Return-Path: <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id hB2Iq6m28061; Tue, 2 Dec 2003 13:52:06 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2003 13:52:06 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <412DE4E762CE6C42B44061AB813824B603C83679@PRODMAIL1.prod.root> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Kroeger, Miriam" <MKroege@ade.az.gov> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:9669] Re: TABE and Adult LAS for ESL X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 3023 Lines: 54 Sylvan, I'm not suggesting that assessment should drive instruction- heavens no! - But it should help to inform instruction. Perhaps we are looking at one of the true challenges in teaching - the great balancing act among what students want and what students need (I want my GED/job, I can barely read and compute), what teachers want and need (materials, support, resources, (and dare I say, decent wages?), and what programs need and want (funding, collaborations, recognition of the value of what they provide to the community, to the economy, etc.) As teachers we need to know the academic and put it into "real-world" contexts, as you say, "to keep in mind what the students really need in order to function out there in the real world, and to structure our classroom activities accordingly." And as teachers we have to know and realize what the context is that we operate in and under. If our $$$ come from a source that has certain "rules", then we need to know them, and play by them. As much as we chafe under some of the requirements of the funding source, if we don't abide by the rules, we risk getting kicked out of the game. As advocates for our students, programs and each other, we need to try to figure out a system with all concerned that gives everyone what they need in order to achieve what they want. -Miriam Kroeger Arizona -----Original Message----- From: Sylvan Rainwater [mailto:sylvan@cccchs.org] Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 11:09 AM To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: [NIFL-ESL:9667] Re: TABE and Adult LAS for ESL So, what's the point of assessment? And how do we decide what to teach in our classes? What's driving what? It seems to me that unless we look at the outcomes we want to see for our students (or what they tell us they want to see for themselves) we are working in an artificial environment. Outcomes-based education looks at desired outcomes first (what do they need to know how to do out there in the "real world" that we are responsible for teaching them "in here"?), and then figures out what students can do to prove that they've learned how to do those things. Those performance tasks are real assessments. Of course, sometimes the performance task is that they can pass a test so they can move to another level <sigh>, but it's important for us all to keep in mind what the students really need in order to function out there in the real world, and to structure our classroom activities accordingly. ------- Sylvan Rainwater mailto:sylvan@cccchs.org Program Managaer Family Literacy Clackamas Co. Children's Commission / Head Start Oregon City, OR USA -----Original Message----- From: nifl-esl@nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-esl@nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Kroeger, Miriam Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 8:20 AM <SNIP> In addition to validity and reliability, we also have to look at manageability, training and cost factors. <SNIP> We are certainly on the look out for assessments that better reflect what we are teaching in our classes.
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