Literacy Facts
What is Literacy?
The Alberta Education report, Literacy First – A Plan for Action (2010), defines literacy as ‘…acquiring, creating, connecting and communicating meaning in a wide variety of contexts.”
- 1 in 3 adults in Edmonton struggle with reading and writing
- 1 in 2 adults struggle with basic math skills
People who struggle with these skills cannot do all the things they would like, but through PALS, our learners have been able to…






Literacy Facts
Key Messages
- Canada gets a “C” and ranks 8th out of 13 countries on the percentage of adults scoring low on adult literacy rate tests.
- Four out of ten Canadian adults have literacy skills too low to be fully competent in most jobs in our modern economy.
- Canadian adults with low literacy skills have fewer opportunities than young Canadians to upgrade their skills because they are outside the mainstream education system.
