Literacy test

Abstract: The Voting Rights Act of 1965, called one of the most effective pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history, generated dramatic increases in black voter registration across the South. We ask whether the increase in black voting rights was accompanied by an increase in blacks' share of public spending. We exploit a key provision of the act--removal of literacy tests at registration--for identification. Employing a triple-difference framework over a 20-year period, we find that counties with higher black population shares in former literacy test states saw greater increases in both voter turnout and state transfers than comparison counties in non--literacy test states, a finding that is consistent with models of distributive politics. JEL Codes: D72, H7, I2, J15, N32. Copyright 2014, Oxford University Press.

Abstract: Primary school enrollments have increased rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa, spurring concerns about low levels of learning. We analyze field experiments in Kenya and Uganda that assessed whether the Reading to Learn intervention, implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation in both countries, improved early-grade literacy as measured by common assessments. We find that Ugandan literacy (in Lango) increased by 0.2 standard deviations. We find a smaller effect (0.08) on a Swahili literacy test in Kenya. We find no evidence that differential effects are explained by baseline differences across countries in student test scores, classroom attributes, or implementation fidelity. A plausible explanation that cannot be directly tested is differential effective exposure to the literacy treatment in the tested languages. Students in Kenya were tested in Swahili, which is not necessarily the main language of instruction in primary schools, despite official policy. C � 2014 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.

Abstract: The article reports on a study of U.S. consumers which found that the majority of respondents did not understand the concepts relating to compound interest, credit card fees, and debt. The study on debt literacy was conducted by the authors and the marketing research company TNS. The authors suggest that a component could be added to employee assistance programs that would educate them about financial choices. Statistics show the demographics of the debt literacy test which included a question about compounded annual interest rates.