Mecklenburg County Index of Readiness and Literacy Harrison S. Campbell Department of Geography and Earth Science UNC-Charlotte Terri M. Manning Planning and Research Central Piedmont Community College

Why a Literacy Index Project initiated by Charlotte Reads. There was a desire of have a “measuring stick” to mark progress in literacy annually. Measurement would help constituent groups focus interventions on specific groups. To our knowledge, no other county in the country is doing this.

Literacy by Definition The US Congress incorporated the following definition of literacy into the National Literacy Act of 1991: “an individual’s ability to read, write and speak English and compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job and in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential”

The Value of a Functionally Literate Community The Best Prevention is a Real Future

Savings for Business and the Community Relationship of Education to Social Problems Source: CC Benefits, Economic Impact Study

Benefits for the Individual- Average Annual Earnings Based on Years of Education Average Education LevelEarnings+ Value Less than HS degree$16,451 High school degree$24,498+$8,048 Certificate or diploma$28,902+$4,403 Associate degree$31,138+$2,236 Three years of college$35,846+$4,708 Bachelors degree$40,453+$4,607 Masters or 5 years$49,629+$9,176 Source: CC Benefits, Economic Impact Study

Major Difficulties with a Literacy Index No data are available annually on the educational attainment of adults. The Census measures educational attainment once every ten years. Obtaining a true measure of educational attainment is cost-prohibitive (surveying county residents). An alternative source was selected that was benchmarked again the Census data.

Data Elements Used in the Index Pre-K, 3 rd, 4 th and 8 th grade data from CMS and private schools Graduation numbers from CMS and private schools Adult (22+) data (highest grade completed) from the ESC (benchmarked against the 1990 and 2000 educational data from Census)

Data Elements Were Weighted Based on: – Population numbers in school per age group – Total operative population of the county by year (removing those we don’t expect to be literate or above working age) – Conversion of percentages to scaled scores (1-10)

For Example…. One small piece of the puzzle

Population of Mecklenburg County Operative population totals566, , ,516632,208 (removing all unaffected individuals, preschoolers, retired, etc.) Population 0-18 yrs224, , ,259247,814 Population in CMS 97,586 99, ,013105,172 Population in private schools 16,707 17,018 17,465 17,246 Total in School 114, , , ,418 Percent in school 20.2% 20.0% 19.9%19.4% (total in school divided by the operational population)

Using 3 rd Grade as an example….. In : CMSPrivate Schools Population8,7191,493 Percent passing EOGs72.8%84.5% Scaled Score Weighted value (based on grade population divided by operative total population) Value in Overall Index (based on weighted value times the scaled score)

The Primary Grade Levels Component (K-8) Writing Assessment excluded from formula in 2002

As the School System Makes Progress in Primary Grades The index is only slightly affected because they account for a small piece of the total population

Secondary Levels (9 th – 12 th ) Writing Assessment excluded from formula in 2002

When Secondary Level Progress Declines… The index is even less affected because secondary students represent a smaller portion of the population than primary students.

Adult Component

As the County Looks at Educational Attainment in Adults.. The Index can be greatly affected because adults make up the vast majority of the population. We must make an impact on adults.

How does the ESC data compare to the Census data? Percent with high school degree

Weights Used in Index, 2002

Actual Index

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