| SALLIE JOHNSON | Setting I teach at the Adult Learning Center located in Lynchburg 's downtown historic district. Our facility is housed in what was originally the John Wyatt School; the Redevelopment and Housing Authority offices occupy the first floor. Two classrooms on the second floor were renovated for our use in 1994-95. The classrooms are bright and comfortable with large windows offering a panoramic view of the city. Our location is convenient to city bus stops, but the stairs leading up to our facility are an obstacle to some students. Our hours of operation are designed to accommodate a variety of schedules. We are open from 8 am to 3 pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and from 8 am to 8:30 pm on Tuesday and Thursday. Our program is open entry/open exit; new students may begin study at any time during the school year. Our active enrollment (including workplace students) is over 200, and we provide services for over 400 students during the course of a fiscal year. I teach each weekday from 9:00 - 3:00, but my job is considered part-time with no benefits. There are two full-time teachers, one full-time teacher assistant, and two additional part-time instructors. Our funding is provided through a combination of local, state, and federal money. Most of our students come to us because they "want a GED ". They have been faced with the reality that high school equivalency is necessary in order to obtain a good job or to enter college. Some want only the personal satisfaction of earning the credential. Several of our students are mandated to attend because of social services requirements or court orders. Students enter the program on all levels—from beginning reader to already prepared for the General Educational Development (GED) exam. Locator Test for Adult Basic Education When a student enters our program for the first time, we give him/her a registration card to complete and then administer the Locator (Forms 7&8) of the Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE). We explain that our tests are not passed or failed, that they merely give us an indication of what the learner already knows. Our adult education staff functions as a team; while one teacher might begin the testing process with a student, another might do the scoring or utilize the results. |
We do not enforce time limits on tests; we hope that giving students as much time as necessary cuts down on test anxiety. Since we do not have a place to test in which quiet is guaranteed, perhaps this time flexibility helps to compensate. |
Since our assessments are administered individually, other
students in the classroom are engaged in their individual programs of study,
including computer applications, textbooks, audiotapes, and videotapes.
We do not have a separate room for testing, and rarely is the room completely
quiet. Conversations are going on from time to time, students are coming
and going, and the telephone is frequently ringing. We do not enforce time
limits on tests; we hope that giving students as much time as necessary
cuts down on test anxiety. Since we do not have a place to test in which
quiet is guaranteed, perhaps this time flexibility helps to compensate.
When the Locator is completed, the reading and math sections are considered independently of one another. Often there is a disparity between reading and math; I administer different TABE levels accordingly. If a student answers at least 14 out of the 17 reading questions correctly on the locator (7&8), I administer the reading sections of the GED practice test instead of the TABE. I share TABE results with students, but not in terms of "grade levels ". If the grade equivalency comes out at 7.2, I communicate a score of 720 (multiply by 100) and explain that a score of 950 or above is the GED level. Comparing a current score to a goal of 950 is less intimidating than a grade level associated with children. I spend about 20 minutes of my time administering, scoring, and utilizing results of a formal assessment for initial placement. TABE scores, however, provide only an estimate of a student 's current functioning level. Since the TABE is a norm-referenced test, I do not depend on it as a criterion-referenced instrument to target specific skill deficiencies. (I have not found the TABE to be reliable for that purpose.) I often follow up with an informal assessment, such as a textbook exercise or a teacher-made instrument. For math I give a review of whole numbers, either the Number Sense diagnostic test or my own whole number inventory which includes finding averages and other word problems. Then I can pinpoint specific skills that the student may need to work on. A higher level student may be given an inventory of decimal skills or multistep word problems. For reading, textbook pretests are useful for identifying problem areas; a learning plan is developed accordingly. Informal Assessment In addition to skill assessment, learning style preferences must be acknowledged. I do not formally assess learning styles, but students give clues as to their personal preferences. Some students seek solitude and want only a minimum amount of input from the teacher. Others need frequent verbal instruction to help them understand new concepts and to keep them focused. Most students enjoy the computer and benefit from using appropriate software, but a few lack the manual dexterity to use the mouse and/or keyboard and find the computer frustrating. Some students are auditory learners and enjoy using audiotapes to enhance their reading or to learn multiplication tables. Many students benefit from watching a GED video, but others fall asleep while watching! Each assignment, as it is completed and checked, provides an on-going informal assessment of the student 's understanding of specific skills. Does the student need additional practice or can we move on? Informal assessments provide me with day-to-day feedback that is essential for setting the pace of instruction. Some students may grasp a concept with a minimum of practice; other students may exhaust all of our resources before a concept begins to take hold. In addition to daily assignments, an occasional cumulative review is necessary to assess whether a student has retained those skills which were introduced earlier. I don 't do this as often as I should, but there is no substitute for keeping skills fresh in a student 's mind. I usually use an informal assessment such as a textbook exercise or a computer application. Formal assessments such as the TABE or GED practice test can help to fulfill this function, but I receive better feedback on retention if the review is specifically correlated to skills which have already been introduced. Then I must re-address those skills that have been "forgotten ". Time Informal assessments are such an integral part of my daily interaction with students that it 's hard to assign a time frame. I am familiar enough with our resources to be able to utilize results within 5-10 minutes. This includes checking answers, determining whether or not the student understands the concepts, and providing materials accordingly. |
Effective teaching is so intricately tied to assessment that trying to accomplish one without the other is at best a longshot, at worst an exercise in futility. |
If I administer a section of the full-length (Form FA) GED
practice test to a student who is scheduled to take the GED exam, I spend
more time analyzing data. Since incorrect answers are representative of
those that may cause trouble on the actual GED, the student and I might
spend 45 minutes discussing questions which were missed. Although the half-length
practice test is useful for predicting scores, it simply doesn 't have
enough questions to provide an overview of skills. The 28 questions on
the math half-length test provide a random sampling of topics, while the
50 questions on the full-length test provide better coverage of the subject.
Since adult students often feel pressure to accomplish much in a short period of time, I feel that I must do everything possible to ensure that their time is well spent. Effective teaching is so intricately tied to assessment that trying to accomplish one without the other is at best a longshot, at worst an exercise in futility. A valid assessment, whether formal or informal, tells me what to teach, when to move on, and how well each objective has been accomplished. Sallie Johnson |