Prison Literacy: Implications for Program and Assessment Policy.

We extend appreciative acknowledgments also to Dan Wagnerand Dick Venezky of the National Center on Adult Literacy who,patient with our early drafts, encouraged production of theslimmed-down version we now present. We thank SheilaWitherington, also of NCAL, for her editing skills in helping us topolish the finisbed product.On a personal note, a word must be said about bow the bookwas actually written. In addition to ordinaty use of the libraryand the standard electronic information retrieval systems,including especially the database of the Educational ResourcesInformation Center (ERIC), we made extensive use of the databank of the National Institute of Justice (NCJRS). The NCJRScollection is more useful than any other single resource,especially for locating otherwise elusive documents.This report has been prepared by a team of authors moreexpert in literacy matters than in correaions. Caroline Beverstockand I, assisted by our editor, Warren Lewis, published "AdultLiteracy: Contexts and Challenges" (ERIC/RCS and IRA, 1990),and "Adult Literacies: Intersections with Elementary andSecondary Education" (Phi Delta Kappa and ERIC/RCS, 1991).Caroline Beverstock is a learning skills expert and literacyscholar, the chair of the Adult Literacy Special Interest Group ofthe International Reading Association (IRA), and a member ofIRA's Commission on Family and Intergenerational Literacy.She has designed and taught in programs for out-of-schoolyouths and automotive and electronics technicians; acted asconsultant with libraty-based literacy programs and the PrivateIndustry Council of San Francisco; taught study skills at theStudent Academic Center at Indiana University (Bloomington),where she is also associate coordinator of the I.U. LiteracyForum. She bas taught study skills and humanities at the LadyElizabeth Campus, Martin University's college inside IndianaWomen's Prison (Indianapolis). Beverstock provided insight andbackground experience, especially on the topics of assessmentand evaluation.Warren Lewis is Director of Publications at the EducationalResources Information Center, the Clearinghouse for Readingand Communication Skills (ERIC/RCS) at Indiana University(Bloomington). He also chairs the Division of Humanities atMartin University (Indianapolis), including its Lady Elizabethcampus inside Indiana Women's Prison. He made effective useof both of those resources to gain insight into our subject. Inspite of time constraints and the meager funds available for the6TECHNICAL REPORT TR93-1