1. Assessment Policies 1 Implementation and Monitoring American Institutes for Research February 2005

2. Assessment Policies 2 State Assessment Policy States are required to have an assessment policy that describes: Valid and reliable assessments, appropriate for adult literacy students Standardized administration procedures Scoring and reporting procedures Training activities DAEL verifies policy through data quality checklist and monitoring visits

3. Assessment Policies 3 Findings from Review of State Assessment Policies Only 36 states submitted a complete assessment policy Inappropriate tests still being used “Informal classroom/teacher observation” still listed as assessment method Allowed use of same form for pre- and post- test Time for post-testing not specified or widely variant – few standards for post-testing specified

4. Assessment Policies 4 DAEL Monitoring Visits Also Found: Lack of written assessment policies Insufficient or incomplete policies in several areas Use of inappropriate tests Most common problems: Time interval between pre- and post-testing was uneven, inappropriate or inconsistently implemented Much information in data quality checklists could not be verified by the monitoring team.

5. Assessment Policies 5 Requirements for Assessments Standards test, conforming to psychometric standards Test designed to measure progress in basic and/or functional literacy skills Multiple, parallel forms Identify unacceptable assessment methods

6. Assessment Policies 6 Required Administration Procedures Set times for pre- and post-testing followed by all programs Number of hours or weeks of attendance How to test and place special populations (e.g., unable to test) Different forms used for pre- and post-tests Correct test procedures used

7. Assessment Policies 7 Scoring and Reporting Requirements Placement benchmarks for pre-test scores Advancement benchmarks for post-test scores tied to assessments Teachers should have access to scores

8. Assessment Policies 8 Effective Training Local test administration staff trained on test administration and scoring procedures Conducted by a qualified person Sufficient number of staff trained in each program Quality training materials used Multiple and ongoing, follow-up training

9. Assessment Policies 9 Improved Pre-Post Test Rates Without post-test no level gain can be reported Improved post-testing leads to better overall performance Table 4B data limited

10. Assessment Policies 10

11. Assessment Policies 11 Monitoring Assessment Procedures Test scores recorded with: Administration date Test name and form used in database Scale scores Hard wire to EFL Timely review of data -- on-site monitoring and review Training: who trained, by whom, how many staff?

12. Assessment Policies 12 Discussion Assessment policy issues Monitoring and implementing assessment policies Strategies for improving proportion of students post-tested Other??