[AAACE-NLA] Maliteracy Practice in America

[Bickerton, Robert P]

Tom, et al, 

How should student assessment in ABE (literacy, ASE, ESOL) be conducted?
>From my experience, assessment that works within a classroom quite well just
won't work on a larger scale.  For example, when I was a classroom teacher
some of us developed a math assessment that served the students and the
teachers very well.  However, in retrospect, it's clear that we were also
able to compensate for the assessment's inadequacies -- e.g., a "false
negative" on long division -- with quick adjustments in the classroom.
While this works out just fine in the classroom, it doesn't translate when
one tries to answer questions about efficacy and impact on a larger scale.

We tried to take a shortcut to better assessment in the early 90's.  It
didn't take long to figure out that there were no quick fixes.  So we've
spent the better part of 6 years struggling to articulate "learning
standards" (including some "content standards") through the development of
ABE curriculum frameworks.  We have now begun the development of assessments
that are aligned with those standards via a contract with the U.Mass
assessment center led by Ron Hambleton and Steve Sirici.  We anticipate
these assessments to include a mix of constructed response (e.g.,
performance assessments, et al) and selected response (e.g., multiple
choice) "items."  We anticipate involving hundreds of ABE practitioners and
students in their development.  

But we also anticipate a flood of criticism by people who aren't directly
involved in the process.  That seems to be a given regardless of how broadly
participatory a process may be or how well it adheres to guiding principles
promoted and accepted by so many in our field.  Maybe I'm getting too old
for this, but I long for a time when we can focus on what we're going to DO
and less time staying stuck in what we don't like about what others are
doing.

Hope all is well with you.  Take care,
bob bickerton, MA director of adult ed

-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Sticht [mailto:tsticht at znet.com]
Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2003 7:31 PM
To: aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org
Subject: [AAACE-NLA] Maliteracy Practice in America


I'm just back from a meeting where I gave a couple of presentations. One
was to about 100 people in adult ed. When I asked how many had heard of
the NALS, only about 8 raised their hands. When I asked how many had ever
seen a NALS item, none had. So asked about CASAS, and they mostly all had
to deal with CASAS becase they are mandated to do that. Apparently the
program George Demetrion has asked for some feedback about is also
mandated to use the CASAS. But I have found that not many people have
asked, What does the CASAS measure? And when I gave a talk about this at
the CASAS summer institute several years ago I was never asked back again,
because I pointed out what was wrong with tests like the CASAS and NALS in
trying to assess learning in adult literacy programs. Everyone always
seems to agree with my criticisms but then they go ahead and use these and
other standardized tests without a fight. Looks like George's program is
caught up in this whole process of maliteracy practice, too. And from what
I see on the aaace-nla list, his post hasn't brought much public response,
though he may have gotten some messages off the list.

Until people on the front lines start standing up for what is right in
assessing learning in adult literacy programs, I'm afraid the field will
continue to follow the downward spiral of the public schools in fudging
reports, teaching to tests, and driving good people and programs away from
the public funding stream. A sad state of affairs in my opinion. If
medical doctors misused their medical tests as much as educators misuse
standardized learning tests I suspect they would find themselves hounded
by lawyers bringing  malpractice suits. I wonder how long it will be
before some group of civil rights lawyersstart suing adult literacy
programs and governments for maliteracy practice in America?

Tom Sticht
tsticht at aznet.net


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