[NLA] "breaking news"

[Eileen Eckert]

I'm writing in response to the following comment from Nancy:
I feel "no federal money" is a better option than "no students".  I don't 
know about the rest of the lurkers on the listserv, but it is time for 
SOMEbody to stand up and be counted for the important issue -- the People 
Served.  We better all hope the "NRS does collapse of its own weight" as 
Debbie Yoho wrote. Or *I* predict the AELS will collapse instead -- at least 
the literacy end of the services we provide will.


There are probably quite a few providers who agree that no federal money is 
better than no students, and if they all had the power to decide to reject 
federal money, then we might have the makings of an effective boycott. But 
lots of systems have mechanisms that make it impossible to turn down the 
money (in Washington State, for example, many programs are in community 
colleges, whose performance funding depends in part on adult and family 
literacy program results as measured by WA's NRS-based system--those 
colleges are not going to give up federal funding!)

So how can we stand up for the people served? I don't think that hoping the 
NRS collapses of its own weight is the most effective tactic. Unless we have 
some knowledge and power and it is used to guide improvement, whatever 
replaces the NRS is likely to be just as bad! The "breaking news" that 
triggered this discussion is an indication that something's wrong--with the 
reporting system AND with the instruction/assessment/service provision 
system. But what, exactly, and how can it be "fixed"? We can trade stories 
forever without bringing about any positive change. Observations are not 
sufficient evidence, and correlations are not necessarily causes. One idea 
is for programs and/or individuals to engage in program-based research into 
problems with whatever part of the system bugs them most, or whatever part 
they CAN research. Each project would need to be small enough to handle, but 
if research meets standards for validity or trustworthiness, a body of 
research can be developed to contribute to improvement of the system.


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