[NLA] Discussion: Assessment and WIA, title II Public policy

[Nashansen@aol.com]

Alleluia, David!

These two paragraphs in your post encouraged me tremendously.  First:  THANK 
you for being there to say it so well that assessment tools should be the 
financial responsibility of the U.S. Dept of Education.  If they *want* the 
documentation??  They should **pay** for it!

And, secondly, you are absolutely right on target with the message that there 
is a need for "valid assessments".  You know something, David?  Those of us 
who protest the loudest would be the greatest *supporters* if the 
decision-makers would just TELL us what it is they are attempting (or want 
*us* to **attempt**!) to "measure"!!

Costing millions?  Here's where it will all stop.  The Buck.  I'm interested 
to hear just what other NLA subscribers say.  Who could ever guess what it 
would cost in the end to come up with a standardized tool which would be 
non-threatening to all individual adults (whether speaking a second language, 
whether developmentally or learning challenged,  whether 23 or 73 years of 
age)  and measure all educational and life-skill levels.  

I have to remind everyone, now, that these folks are so afraid and 
test-stressed that they will stay away from enrollment in programs **for 
years** because the first thing that occurs at entry is to be *Tested*.  So 
what will our policy-makers come up with as an answer to all of this for an 
assessment tool?  I will wait with baited breath.  

Thank you very much for giving testimony on our learners' behalf.

Nancy Hansen, ED
Sioux Falls Area Literacy Council
sfliteracy at mcleodusa.com

In a message dated 10/22/2002 8:48:36 PM Central Daylight Time, 
DJRosen at theworld.com writes:

<<  In my testimony last week on WIA, Title II, at a U.S. Department of 
 Education public meeting in Nashua, New Hampshire, I said the U.S. 
 Department of Education should not make decisions based on these data. 
 We do not have valid assessments for the full range of skills that are 
 currently required to be assessed.  And I said I thought that it is the 
 responsibility of the U.S. Department of Education to pay for developing 
 these needed assessments out of their national programs funding (not the 
 funding which goes to the states for adult education services.)
 
 I got an encouraging response.  Hans Meeder, representing the U.S. 
 Department of Education at the meeting, asked me how much it would cost. 
   I said "millions," but I wonder if there might be some NLA colleagues 
 who have a more precise answer to this question.  If you do, please 
 e-mail Hans Meeder at <hans.meeder at ed.gov> .  He wants to know what 
 standardized assessments we need and how much it will cost to do a good 
 job developing them.  >>


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