Csd granby que.pmd

Literacy Report Card for the
Census Subdivision of Granby
Rapid changes in the global economy have changed what it
Explanations of each of the indicators and advice about what takes for Canadian workers and firms to remain competitive communities can do to solve their literacy problems follows.
in global markets. These changes have served to increase For additional information please contact: the importance of basic skills to economic success. Faced with competitors who can buy all of the key production inputs at the same prices on global markets – raw materials, financial capital, advanced production technologies and leading-edge research and development – the ability of firms to compete will increasingly depend on the basic skills ofthe average worker. Workers with high literacy levels will be The economic demand for literacy skill Grade: C
better able to apply the most efficient productiontechnologies, to function in knowledge and information- Occupations differ in the level of literacy needed to satisfy rich work environments and with demanding work processes, the demands of the job. Differences in the occupational to limit waste and workplace illness and accident and to distribution of employment translate into large differences thrive in the flattest of work organizations. Recent research in the demand for literacy skill from community to suggests a need for workers, employers and communities to community. Raising the overall level of literacy skill demand invest in literacy. This report card ranks virtually every has to be a priority for employers and local governments.
community in Canada on several dimensions of literacy.
The aggregate demand for literacy skill in Granby is
6,700,000 points for an average of 284 literacy points per Literacy Report Card for Granby,
job. This average falls in Level 3 near the national average Indicator
Communities can increase the demand for literacy skill by encouraging employers to create knowledge and The employed supply (in points per worker) The supply of literacy skill Grade: E
Millions
Communities differ in the supply of literacy skill that they Costs and benefits
possess. While most of these differences can be traced back Aggregate cost of eliminating literacy skill shortages differences in the education levels, the amount that adults Aggregate benefit from eliminating literacy read on the job and for leisure also matters.
Granby has an average prose literacy score of 264. This
score places it in Level 2 in the lowest quintile, below the Note: “-” intentionally left blank.
national average and near the provincial average. The The rank is this location’s score relative to all the Canadian locations
aggregate supply of literacy skill is 10,500,000 points.
with this information.
Grade A is assigned to communities in the highest quintile, B in the
Employed workers in Granby have an average prose
2nd highest quintile, C in the middle quintile, D in the 2nd lowest literacy score of 279. This score places it in Level 2 in the quintile and E in the lowest quintile.
lowest quintile, below the national average and near the Literacy Report Card for the Census Subdivision of Granby, Quebec
provincial average. The aggregate supply of literacy skill of The potential economic benefits of eliminating
employed workers is 6,500,000 points.
literacy skill shortages
Communities can increase the supply of literacy skill by Literacy skill shortages reduce productivity and expose reducing high school drop out rates, increasing the quality workers to higher levels of workplace illness and absence.
of secondary education and by funding remedial literacy Research suggests that each literacy point gained yields an additional $155 in additional earnings per year. For Granby
this translates into a potential direct economic return of
Literacy utilization rates
$91 M or $7,000 per worker in literacy skill shortage.
Communities differ in the degree to which they utilize the The same research suggests that finding a way to make available supply of literacy skill in work. These differences use of literacy skill surpluses would also yield economic reflect differences in the employment rate and how well benefits. For Granby this translates into a potential direct
workers skills match the demands of their occupations.
economic return of $15 M or $4,800 per worker in literacyskill surplus.
The Granby economy currently makes use of 62% of
the available supply. This utilization rate falls in the 2ndlowest quintile of rates.
The population by market segment
Communities can increase their literacy utilization rates The following chart displays the distribution of adults by by finding ways to increase overall employment rates and by literacy market segment. As outlined below literacy market encouraging employers to make full use of the available segments are defined by patterns of strength and weakness in their mechanics of reading. Each segment has a uniqueset of learning needs and thus each demand a different Literacy skill shortages in the labour market
instructional response. Literacy market segments also differgreatly in their demographic composition.
Literacy skill shortages are created when workers do not have Literacy market segment A: This class has moderate scores
the level of literacy associated with their occupation.
on the vocabulary test with the average near 70 percent.
Of the 23,450 workers in Granby, 13,000 or 55% of
Scores on the word recognition tests (54% and 26%) are well workers have literacy skills below the level required by their below the 80 percent criterion and are the lowest of the four occupations, a percentage above the national average and classes. The average for spelling at just 25 percent is also the near their provincial/territorial average.
lowest. These class characteristics suggest that a keycharacteristic is difficulty in using vocabulary knowledge in Communities can reduce literacy skills shortages by reading. This class includes those with moderate vocabulary
encouraging skill testing and the provision of remedial but poor decoding skills. Segment A1 is dominated by
Canadian-born men with less than a high school education,segment A2 by immigrant women with limited or no formal The costs of eliminating literacy skill shortages
through instruction
Literacy market segment B: This class has a low average
Increasing the supply of literacy is best achieved through vocabulary score (just over 60%), much like Latent Class A.
instruction that responds to the needs of learners and their Unlike Class A, however, the average scores for the word characteristics. Research has identified 6 distinct literacy recognition tests are much higher; on real word recognition learner profiles each of which would benefit from different the average is 84 percent, higher than the 80 percent criterion types and amounts of instruction. These differences translate score, while for pseudo-word recognition it is 59 percent. In into different unit costs for different types of learners. The both cases this average is slightly higher than Latent Class distribution of potential learners by learner segment have C. Those in this class also do poorly on the spelling test.
been used to estimate the aggregate cost, and the costs per This suggests that the key characteristics of this class are learner, of eliminating literacy skill shortages through some control of decoding, but a lack of language knowledge instruction. The total cost of eliminating literacy skill to allow those skills to be used effectively. This class includes shortages in Granby is $21 M or $888 per worker.
those with moderate vocabulary and moderate decoding
Literacy Report Card for the Census Subdivision of Granby, Quebec
skills. Segment B1 is dominated by Canadian-born men
who are high school graduates, segment B2 by immigrant
Percent Distribution of Employees in Granby,
Quebec by Market Segment
Literacy market segment C: The vocabulary score for Class
C is high, at 90 percent well over the 80 percent criterionscore and the average for spelling (76%) is near the criterion.
However, the decoding scores are more modest, 78 percentfor real word recognition and just 54 percent for pseudo- word recognition. This is lower than the decoding scores forclass B. This class can be characterized by very high language knowledge, but weaker decoding skills that may limit the
ability to use all the language knowledge in effective reading.
This class includes those with high vocabulary knowledge
and moderate decoding skills.
Literacy market segment D: The average scores for every
component are highest for this class, over 80 percent on every
component except pseudo-word recognition, which at 79 percent is very close to criterion. This is the class that
has the decoding skills to make use of strong language
knowledge its members possess. It includes those with high
vocabulary and high decoding skill.
Related reading:
Literacy market segment E: Includes adults who have
Learning Literacy in Canada: Evidence from the Level 3 literacy skill but whose occupations demand Levels 4 International Survey of Reading Skills, www.statcan.gc.ca Reading the Future: Planning to meet Canada’s Future Literacy market segment F: Includes adults who have
Level 4 literacy skill but whose occupations demand Level 5skill.
Addressing Canada’s Literacy Challenge: A Cost-benefitAnalysis, www.dataangel.ca

Source: http://www.dataangel.ca/_usd/daReports/147/CSD%20Granby%20Que.pdf