Publications:
A Framework
for Adult Numeracy Standards:
The Mathematical Skills and Abilities Adults Need
To Be Equipped for the Future
INTRODUCTION
In October 1995, the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) funded eight planning
grants for system reform and improvement as part of the Equipped for the Future (EFF)
project. World Education, Inc., in cooperation with five state literacy resource
centers, accepted the grant on behalf of the Adult Numeracy Practitioners Network (ANPN).
The purpose of the ANPN Planning Grant is to begin the work of developing Adult
Numeracy Standards for adult basic education. We are augmenting previous work done
in this area (e.g., NCTM, SCANS, Massachusetts ABE Math Standards) by interviewing adult learners,
teachers and other stakeholders.
This project, while furthering the work of other projects, was exciting in that the
voices of the adult learner as well as stakeholders were added to the mix. Based
on all the voices along with the work done previously in the area of adult numeracy,
the following seven themes emerged and serve as the foundation for adult numeracy standards:
- Relevance/Connections
- Problem-Solving/Reasoning/Decision-Making
- Communication
- Number and Number Sense
- Data
- Geometry: Spatial Sense and Measurement
- Algebra: Patterns and Functions
Along with the seven themes noted above, adult learner and stakeholder voices also
gave us greater insight into affective issues. A section on Competence and Self-confidence
was added to ensure that adults' voices were heard and their feelings considered as this document is read.
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We not only asked adults what they need to know and be able to do to be productive
citizens, workers, and parents, but also we encouraged the adults we spoke with to
share their opinions on how math instruction should be changed. Adult learners shared
how math instruction should be changed in the classroom while stakeholders tended to
look at system reform issues. From the uniformity of voices of adults across the
country, Recommendations for System Reform have been drafted and are reflected in
the final chapter of this document.
What We Need Is an Honest List!
In March, 1994, over 100 adult educators, mathematics educators and other stakeholders
in the field of adult education and training came together for three days to discuss
the topic of adult numeracy. One of the major suggestions of the Conference on Adult Mathematical Literacy was that an important next step would be to develop an honest
list of the skills and knowledge that adults really need to be mathematically literate.
The participants called for a serious rethinking of the content and relevance of the adult basic education mathematics classes as they are currently taught. Through
analysis of the mathematical demands on adults in today s society, educators can
refocus the adult numeracy curriculum in a meaningful way.
A Massachusetts cohort of adult education teachers, inspired by the National Council
of Teachers of Mathematics Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics,
had already begun this task in earnest. However, because the cohort reflected the
input of teachers only, many participants at the conference felt that more research
was needed. That research should include consideration of data from the Secretary's
Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) Report, other recent documents,
employer and community needs assessment, and especially the opinions of adult learners.
In this report, our grassroots organization formed at the conference, the Adult Numeracy
Practitioners Network (ANPN) will bring together essential documents and the many
voices of adult learners, teachers, and employer and community stakeholders. Through the Equipped for the Future Initiative, an ANPN working group was encouraged by the
National Institute for Literacy to carefully listen to the data by analyzing the
transcribed tapes of twenty-one learner focus groups, five stakeholder focus groups,
and five teacher study groups. In addition, the ANPN working group examined pertinent
documents such as Equipped for the Future, the SCANS Report, the 1994 Conference
Proceedings, the NCTM Standards, and The Massachusetts ABE Math Standards (See Table 1).
The ANPN working group was struck by the fact that all the voices -- from SCANS to
The Massachusetts ABE Math Standards to the focus group partici-
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pants -- resonate,
all be it with diverse perspectives. It is this resonance that must and will guide
our honest list .
Responding to SCANS Research
The SCANS Report for America 2000, What Work Requires of Schools lists the following
foundation skills :
- Basic Skills: reading, writing, mathematics (arithmetical computation and mathematical reasoning), listening, and speaking;
- Thinking Skills: creative thinking, making decisions, solving problems, seeing
things in the mind s eye, knowing how to learn, and reasoning; and
- Personal Qualities: individual responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self-
management, and integrity.
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The basic skills are the irreducible minimum for anyone who wants to get even a low-skill
job . . . the thinking skills, by contrast, permit workers to analyze, synthesize
and evaluate complexity. (SCANS, p. 17)
SCANS holds that even these foundation skills are not enough. They must be integrated
with other kinds of competencies to make them fully operational. Competencies such
as managing or using resources, interpersonal skills, information, systems, and technology are needed by everyone from the entry level or unskilled worker to managers
and executives.
The seven adult numeracy themes in our Framework reflect this "more than the basics"
slant. Relevance/Connections, Problem-Solving/Reasoning/ Decision-Making, and Communication
combine with the four content areas of Number and Number Sense, Data, Geometry: Spatial Sense and Measurement, and Algebra: Patterns and Functions to deliver an
up-to-date, SCANS-friendly definition of mathematical literacy.
Building upon The Massachusetts ABE Math Standards
The Massachusetts ABE Math Standards posited Problem-Solving, Communication, Reasoning,
and Connections as the four over-arching standards for mathematical literacy. Through
ANPN s further research, these four standards, often referred to as process standards, were consolidated into three adult numeracy themes: Relevance/Connections,
Problem-Solving/ Reasoning/Decision-Making, and Communication. Responses showed
that it was difficult for individuals to differentiate between problem-solving and
reasoning, both key skills in decision-making. Our data also revealed that the issue of
relevance frequently occurred.
The remaining seven MA ABE Standards have been integrated into four adult numeracy
content themes. Number and Number Sense includes two MA ABE standards, Estimation
and Number, Operations, and Computation. Data is similar to the MA ABE standard
called Statistics and Probability. Geometry: Spatial Sense and Measurement incorporates two
MA ABE standards, Geometry and Spatial Sense and Measurement. Two MA ABE standards
-- Patterns, Relationships, and Functions and Algebra -- correspond to the adult
numeracy theme, Algebra: Patterns and Functions. This reorganized structure is a reflection
of the words of adult learners, teachers and stakeholders as they told us about the
math that they need and use.
The final standard of The Massachusetts ABE Math Standards is Evaluation and Assessment.
The Framework for Adult Numeracy Standards, while not choosing to include a separate
theme to address these topics, addresses assessment under System Reform. Many focus group participants saw evaluation and assessment
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as issues that need to be approached
through system reform efforts.
Connecting to Equipped for the Future s Four Key Purposes
The Equipped for the Future (EFF) project focused on goal 6 of the National Education
Goals which stated: By the year 2000, every adult American will be literate and
will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and
exercise the right and responsibilities of citizenship. When asked what they needed to
compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship,
adult learners responded with four key purposes:
- to have access to information and orient themselves in the world;
- to give voice to their ideas and opinions and to have the confidence that their voice will be heard and taken into account;
- to solve problems and make decisions on their own, acting independently as a parent, citizen and worker, for the good of their families, their communities, and their nation; and
- to be able to keep on learning in order to keep up with a rapidly changing world.
The Framework for Adult Numeracy Standards supports these four key purposes through the seven adult numeracy themes. Literacy for Access and Orientation includes access
to the broader world of ideas and opportunities that surround them and they know literacy -- including the ability to work with numbers as well as read and write for themselves
-- is the price of the ticket. (Equipped for the Future, p.11) The four content
themes: Number and Number Sense; Data; Geometry: Spatial Sense and Measurement;
and Algebra: Patterns and Functions provide access to the world of mathematical thought.
Literacy as Voice refers to adults ability to communicate to others what they
think and feel. The Communication theme addresses this issue and is considered a
key process that is integrated in all other math areas. Literacy for Independent Action
reflects adults desires to be able to act independently and make informed decisions.
All focus group participants in the Adult Numeracy project could clearly describe
how decisions were made involving math. The process theme Problem-Solving/Reasoning/
Decision-Making is an outcome of their comments. The fourth key purpose -- Literacy
as a Bridge to the Future -- explains why adults participate in adult education programs. They realize that education is a key to future success, not only for themselves
but for their children. Over and over again, the adult learners in our project shared
that a key reason for wanting to learn math was to help their children be successful.
In essence, they saw the importance of our third process theme, Relevance/Connections.
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The ANPN Planning Project for System Reform sought to discover what math adults needed
to accomplish the EFF key purposes in the roles as parent, worker, and citizen.
Focus group participants were specifically asked what math they need to know and
be able to do in order to be successful in their roles as parent, worker, and citizen. The
feedback from these questions is integrated throughout the Framework for Adult Numeracy
Standards. Table 2, on the following page, compares ANPN s Numeracy Themes with
The Massachusetts ABE Math Standards, Equipped for the Future, and SCANS.
How Much Closer to the Honest List Are We?
This document is not a set of standards, but a framework for developing standards.
Sometimes one has to step back before really going forward. The ANPN is being true
to the data collected. Through this project, ANPN has spent an enormous amount of
time listening to learners, teachers, employers and other stakeholders in a systematic,
structured manner. This has given us a rich base from which to derive the honest
list , the next step.
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