Assessing Literacy Levels of Individuals

Assessment Test - References

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Cloze Procedure – Designed to assesses the predictability of text by deleting words within sentences, providing options for participants to choose from, and analyzing their choices. (Taylor 1953)

LAD – Literacy Assessment for Diabetes.

Word recognition test specific to the needs of patients with diabetes. Score is based on number of correct words and placed at grade levels. (Nath, et al 2001)

NLS – Nutritional Literacy Scale

            Using a modification of both the S-TOFHLA and Cloze Procedure to assess nutritional literacy. An untimed, 28 item test. (Diamond 2007)

NVS – Newest Vital Sign

            This test uses a nutrition label that is accompanied by 6 questions and requires 3 minutes for administration. It is reliable, available in Spanish as well, and correlates with the TOFHLA. (Weiss, et all 2005)  More information is on ordering this tool is available from Pfizer.

REALM – Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine

            A test of 66 common medical terms.  Scoring is based on number of words read correctly.  Testing is supposed to take 2-3 minutes, but has been tested as being longer. (Davis, et al 1993) Available to order from: Prevention & Pt Ed Project-LSUMC, Terry C. Davis, PhD, PO Box 33932, Box 598, Shreveport, LA 71130-3932; phone: 318-675-5856.

REALM-R – Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine - Revised

            Shortened version of the REALM. Designed to be a more rapid screening tool.  Uses 8 common medical terms to measure literacy in less than 2 minutes. (Bass, et al 2003) 

SILS – Single Item Literacy Screener

A single question intended to identify those patients who are most likely to need help in reading health related information. (Chew, et al 2004, Morris, et al 2006, Wallace, et al 2006)

S-TOFHLA – Short -Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults

            A 36-item reading comprehension test, taking up to 7-minutes to administer that uses a modified Cloze procedure.

TOFHLA – Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults

             A 50-item reading comprehension and 17-item numerical ability test that uses a modified Cloze procedure, taking up to 22 minutes to administer. (Also available in Spanish). Available to order from: Joanne Nurss, PhD, Director, Center for Study of Adult Literacy, Georgia State University, 1 University Plaza, Atlanta, GA 30303-3083, or go to http://education.gsu.edu/csal/TOFHLA.htm.

WRAT-R – Wide Range Achievement Test - Revised

            A 57 item test that requires reading both letters and words that usually takes 3-5 minutes to complete, but has been tested at longer times. Available to order from: Jastak Associates Wide Range, Inc., PO Box 3410, Wilmington, DE 19804-0250; phone: 1-800-221-9728.

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Assessment Test - References

References:

Bass PF 3rd, Wilson JF, Griffith CH. (2003).A shortened instrument for literacy screening. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 18(12):1036-8.

Chew LD, Bradley KA, Boyko EJ. (2004). Brief questions to identify patients with inadequate health literacy. Family Medicine. 36(8):588-94.

Davis T, Long SW, Jackson RH, Mayeaux EJ, George RB, Murphy PW, Crouch MA. (1993). Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM): A shortened Screening Instrument. Family Medicine. 25(6):391-5.

Davis, TC.; Michielutte, R; Askov, EN.; Williams, MV.; Weiss, Barry D. (1998). Practical assessment of adult literacy in health care. Health Education & Behavior 5(5):613-24.

Diamond JJ. (2007). Development of a reliable and construct valid measure of nutritional literacy in adults. Nutrition Journal. 6:5. Accessed at http://www.nutritionj.com/content/6/1/5 May 21, 2007.

Morris NS, MacLean CD, Chew LD, Littenberg B.(2006). The Single Item Literacy Screener: evaluation of a brief instrument to identify limited reading ability. BMC Fam Pract. 24:7:21.

Nath CR, Sylvester ST, Yasek V, Gunel E. (2001).Development and validation of a literacy assessment tool for persons with diabetes. Diabetes Educator.27(6):857-64.

Shea JA, Beers BB, McDonald VJ, Quistberg DA, Ravenell KL, Asch DA. (2004). Assessing health literacy in African American and Caucasian adults: disparities in rapid estimate of adult literacy in medicine (REALM) scores. Fam Med. 36(8):575-81

Taylor WL. (1953).Cloze procedure: A new tool for measuring readability.
J Quart. 30:415-433.

Wallace LS, Rogers ES, Roskos SE, Holiday DB, Weiss BD.(2006). Brief report: screening items to identify patients with limited health literacy skills. J Gen Intern Med. 21(8):874-7.

Weiss BD, Mays MZ, Martz W, Castro KM, DeWalt DA, Pignone MP, Mockbee J, Hale FA. (2005). Quick assessment of literacy in primary care: the newest vital sign. Ann Fam Med. 3(6):514-22.

Overview of Topic:

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Literacy and Health Outcomes, Structured Abstract. January 2004. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/tp/littp.htm.

Bass L. Health literacy: implications for teaching the adult patient. J Infus Nurs. 2005 Jan-Feb;28(1):15-22.

McCray AT.(2005). Promoting Health Literacy J. Am. Med. Inform. Assoc. 12: 152-163.

Assessment Test - References

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