Instructions to examiner: Before beginning, please remind the participant that all information is confidential and will not be shared with anyone. Also, remind the participant that they can skip any item they are not comfortable answering.
Read each question and choice slowly and clearly. If the person takes more than 5 seconds to answer, ask if he/she would like you to repeat the question and the choices.
* In case a participant speaks English as a second language, please let them know that this survey only pertains to reading in English. *
1. In general, would you say that you like reading (in English)?
o Yes
o Sometimes
o No
o Don’t know
o No response
When you answered this question, what kind of reading or reading materials were you thinking of? (Probe if necessary, to find out if person thought you meant books, magazines, newspapers, etc., whether the person thought you meant material presented in books or on a computer, etc.).
If participant responds yes or sometimes, go to question 2, otherwise go to question 3.
Response: _____________________________________________________________________
o Don’t know
o No response
Please skip to question 4.
3. Why do you dislike reading?
Response: _____________________________________________________________________
o Don’t know
o No response
4. If you had to guess, how much time in a day do you usually spend at home reading? Record time in minutes. _____________________
o Don’t know
o No response
5. Can you give examples of the reading activities you do?
Response: _______________________________________________________________
o Don’t know
o No response
6. Do you read…
| Everyday | A few times a week |
Once a week |
Less than once a week |
Rarely | Never | Don’t Know |
No Response |
|
| 1. Newspapers | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 2. Magazines/Comic books | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 3. Information on the internet | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 4. Email | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 5. Advertisements | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 6. Recipes | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 7. Maps | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 8. TV guides | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 9. Stories/Novels | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 10. Science/History | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 11. Religious material | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 12. Self-help material | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 13. Manuals/Catalogs/ Reference books |
o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
7. How much information do you get from…
| A lot | Some | A little | None | Don’t Know | No Response | |
| 1. Newspapers | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 2. Magazines | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 3. Internet | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 4. Radio | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 5. Books or Brochures | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 6. Family members, friends | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 7. Co-workers | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 8. Television | o | o | o | o | o | o |
Outside of your work/In everyday life, how often do you usually…
8. read books, fiction or nonfiction?
o Never
o Less than once a month
o Less than once a week but at least once a month
o At least once a week but not every day
o Every day
o Don’t know
o No response
9. Would you say that you avoid (English) reading material that looks too difficult for you?
o Never
o Sometimes
o Frequently
o Always
o Don’t know
o No response
10. How many magazines do you or people in your household subscribe to or purchase on a regular basis?
o None
o 1
o 2-5
o 6-10
o More than 10
o Don’t know
o No response
If participant answers none, don’t know, or no response, go to question 12, otherwise go to question 11.
11. If one or more, what is the title(s) and who reads it?
Title Who reads it
____________________________________ __________________________________
___________________________________ ___________________________________
___________________________________ ___________________________________
o Don’t know
o No response
12. Have you set out to learn anything by reading a book, magazine, or manual in the last year?
o Yes
o No
o Don’t know
o No response
If participant answers yes, proceed to question 13, otherwise proceed to question14.
13. What was it that you set out to learn most recently by reading a book, magazine, or manual?
Response: ____________________________________________________________________________
o Don’t know
o No response
14. Have you ever read a whole book (in English)?
o Yes
o No
o Don’t know
o No response
If person says yes, proceed to question 15, otherwise proceed to question 16.
15. If yes, did you like the book?
o Yes
o No
o Don’t know
o No response
16. About how many books do you think you read in the last year?
o zero
o 1 or 2
o 3-10
o 11-40
o More than 40
o Don’t know
o No response
17. Do you have books in your home (do not include magazines, newspapers or school books)?
o yes
o no
o Don’t know
o No response
If person says yes, proceed to next question, otherwise proceed to question 19.
18. About how many books are there in your home? Do not include magazines, newspapers or schoolbooks. To give an estimation, one foot of shelving is about 10 books.
o 10 books or less
o 11 to 25 books
o 26 to 100 books
o 101 to 200 books
o 201 to 500 books
o More than 500 books
o Don’t know
o No response
19. Do you ever go to a bookstore to buy or look at books (in English)?
o Never
o Sometimes
o Frequently
o Don’t know
o No response
20. Do you go to a library to check out or look at books (in English)?
o Never
o Sometimes
o Frequently
o Don’t know
o No response
21. Do you have a library card for a public library?
o Yes
o No
o Don’t know
o No response
22. Have you ever had a job or do you now have a job that requires you to read?
o Yes
o No
o Don’t know
o No response
o Not applicable (because never had a job)
If participant answers with yes, proceed to question 23, otherwise go to question 25.
23. Can you give me examples of the types of reading you do/did at work?
Response: _____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
24. At work how often do you or did you read…
| Everyday | A few times a week |
Once a week |
Less than once a week |
Rarely | Never | Don’t Know |
No Response |
|
| 1. Policy/Safety documents | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 2. Work orders/schedules/forms | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 3. Reports | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 4. Email | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 5. Information on the internet | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| 6. Information on a computer screen | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
Now I am going to ask you some questions about how well you think you read and write.
25. In general, how well do you understand what you read (in English)?
o I don’t understand anything I read.
o I understand some of what I read.
o I understand most of what I read.
o I understand everything that I read.
o Don’t know
o No response
26. In general, how would you describe your spelling ability (in English)?
o I cannot spell any words.
o I can spell some words without errors.
o I can spell most words without errors.
o I can spell all words without errors.
o Don’t know
o No response
27. In general, how well do you sound out words (in English)?
o I cannot pronounce anything I read.
o I can pronounce some of what I read.
o I can pronounce most of what I read.
o I can pronounce everything that I read.
o Don’t know
o No response
28. In general, how would you describe your ability to recognize words without having to sound them out (in English)?
o I cannot recognize any word I read without sounding it out.
o I can recognize some of the words I read without sounding them out.
o I recognize most of the words I read without sounding them out.
o I can recognize everything I read without sounding it out.
o Don’t know
o No response
29. In general, how would you describe how fast you can read (in English)?
o I read very, very slowly.
o I read slowly.
o I read at an average speed.
o I read quickly.
o I read very, very quickly.
o Don’t know
o No response
30. Which of these best describes your reading speed (in English)?
o I read at the same speed all the time.
o Sometimes I read fast and sometimes I read slowly.
o My reading speed changes a lot, even within a sentence.
o Don’t know
o No response
31. Do you think your reading ability will improve if you work on it?
o Not improve
o Improve just a little
o Improve a lot
o Don’t know
o No response
32. Do you think that reading can help you achieve your goals?
o Yes
o No
o Maybe
o Don’t know
o No response
33. In general, compared to your friends, how well do you read?
o Worse
o Same
o Better
o Don’t know
o No response
Sources
Demographic Interview
Items: 1, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33
Developed by Georgia State University researchers as part of the following grant: Greenberg, D., Morris, R., Fredrick, L., Rodrigo, V., & Laures, J. (2002-2009) Research on Reading Instruction for Low Literate Adults. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute for Literacy, and the U.S. Department of Education (grant #1 R01 HD43801-01)
PIAAC – Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies
Items: 8, 18
The 2012 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). Developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and adapted for the United States by the U.S Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 20, 2016 from
https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/piaac/final_en_bq.htm
LSAL Wave 1 – The Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning Wave 1 Questionnaire
Items: 6, 12, 13, 24
The Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning Wave 1 Questionnaire (1998). Developed under the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy at Portland State University. Retrieved May 20, 2016 from
http://www.lsal.pdx.edu/docs/pdf/wave1.pdf