Hello colleagues, There is an interesting discussion going on in the Adult English Language Learner Community about which NRS approved assessments are most useful for advanced English learners who have academic goals. Since I know there are many programs serving English learners who are preparing for high school equivalency, I wanted to post my message to the Assessment group as well.
<<,Assessment for English learners who have academic goals has been an ongoing discussion for years in our field. With the new emphasis on the CCRS and standards-based instruction, the issue has been raised to even greater relevance. I agree that learners' goals should drive our practices. It's very important that we not recommend high school equivalency, e.g., GED, to students who have already graduated from high school, many of whom also have post secondary credentials. Post secondary institutions will recognize and accept their previous diplomas. These students need to spend their time focused on academic English for reading, writing, speaking and listening.
Like some on the list have mentioned, we also have been using TABE with these learners for years. While this tool has limitations since it was not designed for this population, as has already been noted here, programs have found that it can serve a useful purpose. An article written in 1999 by Van Duzer and Berdan "Perspectives on Assessment in Adult ESOL" in the Annual Review of Adult Learning and Literacy Volume 1 outlined the pros and cons of various assessments. You can access the article as reprinted in Focus on Basics here http://www.ncsall.net/index.html@id=521.html. As was also mentioned, TABE-E,, which was designed for language learners, is now on the NRS list of approved assessments, although it has not been approved by all states.
This is an important issue to discuss as a community. Thanks for everyone's input!>>
Cheers, Susan Finn Miller
Moderator, Assessment CoP