALS, certain features of the data which require special treatment include: (a) taking into
 Statistical Analyses 4

account the non-random probability of selection from certain minority groups, (b) the

cluster sampling design, and (c) the use of multiple plausible values to represent

respondents’literacy proficiencies along three dimensions - prose, document, and

quantitative literacy.

The primary purpose of the current study is to report the analytic methods used by

researchers, including ourselves, when analyzing data from the 1992 NALS to account

for the special design considerations of the survey. Another purpose is to report how the

data were used, with special attention to the use of screening and or control variables, and

whether multivariate models were tested. The final purpose of the study is to describe

some innovative methods that NALS analysts have used to address research related to

adult literacy.

In the next sections, we begin by describing the issues and recommended

procedures for working with the NALS survey. Next we describe the advantages of using

a large-scale survey, such as the NALS, and suggest methods for making full use of the

data. Last we discuss some of the innovative ways researchers have used the NALS data

and discuss the inferences they were able to make from such analyses.

Design Considerations

Sampling weights. Sampling weights are necessary in the analysis of the NALS

data to account for such sampling characteristics as the oversampling of Blacks and

Hispanics in high-minority segments, the possibility of non-response bias, and the

combination of state and national samples. These sampling weights are provided in the

NALS data, however, data analysts need to be aware of the need for using the weights in

order to get accurate population estimates of the effects of interest.

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In the NALS data file many weights are provided: base weights, a series of

replicate weights, and the final weights. The base weight is the reciprocal of the

probability of selection for a respondent, which reflects all stages of sampling. The

composite weights are then derived from the base weights by multiplying by a

compositing factor, which combines the state and national data in an optimal manner.

The final sample weights were then calculated by raking the composite weights to known

population totals (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 1997). Weighting the

data by in this manner will ensure that the data are representative of the population.

Sampling variability estimation. Estimates of sampling variability of statistics

based on the NALS may be negatively biased since the data were collected via a cluster

sampling design. That is, observations within a cluster may be more similar than those

between clusters and, consequently, the data may violate the assumption of independence

necessary for most parametric statistical tests. To acquire accurate estimates of standard

errors the NALS User's Guide (NCES, 1997) recommends several procedures. First, a

complex mathematical approximation procedure, Taylor Series expansion, may be used

to determine the corrected standard errors for most parametric statistics. A second

method uses a series of replicate weights, provided in the NALS data, to calculate

jackknife variance estimates of repeated subsamples of the NALS. These can then be

used to generate a final variance estimate of the statistic of interest. A third approach,

discussed in the NALS User's Guide, is to adjust the estimated standard error by a factor

equivalent to the design effect. Although the design effect will vary depending on the

statistic calculated, Rock estimated that the design effect for the NALS on the average is

equal to 2.0 (NCES, 1997).

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Another statistical method that can be used to generate correct estimates of

standard errors from data collected with a cluster sampling design is hierarchical linear

modeling (HLM; Bryk & Raudenbush, 1992). This method allows parameter estimates of

individuals to vary depending on characteristics of the cluster to which the individual is

assigned, hence there is not the assumption of independence of errors that is common to

ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and other parametric techniques. Moreover, this

variation can be explicitly modeled with cluster-level variables. In this way, the outcomes

of interest can be modeled with data collected at any unit of analysis.

Multiple plausible values. Prose, document and quantitative proficiencies in the

NALS are assessed using a variant of a matrix sampling technique. Different sets of

prose, document, and quantitative literacy items are assigned to different respondents at

random, allowing the assessment of a broad range of literacy areas while minimizing time

demands for survey administration. Because individuals take different skills tests, it is

inappropriate to estimate literacy proficiencies with a percentage correct score because

score differences may depend on the difficulty of items in the set. To reliably assess

literacy proficiency plausible value methodology is used. The plausible values contain

information about both the individual’s level of proficiency as well as the measurement

imprecision in the estimation process. Plausible values are not meant to be used as

estimates of an individual’s proficiency score, in fact they may be biased estimates of

individual-level proficiency; however, they can be used to generate unbiased estimates of

population effects. The plausible value methodology relates an individual’s item

responses to their proficiency using a three-parameter logistic model. Sets of plausible

values of proficiencies are then generated (NCES, 1997).

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The correct method to infer population effects from multiple plausible values is to

follow the method of Mislevy, Johnson, and Muraki (1992) which takes into account both

measurement and sampling error. This method is computationally laborious, however,

since it requires the analysis to be computed separately for each plausible value.

Parameter estimates can then be computed by the average of the parameter estimates

from the separate runs. However, the calculation of the standard error requires not only

averaging the standard errors of the separate runs, but also estimating the variability

among the standard error estimates. The method of Mislevy et al. (1992) combines this

information resulting in standard error estimates that account for both sampling error and

measurement error. Alternatives to the plausible value methodology are not wholly

acceptable (NCES, 1998). If the analyst simply averages the plausible values this may

produce better estimates of an individual’s ability, yet, it will not produce consistent

estimates of population effects or error variance. Using one plausible value will yield

accurate estimates of the population effect, however, standard error estimates will be

negatively biased (NCES, 1998).

Uses of Data

The English Background Questionnaire (EBQ) of the 1992 NALS was used to

collect a broad range of information that would enhance our understanding of the factors

related to adults’literacy skills. The EBQ contained six sections: (a) general and

language background, (b) educational background and experiences, (c) political and

social participation, (d) labor force participation, (e) literacy activities and collaboration,

and (f) demographic information. Although improvements have been recommended in

several areas of the EBQ (Smith & Sheehan-Holt, 2000), data from the survey are very
 Statistical Analyses 8

rich and allow the possibility of forming complex theoretical models of adult literacy

which can be empirically tested.

Items in the EBQ may be used as screening variables to define a specific aspect of

the population to be studied. Because the total sample size of the NALS is in excess of

26,000, sub-populations can be selected that are specific to the issue under study and still

maintain a large enough population size to make strong inferences. The data from the

NALS also lends itself to multivariate analyses, which more closely mirror the

complexities of much social science phenomena. Because survey data are most often

used in correlational analyses, there is a distinct advantage in statistically controlling, via

multiple regression techniques and other methods, for important background

characteristics which may influence adult literacy. One of the advantages of large-scale

surveys such as the NALS, is that statistical control can be easily done without significant

“cost” to the error degrees of freedom of the statistic. Further, there is a much larger array

of variables than would be available in a typical small-scale surveys. Therefore, many

different types of characteristics can be controlled for in the analyses. A third use of the

data, which capitalizes on the both the large sample size and the breadth of the survey, is

to form complex, multivariate models that can be empirically tested. Complex analytic

tools such as structural equation modeling (SEM) and hierarchical linear modeling

require large samples in order to make accurate inferences from the results. Also, the

formation of models of indirect, direct, and reciprocal effects, such as is possible with

SEM, necessitates that a large enough set of variables is available to correctly specify the

model. The broader the survey, the more likely these types of complex models can be

tested.
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Method

Published articles and reports based on the 1992 National Adult Literacy were

reviewed for this study (see Appendix). This content review of the studies focused on

three aspects of the methodology. First, the analytic methods the researchers used to take

into account important design features of the NALS were assessed. Specifically, the

studies were reviewed to determine (a) whether sampling weights were used to take into

account the unequal probability of selection of various subgroups, (b) whether the cluster

sampling design of the survey was taken into consideration, and (c) how the proficiency

scores were used. Second, we examined the complexity of the analyses to determine if

the researchers took advantage of the wide array of variables in the dataset to screen for

particular subpopulations and conduct multivariate analyses that may more closely mirror

the complexities of adult literacy. Third, we identified and highlighted innovative data

analytic procedures that capitalized on unique aspects of the NALS to address important

issues involving adult literacy.

Results

Design Considerations

Sampling weights. Eleven of the fourteen studies (79%) reviewed reported or

implied that sampling weights were used to obtain accurate population estimates of the

effects of interest. Two of the three studies which did not report using sampling weights

used inferential analyses and appeared to be interested in generalizing to a broader

population, which would not be appropriate without sampling weights. One study which

did not report using sampling weights was primarily descriptive in nature and therefore

would not have been as affected by disregarding sampling weights.

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Sampling variability estimation. The cluster-sampling design of the NALS data

was taken into account in some manner in eight of the 14 studies (57%). The most

common method used to adjust for the possible non-independence of errors was to reduce

the effective sample size by an upward estimate of the average design effect of the

NALS. Four of the studies adjusted the sample size in this manner. The design effect

used in these studies concurs with what Rock recommends in the NALS User’s Guide

(NCES, 1997). In one study the design effect was first estimated using bootstrapped

estimates of OLS coefficients. Standard errors were estimated to be 1.2 to 1.4 times the

standard errors assuming simple random sampling. This was rounded upward to a

conservative design effect of 2.0 for all subsequent analyses.

The other three studies which took into account the cluster sampling design, did

so using HLM. In one of these studies individual states were used as the second-level

variable in order to ensure consistent estimation of within-state parameters and to

examine inter-state variability in mean outcomes and regression coefficients. However,

the results produced were nearly identical to corresponding OLS results, therefore OLS

estimates were used in all subsequent analyses. In the other two studies the segment was

used as the second-level variable. The authors reported a moderate intraclass correlation

coefficient (.164) for prose literacy proficiency between segments. The segment level

was also used as a second-level variable because it served as a proxy for neighborhoods,

i.e., census blocks or groups of census blocks.

Multiple plausible values. Thirteen of the studies reviewed used at least one

literacy proficiency scale in some of their analyses. Only four of these studies (31%)

reported using multiple plausible value methodology to estimate literacy proficiencies.

 Statistical Analyses 11

These four studies all appeared to be using the recommended procedure by Mislevy et al.

(1992). One study reported using the first plausible value to estimate literacy

proficiencies. Of the remaining eight studies which investigated literacy skills, none

provided details about which method, if any, was used to determine accurate estimates of

literacy proficiency. Five of the studies (38%) averaged the plausible values across the

prose, document and quantitative scales because of reported high intercorrelations among

the literacy scales.

Uses of Data

The majority of the studies reviewed (71%) used at least one variable in the data

set to narrow the population to a particular subsample of the total population. The most

common variables used to delimit the data were age, born in the US, and spoke English

before entering school. The majority of the studies (79%) reported controlling for

demographic characteristics or other characteristics in at least some of the analyses. A

variety of different control variables were used across the studies, however age, ethnicity,

educational attainment and gender were the most common control variables used. Eight

studies (57%) used some inferential analyses such as simple t-tests, chi-squares and

ANOVAs, where no control variables were used.

The formation of complex models which were testable by regression analysis or

multivariate methods were made in twelve studies (86%). Ten studies utilized multiple

regression techniques or hierarchical linear modeling to form predictive models. Two

studies used structural equation modeling to test bona fide multivariate models.
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Innovative Analyses

Both the large sample size and the wide array of variables in the NALS data allow

the analyst to use a variety of modeling methods, e.g., hierarchical linear modeling,

structural equation modeling, which are not possible in many data sets. This section will

discuss innovative analytic methods which were used to uncover factors related to adult

literacy.

Occupational variation. In their study of gender and ethnic differences of earnings

and employment status, Raudenbush and Kasim (1998) used an analytic method that

helped them determine if earnings and employment status differentials could be best

explained by an occupational preference perspective. They hypothesized that different

subpopulations (e.g., males and females) may earn different wages either because males

and females have preferences for different occupations or have different cognitive skills.

Raudenbush and Kasim deduced that within-occupational inequalities cannot be solely

explained by occupational preferences, however. Also, if these inequalities cannot be

explained by cognitive skill, then they suggest that other explanations must exist for pay

and employment inequality.

To test these hypotheses Raudenbush and Kasim (1998) formulated HLM models

in which individuals were nested within occupation. This procedure allowed for

disentangling the within- and between-group occupational differences. Raudenbush and

Kasim concluded that about two-thirds of the African-American versus European-

American male gap in earnings, and essentially all of the gap in unemployment, lies

within occupations. Literacy explains more than half of the between-occupation gap, but

less than half of the within-occupation gap. Having lower literacy skills, therefore, denies
 Statistical Analyses 13

blacks access to favorable occupations and helps to explain wage inequality on the basis

of ethnicity. Raudenbush and Kasim put forth a different explanation for gender

differences, however. The majority of the gender gap is within occupation, and

controlling for literacy has little or no effect on this gender gap. Consequently, they

concluded that neither job preference theories or cognitive skill deficiency accounts for

the gender gap in earnings, and their results are consistent with a labor-force

discrimination explanation.

Contextual effects. We have previously conducted analyses to determine

predictors of literacy practices and skills using HLM, however, in a different manner

from Raudenbush and Kasim (Sheehan-Holt & Smith, 2000; Smith & Sheehan, 1998).

We determined that the segment level of the NALS data collection design could serve as

a proxy for a neighborhood since segments were comprised of census blocks or groups of

census blocks. We therefore used the segment as the second level in our HLM analyses

and found that literacy skills, but not practices, had moderate intraclass correlations

across segments. By using segment as a second-level variable, we could (a) appropriately

model individual-level effects even with non-independent errors within neighborhoods

and (b) we could appropriately model the neighborhood-level variation with contextual

variables. As a consequence, we created a contextual variable at the neighborhood level,

mean income of the neighborhood, and determined that not only was this variable

significantly related to literacy even when controlling for an individual’s family income,

but that it is an important control variable in the prediction of adult literacy.

Literacy selection and development. Reder (1995, 1998) has advanced the

understanding of the relationships between education, adult literacy, and other learner
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characteristics using structural equation modeling to test competing models of adult

literacy. He hypothesized that if educational attainment is a primary cause of adult

literacy (literacy development), a model with a unidirectional path from education to

literacy would fit the data best. However, if literacy operates on educational attainment

(literacy selection), a model with a unidirectional flow from literacy to education would

be a better fitting model. He tested these two competing models, along with a reciprocal-

effects model, with a bi-directional flow between literacy and education, to determine

which model best represents the interaction of these two factors. He determined that the

reciprocal effects model best explains the education – literacy relationship. Reder (1995)

also extended the model to include the exogenous variables of self-reported learning

disability, gender, age, age squared, minority status, and parents’education, as well as

social and economic outcomes. Using SEM he was also able to conclude that, in general,

learning disability status has substantial direct and indirect effects on education, literacy,

and social and economic outcomes.

Discussion

Design Considerations

The majority of the studies involving secondary analysis of the NALS data

reported using sampling weights, which lends validity to the inferences made regarding

population effects. Only two studies appeared to be making inferences to the population

without correctly weighting the data. It is possible, however, that the data were properly

weighted in these studies but was not reported in the description of the data analysis

procedures.
 Statistical Analyses 15

Slightly over half of the reviewed studies accounted for the sampling design in

some manner - either using an estimate of the design effect to reduce the effective

sample size or by using HLM. Using the design effect to weight the data has the

advantage that it takes into account the possible dependence of observations due to all

stages of the sampling design. However, this method is lacking in that design effects

differ depending on the statistic used and the variables used in a particular analysis

(NCES, 1997). None of the studies evaluated appeared to vary the design effect

adjustment depending on the statistic used. However, the investigators probably

overestimated the design effect and as such erred by being more conservative.

The HLM method of accounting for the sampling design is very effective, as it is

particularly suited for this type of data. However, a shortcoming of the method is that the

HLM software (Bryk, Raudenbush, & Congdon, 1996) can only analyze three stages of

sampling design (the individual level and two other stages) at one time. There is some

evidence that there is not much random variation in outcomes between states or PSUs,

although there is at the segment level (Raudenbush & Kasim, 1998; Sheehan-Holt &

Smith, 2000; Smith & Sheehan, 1998). Therefore, even a two-level model may be

sufficient to model the NALS data. Almost half of the published NALS research,

however, did not take the sampling design into account in any manner when making

statistical inferences. This may have resulted in negatively biased standard errors and

overreporting of significant effects related to adult literacy.

The limited number of studies that utilized plausible value methodology raises

some concern about the accuracy of the reported results of statistical tests involving adult

literacy. Although the plausible values take into account both literacy proficiency and
 Statistical Analyses 16

measurement error, sampling error is underestimated when only one plausible value is

used. Averaging the plausible values causes even more serious problems since this results

in inconsistent estimates. We suggest that the limited uses of the plausible value

methodology is because (a) it is not well understood how to correctly use the plausible

values and (b) very few statistical software programs have built in subroutines for

appropriately calculating plausible values, the notable exception being HLM (Bryk,

Raudenbush, & Congdon, 1996). However, because the main focus of most of the studies

using the NALS is adult literacy it is critical to inform NALS users about correct methods

for estimating literacy proficiencies.

Uses of Data

NALS users have taken advantage of the wide array of variables in NALS to

screen particular subpopulations and control demographic and respondent characteristics.

Most of the analyzed studies used regression or multivariate techniques to form

prediction models in which irrelevant characteristics were statistically controlled.

However, in some cases, the authors could have made stronger conclusions by employing

greater statistical controls. For example, in one study comparisons of literacy skills were

made between community college graduates and baccalaureate degree recipients without

controlling for income level or any other indicator of socioeconomic status, which may

vary considerably between these groups.

Although many of the studies employed regression analysis or multivariate

methods in part of the analysis, there were still many cases of t-tests and ANOVAs used

for making inferences, when multivariate methods would have more appropriately

captured the complex relationships among the variables. For example, in one study,
 Statistical Analyses 17

gender differences in literacy were examined through the use of t-tests for each ethnic

group, education level, and age group. The only gender differences detected were those

which varied simply as a function of one variable. However, differences that might vary

as a function of several variables were not detected. Therefore, their inferences regarding

the “literacy gender gap” would have been stronger if ethnicity, education and age had all

been used simultaneously as control variables.

Many of the studies combined several variables to test more involved models.

Using these more complex models, the researchers were able to separate between- and

within-occupational differences in earnings and employment, determine how contextual

effects are related to adult literacy, and investigate the reciprocal effects of literacy and

education.

Using the NALS to Inform Policy

Much of the information gained from the NALS can be important to

policymakers, given that literacy can be viewed as a result of investment in human capital

and is dependent on the many social and economic factors. The NALS studies we have

examined have accomplished important work which indicate that there are many

influences on adult literacy. Some of these influencing factors can themselves be

influenced, modified, and shaped through thoughtful social and educational policies. The

NALS research indicates that adult literacy plays a key role in explaining the Black-

White earnings and employment inequalities for males. Yet, literacy does not generally

explain the gender inequalities in earnings and employment (Raudenbush & Kasim,

1998). Also, some of our work with the NALS has questioned the overall effectiveness of

adult basic education programs for improving literacy skills to obtain the larger social
 Statistical Analyses 18

benefit of a literate society (Sheehan-Holt & Smith, 2000). Moreover, Reder’s

investigations of the relationships between adult literacy and educational attainment

indicates that educational attainment not only impacts literacy acquisition, but literacy

itself has an impact on educational attainment As such, the investigations using the

NALS may be critical in informing policymakers.

Policymakers need to be aware of the differences in the treatment of data and

types of analyses that have been done in the various analyses of the NALS. For instance,

our work suggests that not all researchers are using sampling weights, which limits

inferences to population effects. Most NALS research is not taking into account the

hierarchical structure of the design, which can result in incorrect inferences about effects.

Most of the NALS investigations have not used or have not reported using the multiple

plausible value methodology correctly to measure literacy proficiencies. Incorrect usage

of the plausible values may affect the accuracy of inferences regarding literacy

proficiencies. However, our work does show that researchers, for the most part, are

utilizing many of the NALS items to control for irrelevant effects and testing complex

adult literacy models. Further, several sophisticated analyses have been conducted which

have uncovered interesting findings that challenge conventional wisdom regarding ethnic

and gender differences in earnings and employment (Raudenbush & Kasim, 1998), the

limits of basic skills education in improving literacy skills (Sheehan-Holt & Smith,

2000), and the reciprocal effects of education and literacy (Reder 1995, 1998).

Important findings regarding adult literacy have resulted from the handful of

NALS investigations conducted to date. Despite these positive outcomes, appropriate

attention must be given to the design issues of the NALS in order to make accurate
 Statistical Analyses 19

inferences. When these design issues are taken into account, and the data are used

appropriately, more accurate and complex adult literacy models can be derived and

tested.
 Statistical Analyses 20

References

Bryk, A. S., & Raudenbush, S. W. (1992). Hierarchical linear models:

Applications and data analysis methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Bryk, A.S., Raudenbush, S.W., & Congdon, R. (1996). HLM (Version 4)

[Computer software]. Chicago, IL: Scientific Software International.

Mislevy, R.J., Johnson, E.G., & Muraki, E. (1992). Scaling procedures in NAEP.

Journal of Educational Statistics, 17, 131-154.

National Center for Education Statistics. (1997). National Adult Literacy Survey

Public Use Data Tape User’s Guide.

National Center for Education Statistics.(1998). Third International Math and

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Raudenbush, S.W., & Kasim, R.M. (1998). Cognitive skill and economic

inequality: Findings from the National Adult Literacy Survey. Harvard Education

Review, 68, 33-79.

Reder, S. (1998a). Literacy, education and learning disabilities. Technical Report

No. 95-xx. Philadelphia: National Center on Adult Literacy.

Reder, S. (1998b). Literacy selection and literacy development: Structural

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Literacy Survey (pp. 139-158). Westport, CT: Praeger.

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Smith, MC., & Sheehan-Holt, J.K. (2000). Evaluation of the 1992 Background

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Smith, M C. (1996). Differences in adults’reading practices and literacy

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 Statistical Analyses 22

Appendix
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Studies Examined for Content Review

Friedman, L., & Davenport, E. (1998). Literacy gender gaps: Evidence from the

National Adult Literacy Survey. In M C. Smith (Ed.): Literacy for the twenty-first

century: Research, policy, practices and the National Adult Literacy Survey (pp. 95-108).

Westport, CT: Praeger.

Gerber, S., & Finn, J.D. (1998). Learning document skills at school and at work.

Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 42, 32-44.

Greenberg, E.J., Swaim, P.L., & Teixeira, R.A. (1995). Workers with higher

literacy skills not as well rewarded in rural areas. Rural Development Perspectives, 10,

45-52.

Howard, J., & Obetz, W.S. (1996). Using the NALS to characterize the literacy of

community college graduates. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 39, 462-467.

Pryor, F.L., & Schaffer, D. (1997). Wages and the university educated: A paradox

resolved. Monthly Labor Review, 120(7), 3-15.

Raudenbush, S.W., & Kasim, R.M. (1998). Cognitive skill and economic

inequality: Findings from the National Adult Literacy Survey. Harvard Education

Review, 68, 33-79.

Reder, S. (1998a). Literacy, education and learning disabilities. Technical Report

No. 95-xx. Philadelphia: National Center on Adult Literacy.

Reder, S. (1998b). Literacy selection and literacy development: Structural

equation models of the reciprocal effects of education and literacy. In M C. Smith (Ed.):
 Statistical Analyses 24

Literacy for the twenty-first century: Research, policy, practices and the National Adult

Literacy Survey (pp. 139-158). Westport, CT: Praeger.

Sheehan-Holt, J.K., & Smith, M C. (2000). Does basic skills education affect

adults’literacy proficiencies and reading practices? Reading Research Quarterly.

Smith, M C. (1996). Differences in adults’reading practices and literacy

proficiencies. Reading Research Quarterly, 31, 196-219.

Smith, M C., & Sheehan, J.K. (1998). Adults’reading practices and their

associations with literacy proficiencies. In M C. Smith (Ed.): Literacy for the twenty-first

century: Research, policy, practices and the National Adult Literacy Survey (pp. 79-93).

Westport, CT: Praeger.

Venezky, R., Kaplan, D., & Yu, F. (1998, August). Literacy practices and voting

behavior: An analysis of the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey. Washington, DC:

National Center for Education Statistics.

Vogel, S.A., & Reder, S. (1998a). Literacy proficiency among adults with self-

reported learning disabilities. In M C. Smith (Ed.): Literacy for the twenty-first century:

Research, policy, practices and the National Adult Literacy Survey (pp. 159-174).

Westport, CT: Praeger.

Vogel, S.A., & Reder, S. (1998b). Educational attainment of adults with learning

disabilities. In S.A. Vogel and S. Reder (Eds.), Learning disabilities, literacy, and adult

education (pp. 29-41.). Baltimore: Paul H. Brooks.