[NLA] breaking news

[Janet Isserlis]

Dr. Sticht and all

I'm trying to make sense of this -- was recently at a meeting where 
NRS "above" and "below" states were mentioned.

Somehow, I'm still not getting it.  Is it that the seven lit. 
achievement levels aren't measuring learning, that folks are actually 
not learning, that the instruments that determine what learning 
occurs aren't appropriate, or what?  I'm sorry for this lack of 
professional analysis, but find it unsettling, at best, to think 
about all the effort in all the states and wondering if it's the 
indicators that are misleading us, the learning/teaching itself or 
some other thing.

I'm constantly reminded, when I think of all of this, of David 
Rosen's keen insight -- you don't fatten the pig by weighing it.

Janet Isserlis


>The AEFLA calls for states to report on "Demonstrated improvements in
>the literacy skill levels in reading, writing and speaking English,
>numeracy, problem-solving, English language acquisition, and other
>literacy skills." In the present report, states provided data on how
>well they met their stated  goals for improvement in literacy skills for
>seven performance levels. For instance,– Demonstrated Improvement in
>Literacy Skills includes seven Sub Measures, the first of which is:
>"The percentage of adults enrolled at the Beginning Literacy level who
>acquired the basic skills (validated by standardized assessment) needed
>to complete that level (1999-2000)." In preparing the report, the
>Department determined the national average of the state provided goals
>for achievement and the national average for actual achievement of
>goals.  This makes it possible to determine how many states performed
>below, at, or above the national average for seven levels of
>improvements in literacy skills.
>
>Of the fifty states plus the District of Columbia, 10 performed at or
>above all seven national average literacy achievement levels (Georgia,
>Kentucky, Maryland, N. Carolina, N. Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee,
>Utah, and Wyoming). Fourteen states performed below all seven literacy
>achievement levels (Alabama, California, Florida, Iowa, Kansas,
>Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, S.
>Carolina, Texas, Washington). Overall, there was no significant
>correlation (r = -0.036) between per enrollee funds and performance on
>the seven literacy achievement levels.
>

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