Like so many adult educators I wear a variety of hats, and use testing and assessment in different locations. Mainly, I am Lead Teacher for Wise County and the City of Norton, where 40 low-level readers are being served. I also test clients of the Wise County Department of Social Services and teach GED classes at the Wise County Jail. These programs are funded for Region I Adult Education by grant money from local, state, and federal institutions. I am an hourly, part time (22 hours/week) employee of the Wise County Schools.

Our student referrals come through the Virginia Employment Commission, Department of Social Services, media advertising, corporations, schools, and students' friends and relatives. Because of Virginia VIEW (Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare), many clients of Social Services are mandated to attend class. And often, in the corrections programs, a stipulation for parole includes a GED diploma.

In both my reading and GED classes, I use informal, formal, and computer-assisted inventories, the Tests for Adult Basic Education (TABE), Student Teacher Evaluative Planning Sessions (STEPS), and the Slosson Oral Reading Test (SORT).

Student Inventories

Our classes have open enrollment, so at any time during the year I may administer an informal inventory to an entering student by asking him to help me fill out a specially designed folder. Through this process, he is introduced to the class, gives statistical facts, shares hobbies and interests, specifies academic goals, and signs a learning contract.

Obtaining a student's name, address, and telephone number is a non-threatening procedure. Asking questions about previous education and children initiates conversation. Most importantly, discussing educational needs and goals allows a student to take ownership of his academic future as a co-learner with me. This informal inventory takes from 15 to 30 minutes, but it covers information that I use for the rest of the year. Of course, it also aids in the STEPS process we do in class every month.

I use the term Aformal inventories@ for those activities which give me some sort of concrete result -- a diagnosis, level, or score. I also include progress reports or completion of specific assignments. While collecting data for this project, I did not include homework items that I corrected or graded to put in the student's portfolio, such as spelling, math, or essays. However, I did document a request by a 50 year old low-level reader.

We were studying math, and he mentioned a goal to someday learn his social security number. I looked it up, wrote it on the white board, and we began to recite the nine numbers aloud. At the end of class I left him with the assignment of mastering it by our next meeting. During the next class he confused two numbers. I wrote it out again; we talked about the rhyme, timbre, hyphens, and location of the numbers. By the next class period he had learned his social security number.

Counting class and homework time, it probably took less than an hour to achieve this feat, but the student and I felt such accomplishment. He realized his dream of memorizing the number that he had been called upon to recall for 35 years. While some may excel in algebra or biology, a highlight of the school year for this reading student was learning his social security number. I made note of it in his folder, but how do I show Richmond [Department of Education] this huge achievement and concrete result?

Computer Assisted Inventories

I have been assigned a Tandy Notebook Computer that I carry into my class sites. While at the Wise County Jail I gave the class instruction on its care and use, and then a new student asked if he could try it. I enrolled him in an assessment program called "Arithmetic Placement" (Educational Activities Software). Soon I discovered that he had not listened to the complete instructions I had given. He also did not read the on-screen instructions and did not know to use the TAB key when he entered an answer that was in fraction form, or if he was supposed to reduce the answer to lowest terms. I helped him over these hurdles and he did very well.

The computer assessment took him 45 minutes, during which time I continued to teach the rest of the class. I spent about 5 minutes discussing the diagnostic results that I pulled up on the screen. The learner was pleased with the results and that he had used a computer to obtain them. I learned that it is necessary to emphasize, more than once, the importance of reading every word on the screen. Programs differ in how answers are chosen and entered. In the future I will stress the importance of reading the directions. It is my responsibility to help create an environment conducive to learning.

One of the menu listings on the computer is a "Learning Styles Inventory". This program is user-friendly and asks the student 40 questions about how he learns best. The student chooses from "1" (least like me) to "4" (most like me) in answer to queries about oral, aural, and kinesthetic preferences. I am able to display on the screen a bar graph compilation of the learner's responses. The final screen offers a personal diagnosis for teaching according to his learning style.

After using this in class with two inmates at the jail, we reviewed the on-screen results together. I explained unfamiliar terms such as "visual mathematics." The students liked this tool and its personal application. They agreed that the diagnoses revealed their likes and dislikes accurately, and perhaps it was the first time they realized how they learn most effectively. This evaluation took about 30 minutes for each inmate to complete. Discussing the results took ten minutes, but using the diagnoses is an on-going process. Looking at their goals from the initial informal inventory, I make lesson plans and endeavor to teach according to each of their learning styles.

I also teach a class of females in the jail. After telling them that my laptop computer is fragile and expensive, I explained how simple it is to use. One student began the Vocabulary Placement on the computer while I guided another student in writing, and quietly graded essay homework. Again, I had to remind the student using the computer to pay close attention to the screen instructions. While she was taking the test, I asked her a question about her written essay. She paused and smiled, saying, "I'm listening to you." But she did not take her eyes off the screen. Later she said, "Wonder [what I do] if I don't know what the word is?" I told her to write it down and we would go over it later. Going over the care, rules, uses, and abuses of the laptop took about 15 minutes of our beginning class time. The computer placement took 30 minutes. Our discussion of the words she missed (using them in sentences and giving the definitions) took no more than 5 minutes.

When the screen showed the student's vocabulary level as 5th grade, she thought that the test's words were more difficult than that. In my experience, computer-generated tests have a greater degree of difficulty than paper and pencil ones. Her comments caused me to get out the TABE vocabulary test that has words up to the 7th grade level. We spent another 10 minutes comparing the two tests and decided that the computer test was harder, but using the computer was not. She had never touched a computer before; now she can say she has used a laptop. It made her feel good about herself.

The computer is a good tool for assessment, as well as an enhancement to self-esteem. Usually, 30 minutes on the computer also provides a lesson in keyboarding and computer use. I tell the students that it looks good on their resume to be computer literate.

Tests for Adult Basic Education (TABE)

At the Wise County Department of Social Services, I test clients each month in preparation for the welfare reform program, Virginia VIEW. After the students complete the tests, I document their reading and math levels and give a copy to Social Services. I also recommend whether they need to be enrolled in our reading, GED, computer, or workforce programs, or I suggest they attend the local community college.

Usually about half of those who were sent appointment letters actually come in for testing. We meet in a big conference room that is well lit, comfortable, and near restrooms. After initial introductions and enrollment, we go over the directions for the Locator, and do the 12 Practice Exercises together. I use words like "evaluation" instead of "test", and I remind them that I do not count wrong answers, only what they mark correctly. They are timed separately on the Locator and each reading and math portion. I number each seat and keep track of the time stipulated for these standardized tests. Some clients use the entire allotted time, while others finish early and are able to take a coffee break.

After the students complete the reading and math tests, I go over the results with them. When one student's reading level was 12.9, I commended him for doing so well on the Vocabulary and Comprehension Tests. He told me that he could not spell well, did not know punctuation or grammar, and could not write an essay. So discussion of the results is important. The numbers alone do not tell the whole story. Sometimes I observe learners who hold their test booklets close to their face, or turn a "good ear" to hear me better. These are red flags that cause me to speak privately to them about any sight or hearing problems.

Some of these clients may already have their GED or a high school diploma, but they are still required to take the evaluations. If their reading and math levels "top out" at 12.9, I am not allowed as a reading teacher to enroll them as students, even though I have spent this time testing them.

During the winter months our room at the jail is really warm. The chairs squeak, doors clang, and around us commodes flush and inmates yell. Many of the incarcerated students are learning disabled and cannot tolerate all these distractions in an academic setting. One 17-year old told me that it "mixed him up" to take a math test while the rest of us in class were doing math.

Remembering past failures, being subjected to poor environments, being timed, and being inexperienced all take their toll on students. Their comments include: "Most reading I've done in a long time." "It was hard. On that last one I had to read over and over." "I hate math." "I don't like to read." and "That noise is getting to me; it's making me nervous."

Taking care of the preliminaries and doing the practice exercise takes 20 minutes. The time it takes to complete each test are: Locator, 37 minutes; reading, 54 minutes; and math, 80 minutes. Scoring the TABE takes only a few minutes; analyzing the results, preparing lesson plans, and then teaching new concepts can take hours. I use correlating and supplemental materials relating to items they miss on the TABE. I make up worksheets, assign an individual reading teacher if necessary, and give the students textbooks marked at the place where they need to begin studying.

Student Teacher Evaluative Planning Sessions (STEPS)

In Region I, our practitioners are instructed to use STEPS beginning with the 2nd class meeting and continuing every 6th class thereafter. Actually, I use these sessions as often as appropriate to evaluate which parts of the instructional program are working, and which are not. In the student folders there are spaces reserved for six STEPS sessions. The student writes his comments, and may read mine.

Since I use the first class period to administer the TABE, students do not have enough classroom experience to answer the STEPS questions in the second class period. Also, in relation to the time involved and the expectation of changing goals, I think that using STEPS with every student every six meetings is a bit excessive. It becomes more and more difficult to come up with inventive ways to ask the same questions over and over.

With a non-traditional learner who could not write because of a handicap, I used a STEPS questionnaire sheet, asked the questions orally, and wrote down his answers. If I had just asked "yes" or "no" questions, he would not have been allowed to share the progress he had made or his strengths, weaknesses, and preferences. We mutually discussed categories such as progress, learning evaluation, time commitment, teacher help, goals, and changes.

Some revealing things came out of this student's assessment. He told me what material was "too easy", so I will either accelerate or skip entirely those lessons. He enjoys vocabulary words, so I will look for new and different resources. He said, "The more you talk, the more I learn." He also wished we could meet more often, sadly saying, "No one has time to listen or talk." I was able to arrange for us to meet an extra two hours a week. I found out his need for more attention, the fact that he is an auditory learner, and that some material is boring him. I have learned from his openness; he will reap the benefits by being the center of his learning goals; and I will be a more effective teacher for him.

To administer STEPS this way takes about 30 minutes, but using the assessment data, making changes in lesson plans, and obtaining applicable study helps, can take hours. The reason for using STEPS is to involve the learner in the planning process. Hopefully, it makes my classes more student-centered, as the student claims ownership of his learning.

Slosson Oral Reading Test (SORT)

The SORT is a quick way to obtain a reading level. The student reads aloud from a sheet of 200 words divided into 10 lists that get progressively harder. When he is unable to read all 20 words in a list the test is over. Reading level is determined by counting the number of words read correctly and dividing that total by two. The problem, of course, is that it is a decoding exercise only. This assessment is used for the low-level reader who cannot take the TABE.

Slosson instructs that this test "takes about 3 minutes to give and to score". This is certainly not the case when one follows the instructions and gives the student about 5 seconds on each word. I administered the SORT to a stroke victim at Heritage Hall Health Care. We had to move out of the dining area because of a woman's loud screams. In the "great room" where we settled, music was playing overhead and that was interrupted periodically by calls for a nurse. People came in, sat, talked, and walked through while we were trying to have class. The first three word lists have large print, and the student did well on them. Then the size of the font changed and made the rest of the test bothersome for him. The adult learner looked away from the SORT with each movement around him. He lost his place and his concentration.

After the test, I went over the words he missed and the little mistakes he repeated, such as not reading the suffix ending. He asked about the definition of some words. When I made up a sentence leaving a blank for the missed word, he then understood it by context. Collecting, analyzing, recording, and using the assessment data took 1 1/2 hours.

This assessment showed us that a mistake this student makes is not looking all the way to the end of a word. It did not reveal his excellent understanding of words in the contexts of sentences. I also realized more than ever the effect of noise, movement, and unfamiliar surroundings on learners with disabilities.

Conclusion

Assessment when discussed with and owned by the adult learner, is a teaching tool. I become a better teacher by trying new strategies, as indicated through assessment, to meet the needs of the students.

Adult learners reach many achievements that are not reported on the Scantrons, including improved eye contact, communication, participation, class discussion, and computer skills. Students learn to ask for help, attain certain social achievements, and experience elevated self-esteem and increased feelings of accomplishment. Student learning is also influenced by the assessment process itself. With each test, the student should learn more test-taking skills. Hopefully, through repetition, his fear of test taking will subside.

It is sometimes difficult for me to separate the assessment process (what actually happens) from its influence on teaching and learning. I consider myself a learner first and a teacher second. I have interviewed my students and learned of their embarrassment at not doing well. I hear their complaints about the inadequate conditions and their questions of why they have to take tests during their first class period. During the process I have dissected my own classes, practices, procedures, and products. It is my hope that the work of this Assessment Study Group will cause educators across the state to recognize the current deeds and needs of practitioners, and that we will bring ideas and concerns to the table for discussion. Together we can equip adult learners for the future--personally, academically, and socially.