Assessment in Adult Education

1. Assessmentin Adult Education An Introduction

2. Introduction Welcome to Introduction to Assessment in Adult Education, a short course for professionals in Learning Works, Vermont’s adult education and literacy system. When you complete this course and pass the quiz, you will understand: • why adult students are assessed • the types of assessments adults take • how to administer assessments • the expectations for an assessment environment • the types of scores • assessment security expectations • accommodations • the privacy policy for assessment * Click your mouse to proceed to the next slide.

3. Assessment: A process of gathering data for a purpose

4. Why do we assess adult students? • Information and guidance for individual students ◦ Skill level placement ◦ What are my learning strengths and gaps? • Am I making progress? • Instructional planning • (before) What do these students need to learn? • (after) Was my teaching effective? • Required reporting • To the state and federal government • Are we meeting state and local performance targets? • Are students making NRS level and EFL gains? • Are students achieving their goals?

5. Types of Assessments • Assessments used in Learning Works are generally assessments of academic skills. Every student is assessed in the basic skills. Depending on a student’s goals, (s)he may be assessed in other skills as well. Learning Works does not assess students’ general intellectual ability, or IQ. These assessments may be: • Standardized, or • Non-standardized

6. Standardized Assessments • Standardized assessments used in Learning Works: • Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) 9 and 10 • CASAS Functional Writing Assessment (FWA) • CASAS Life and Work • Basic English Skills Test (BEST) Plus • WorkKeys

7. Standardized Assessments Standardized assessments are normative or norm-referenced tests. A normative test compares the test taker’s performance to a large group of peers (often, a national group). The test yields a scale score or standard score (SS), and sometimes, a grade equivalent (GE) score and/or a percentile rank. In Learning Works, the score most often used is the scale score. Both the High School Completion Program and the Vermont Adult Diploma Program require minimum scale scores for entry. Scale scores show a student’s academic skill levels, and can help Learning Centers evaluate their effectiveness. An SS, GE, or percentile rank for one test should not be compared with those scores on another test, unless the test publisher indicates the two tests are correlated.

8. Standardized Assessment Scores Raw Score • This score is the number of items answered correctly on a assessment. • By itself, a raw score has no meaning. Scale Score(SS) • The standardized assessments used in Learning Works yield a scale score. • This score tells how an individual’s assessment score compares with a large norm group of peers. The scale (200-800, for example) may differ for each test. The test publisher provides information to help the AEL professional interpret the meaning of the scale score.

9. Standardized Assessment Accuracy The publisher of a standardized assessment releases data about its reliability and validity, or the degree to which the assessment measures a person’s true skills and knowledge of a subject area. • As a general rule, longer assessments (with more items) are more reliable than short assessments. To check an assessment’s reliability, you can look in its norms book or data manual. Look for the SEM score (standard error). The lower the number, the more closely a score can be expected to match the assessment taker’s true skills and knowledge. For most standardized tests, the most reliable scores are in the middle range. • When an assessment has two forms, both forms should yield similar scale scores, if all other assessment conditions are the same. Example: the GED publishes three test forms each year.

10. Non-standardized Assessment • Non-standardized assessments provide information about an individual’s skill level(s) and may or may not be scored. • In a self-assessment, the individual rates his/her own skills against the criteria. • Non-standardized assessments used in Learning Works: • VADP projects • Teacher-created quizzes, tests, or exams • Student self-assessments • Staff observations of student performance • Learning style inventories • Workbook or computer-based course quizzes • Writing portfolios

11. National Reporting System The National Reporting System (NRS) is where adult education programs across the U.S. report on the students they serve, the classes and programs those students attend, the progress they’ve made, and their goals and achievements. Assessment scores are one way to show progress and achievement. The standardized tests below are approved by the NRS for official reporting of a student’s basic skills in reading, writing and math (reading, writing and speaking for ESOL students). ◦ TABE 9/10 Reading, Language and Math ◦ CASAS Functional Writing Assessment ◦ CASAS Life and Work/Life Skills ◦ BEST Plus (oral English skills) ◦ Work Keys Reading and Math

12. Educational Functioning Level A student’s lowest NRS level skill is known as his or her educational functioning level (EFL) within those basic skills. EFL is established at program entry during the pre-assessment phase of orientation. The assessment instrument that established the EFL must be the same assessment instrument used at post assessment to determine skill gain in the EFL skill area. For example if a student’s EFL was established in the writing skill area and was determined by the TABE Survey instrument the TABE Survey alternate form must be used for the post assessment. The CASAS FWA assessment instrument would not be considered a valid post assessment since EFL was established using the TABE Survey.

13. When to Assess Pre-Assessment– occurs during the intake and orientation phase of engagement with Learning Works to determine what an individual knows and can do. After assessment, the examiner provides the assessment taker with his/her scores, and information about strengths and weaknesses, as indicated by the assessment. Post-Assessment– occurs as needed following instruction in the skill area to be assessed. This assessment provides evidence of learning achievement and may include a grade or score. Students must be assessed in their EFL if below level 6. Students should be post-assessed in all basic skill areas less than level 6.

14. Administering Assessments An assessment comes with detailed instructions from the publisher regarding how it is to be administered and scored. Read the assessment manual before you administer the assessment. What are the qualifications for administering this assessment? If the assessment publisher requires you to be certified to administer an assessment, you must meet the certification requirements before you administer the assessment for the first time. Learn the requirements to maintain your certification. You must hold current certification to give the assessment. The Vermont Department of Education also has guidelines for assessment administration. As a general rule, you cannot give an assessment until you have been trained for that purpose. You must attend a refresher training each year, or as instructed.

15. The TABE: Special Considerations • The Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE) are published in five levels – L, E, M, D, and A. • A Locater Test is supplied to guide the examiner as to which level most closely matches a test taker’s skills. • Using the right level test is important for reliability and validity of the score. If a student’s GE score does not fall within, or close to, the grade level of the test material, that student has not taken the correct test level. In that case, retest the student using the correct test level and record this scale score in DataWorks.

16. The Assessment Environment • Provide the same assessment conditions for each assessment taker. • Good assessment conditions include a quiet, well lit room with no distracting activity. • Allow enough space for assessment taker privacy – generally, 3 feet between individuals. • The tables or desks must be clear except for the assessment materials you provide. • Individuals taking the same assessment form do not sit next to each other. • Assessment takers, and the assessment administrator, should not talk or leave the room during an assessment.

17. Assessment Security • Assessments must be kept in secure storage when not in use. In an adult learning center, this usually means assessments are locked in a file cabinet or cupboard. • Students do not have access to assessment materials (forms, answer sheets, test booklets, essay topics) or the content of any assessment items, except when they are actually taking an assessment. • Advise test takers not to discuss test items or essay topics with anyone after taking an assessment. • Teachers are to teach academic subjects as a whole and should not be familiar with specific assessment questions.

18. Assessment Security cont… • Do not use an assessment booklet or form to show the assessment taker the questions he/she missed, explain how to answer types of questions, or as a guide for instruction. Materials are used only for assessment. • Immediately after assessment, return all materials to secure storage. • A student’s completed and corrected answer sheets may be kept in his/her learning center file if the file is locked. • A completed assessment answer sheet, and any other secure materials, should never be misplaced, taken home, or placed in view of other students, the public, or unauthorized staff members.

19. Accommodations • By law (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973), students with one or more disabling conditions who would be otherwise able to participate must be provided accommodations that permit access to testing. • Some accommodations, such as large print, will not usually impact the way the test measures skills and knowledge. • Other accommodations, such as extra time or a scribe, may have an impact, which should be taken into consideration when interpreting test results.

20. Testing Accommodations cont… • Learning Works centers strive to serve all Vermont adults by providing standardized and non-standardized assessments, with accommodations, as needed. • When using a published test, it is important to follow the test publisher’s guidelines about accepted documentation of a disability and how to provide accommodations. • Information about how to request testing accommodations is available at each learning center.

21. Emergencies ! Be familiar with your center’s plan for handling emergencies and potentially dangerous situations. • Disruptive or threatening person • Weapon in the center • Fire, earthquake, flood, bomb or bomb threat • Power failure • Injury, health emergency, or death How does the plan apply to a test session? Ask your center manager. The GED Testing Service requires a written emergency plan for GED test sessions. This plan must meet GED rules regarding test security.

22. Privacy Policy • Test scores and credentials earned, plus any personally identifiable information on a test registration form, are confidential. • Do not share this information with anyone unless you have written permission from the student. • Learning Works professionals may access this information only when they need it to fulfill the responsibilities of their position. • Test takers have a right to know the privacy policy. • Abiding by the privacy policy is an expectation of employment in the Learning Works system.

23. Quiz • Use the link below to take the Introduction to Assessment quiz. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TQD2F8X When you pass, you will receive a certificate via email.