The West Virginia Adult Education (WVAdultEd) Program is funded by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), enacted July 22, 2014.
WVAdultEd is administered through the West Virginia Department of Education, Office of Adult Education and Workforce Development, Building 6, Room 230, 1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East, Charleston, West Virginia 25305-0330.
The WVAdultEd InstructorHandbook is produced by the WVAdultEd Professional Development Program, whose fiscal agent is the Regional Education Service Agency (RESA) 3, 501 22nd Street, Dunbar, West Virginia 25064-1711.
For questions or concerns related to the content of the WVAdultEd Instructor Handbook, contact Cathy Shank at the WV Adult Education Hotline, 1-800-642-2670, or via email at.
RESA 3 does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law in access to, employment in, or provision of any of 3’s programs, benefits, or activities.
6
Adult Education Assessment Procedures for the
National Reporting System (NRS)
GENERAL ASSESSMENT PROTOCOLS
Why do I have to use a standardized assessment instrument?
What quality control procedures are in place?
Who needs to be assessed using a standardized assessment instrument?
What assessment instruments may be used to determine the entry and exit Federal Functioning Level (FFL)?
What assessment instruments and methods may NOT be used to determine the entry and exit Federal Functioning Level (FFL)?
In what skill areas should students be assessed?
Do I need to use locators and appraisals?
When do I administer the pre-assessments?
How do I match standardized assessment results to Federal Functioning Levels (FFLs)?
How do I determine the individual’s program placement and Federal Functioning Level (FFL)?
How do I document educational gains?
What assessment form should be used for post-assessment to determine educational gains?
How frequently should a standardized assessment be administered?
Can the post-assessment score from one year be used as the pre-assessment for the next year?
Are standardized assessments interchangeable?
Are standardized assessments the only kind of assessment to be used in the classroom?
Where should assessment take place?
How should assessment materials be stored?
Is it possible to modify the testing conditions for students with documented disabilities?
What types of assessment modifications do not require formal documentation of a disability?
GUIDANCE ON SPECIFIC TYPES OF STUDENTS
How do I handle assessment of students who only want to take the HSE readiness assessment or who have some other specific short-term goal?
What readiness assessments are used for first-time TASC test-takers?
What readiness assessments are used for TASC test completers (re-testers)?
Readiness Assessment Required Minimum Scores Table
Are there unofficial readiness assessment to try before taking the TRA?
How do I assess students preparing for the TASC test in Spanish?
How do I assess work-based project learners?
How do I assess Computer Literacy Only students?
What is different about assessment for English Language Learners (ELLs)?
How do I assess students preparing for U.S. citizenship?
How do I assess very low-level adult learners?
How do I assess students with disabilities?
Are assessment instruments available in special formats for students who may need accommodations?
GUIDANCE ON THE USE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY READINESS ASSESSMENTs
What is a high school equivalency readiness assessment?
What is the purpose for using the high school equivalency readiness assessment?
What is the TASC Readiness Assessment?
Are there any other assessments that may be used to determine student readiness to take the TASC test?
What scores on the high school equivalency readiness assessment are required in order to take the TASC test in WV?
What happens if students do not get a passing score on the high school equivalency readiness assessment the first time?
How do I score the high school equivalency readiness assessments?
How do I determine the TRA or OPT grade equivalent or FFL?
How much time is required to administer the high school equivalency readiness assessments?
What accommodations can be made when administering the readiness assessments?
What materials do I need to order to get started?
Guidance on the Use of the TABE
What are the Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE)?
What is the difference between the TABE Online and paper-based versions?
When can I use the TABE Online assessment?
What parts of the TABE Online assessment need to be administered?
How do I get access to the TABE Online assessment?
How can I learn more about the TABE Online assessment?
How much time is required to administer TABE instruments?
When do I use the TABE Locator?
Is it important to administer the TABE sections in a particular order?
How do I know when to use different levels and forms of the TABE?
Should I use the TABE Survey or Complete Battery?
How do I determine the TABE grade equivalent for federal and state reporting?
What accommodations can be made when administering the TABE to students with special learning needs?
Are breaks allowed during the administration of the TABE?
Which TABE tests are used to determine the FFL?
Can the TABE optional tests (Spelling, Vocabulary, and/or Language Mechanics, Spelling) be used to determine the FFL?
How do I know when to use different levels and forms of the TABE?
What is the recommended number of instructional hours between TABE pre- and post-assessments?
Can TABE scores be used to predict TASC test readiness?
What materials do I need to order to get started?
Guidance on the Use of the CASAS
What is the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS)?
Which CASAS series do I use?
How do I use the CASAS Appraisal to determine the pre- and post-assessment level to administer?
How do I know when to use different levels and forms of the CASAS?
How do I know which citizenship test to give?
How do I use CASAS assessments to determine the correct FFL?
What accommodations can be made?
What is the recommended number of instructional hours between CASAS pre- and post-assessments?
How do I know when to use different levels and forms of the CASAS?
What materials do I need to get started?
Guidance on the Use of BEST Literacy and BEST Plus
What is the Basic English Skills Test (BEST) Literacy?
How is the BEST Plus different from the old BEST Oral Interview?
How much time is required to administer BEST Literacy and BEST Plus instruments?
What kind of training is required in order to administer the BEST Literacy and BEST Plus?
How do I know when to use different levels and forms of the BEST Literacy and BEST Plus?
How do I use the BEST Literacy and BEST Plus to determine the correct FFL?
What accommodations can be made?
What is the recommended number of instructional hours between BEST pre- and post-assessments?
What materials do I need to get started?
Appendix
Federal (Educational) Functioning Level Table
Publisher Assessment Guidelines
(NRS Web site pp.6-8)
Assessment/Record Waiver...... 43
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GENERAL ASSESSMENT PROTOCOLS
Why do I have to use a standardized assessment instrument?
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) requires that every state utilize an electronic information system for sending mandated student information to the U.S. Department of Education. West Virginia’s Adult Education Management Information System is referred to as AEMIS.
AEMIS is used to collect data for the National Reporting System (NRS). The NRS requires local programs to use standardized assessments to evaluate students upon entry into the program and after a set number of instructional hours to document and report progress and completion of educational functioning levels—known in West Virginia as Federal Functioning Levels (FFLs). The NRS has six FFLs for General AdultEd students--ABE FFLs and six for English Language Learners--ESL FFLs:
ABE Federal Functioning Levels (FFL) / ESL Federal Functioning Levels (FFL)- Beginning Literacy
- Beginning Basic Education
- Low Intermediate Basic Education
- High Intermediate Basic Education
- Low Adult Secondary Education
- High Adult Secondary Education
- Beginning ESL Literacy
- Low Beginning ESL
- High Beginning ESL
- Low Intermediate ESL
- High Intermediate ESL
- Advanced ESL
Adult education programs nationwide use the NRS educational functioning levels to provide information to the federal government about student progress. This uniform implementation makes it possible to compare data across programs.
For general AdultEd learners, the ABE FFLs provide global descriptions of students' abilities in reading/writing, numeracy (math), and functional workplace skills. For ELLs, theESL FFLs havelistening/speaking descriptions instead of the numeracy descriptions.These descriptions are found in the Federal (Educational) Functioning Level Table(Section 6 Appendix).
The NRS levels also provide standardized assessment benchmarks allowing instructors to place students into a particular level according to their scaled test scores. Using the test benchmarks, instructors can also decide when students have made progress within a level, completed a level, and are ready to move to the next level.
The NRS has core measures that meet the requirements of WIOA. The completion of FFLs is the Federal core measure for which all students who complete 12 or more hours of instruction are held accountable. Documentation to verify the student’s completion of an FFL and movement to a higher FFL, therefore, is an important responsibility of the WVAdultEd instructor. For more information regarding the NRS core measures, see Section 11.
What quality control procedures are in place?
Because of the importance of accurate information, it is vital that WVAdultEd verifies that correct assessment procedures are being followed. Therefore, data quality audits (DQAs) are conducted during informal and formal monitoring reviews of local programs.
All data from the Student Profile/400 Form (Assessment, Goals, and Achievements) as well asStudent Attendance, and Instructional Attendance from the previous month are to be entered into the AEMIS data system by the 10th of the following month, if not earlier. Local program administrators, with the assistance of their AEMIS Data Manager(s), are responsible for ensuring that class sites / classes are created in a timely fashion. It is the responsibility of the instructor(s) assigned to the class(es) to ensure that the data is entered promptly and accurately for each student.
Quality control at the local level is the responsibility of the local program administrator. Data is verified through a data quality audit(DQA) processthat compares data in the AEMIS system with data collected from program participants. Audits are conducted by regional adult education coordinators (RAECs) and state staff members. Programs may be monitored when there are anomalies in the data which is reviewed monthly by the RAECs, as well as state staff. A copy of the DQA can be found in theAEMIS User’s Guide.
The AEMIS User’sGuide contains policies, procedures, and guidelines for data entry and verification. The AEMIS system has many built-in checks that assure data quality. Many of these are highlighted throughout this handbookin the AEMIS TIP inserts, and in the AEMIS User’s Guide.
Who needs to be assessed using a standardized assessment instrument?
In order to measure educational gain, all students MUST be assessed using a state-approved standardized instrument. Prior to the 12th instructional hour, students must be pre-assessed and assigned an FFL. In order to show student completion of a FFL or movement to a higher FFL, bothpre- and post-assessment (interim and/or exit test)results must be recorded in AEMIS. Without this documentation, the program cannot demonstrate educational gains. The State’s goal is to record post-assessment results for a minimum of 65 percent of students who have been pre-assessed.
AEMIS TIP: If assessment data is not entered for a student prior to the 12th instructional hour, AEMIS will not allow additional contact hours to be logged for that student until the entry assessment has been entered. If a student exits the program before a standardized post-assessment (interim or exit) can be administered, AEMIS will automatically recognize the entry level scores as the exit level scores (showing no progress).
The following student types may not need to be given a standardized assessment:
- Students enrolled for less than 12 hours with a short-term goal (take the high school equivalency readiness assessment, résumé writing, TASC orientation, etc.)
- Work-based project learners (enrolled for 12-30 hours and assessed differently)
Note: Computer Literacy Only students are considered work-based learners and are to be assessed accordingly.
For more information, see Guidance on Specific Types of Students(Section 6).
What assessment instruments may be used to determine the entry and exit Federal Functioning Level (FFL)?
For determining a student’s entry and exit FFL, the following standardized assessments are approved in West Virginia for pre- and post-assessment:
General AdultEd Students / English Language Learners- CASAS (Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System): Life and Work Reading
- TABE (Tests of Adult Basic Education): Forms 9 & 10
- BEST Literacy (Basic English Skills Test): Forms B, C, & D
- BEST Plus
- CASAS: Life Skills or Life & Work Series
What assessment instruments and methods may NOT be used to determine the entry and exit Federal Functioning Level (FFL)?
The following assessment instruments and procedures may not be used for determining entry or exit FFL:
- State-approved High School Equivalency Readiness Assessment
- TASC (Tests Assessing Secondary Completion)
- TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
- Standardized tests that do not have a parallel form—ESLOA (English as a Second Language Oral Assessment); SORT (Slosson Oral Reading Test), etc.
- Standardized tests that are no longerapproved by the NRS (BEST Oral Interview, CELSA,CASAS ECS or Life Skills, TABE 7/8)
- College placement tests (Accuplacer, Compass)
- Using different assessment instruments for pre- and post-assessment (e.g., CASAS for pre-assessment; TABE for post-assessment)
- Using the same form for both pre- and post-assessment
- Professional judgment
In what skill areas should students be assessed?
Students should be assessed in the academic area(s) most relevant to their needs. Both TABE and CASAS consist of sub-tests related to different academic areas (i.e., Reading, Math, Listening, and Language). It is not necessary to administer the full battery of sub-tests if the student does not intend to study a particular area. Programs should give the specific sub-test(s) that match student goal(s) and that relate to the program of study. For example, if a student is enrolled for the sole purpose of upgrading math skills, only the math sub-test should be administered. While the entire battery of tests is not required, programs may decide to give all the sub-tests to better plan instruction.
AEMIS TIP: When more than one subtest is administered, the lowest of those administered, is what should be entered into AEMIS.
The assessment instrument should always match the student’s skill area(s) of need. If the student wishes specifically to improve language skills, an assessment that measures only reading and math (CASAS, for example) would not be sufficient.
For ELLs, you may need to select more than one standardized instrument to appropriately assess the necessary skill areas. For example, the BEST Literacy assessment is not difficult enough to measure an advanced level of reading/writing; therefore, you may need to administer the CASAS to measure reading/writing while using the BESTPlus for listening/speaking.
AEMIS TIP: AEMIS will only allow one assessment instrument to be selected. If different ELL assessments are used to measure different skills (e.g., BEST Plus for listening/speaking and CASASfor reading/writing), only select the instrument and record the scores for the lowest FFL in AEMIS.
Do I need to use locators and appraisals?
Assessment systems, such as TABE and CASAS, have a locator or appraisal component to be used to determine the most appropriate pre-assessment instruments for each student. The locator/appraisal should always be used prior to administering the pre-assessment battery.
The only exception is when you know you are testing a student with a reading problem. A low level literacy student should not be given a locator or appraisal as both instruments are at a higher reading level. The purpose of assessment is not to frustrate or challenge the student but to find a starting point for instruction. For more information, see How do I assess very low-level adult learners? (Section 6)
A locator or appraisal may NOT be used in place of a pre-assessment to determine a scale score or grade equivalent for an entry FFL.
A locator or appraisal may be administered on the first day of class because it is not a lengthy assessment. Because the full assessment process may be overwhelming to some students, it is better to avoid giving all components of the test battery or survey on that same day.
When do I administer the pre-assessments?
Pre-assessments are administered during the student orientation process to guide academic placement and instruction. While the results from standardized pre-assessments can enhance the instructional planning process, it is most often NOT advisable to administer a complete set of pre-assessments in addition to the locator or appraisal on the student’s first day of orientation. New students may feel apprehensive about taking assessments and need some time to feel comfortable in the learning environment.