I think that merely exposing students to the CASAS with the hopes of
improving GED results is not worth it.  CASAS is designed as a needs
assessment (pre-test) and the results are correlated to CASAS
competencies and materials to teach those competencies.  Gains in
understanding the competencies are then revealed on a CASAS post-test.  

There is a research brief on the CASAS website (www.casas.org) that
suggests as students move up from CASAS level C to D, data shows a
significant increase in GED pass rates.  However, it is likely that
those students were exposed to materials based on their test results,
and had significant instruction time before they tackled the GED.  

Burr Guthrie 

-----Original Message-----
From: Marie Cora [mailto:marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 10:27 AM
To: assessment at nifl.gov
Cc: kaizen at literacyworks.org
Subject: [Assessment 242] FW: [AAACE-NLA] Question: Does learning to
takeCASAS tests preparestudents to take the GED?

Dear List Colleagues,

I thought perhaps some of you might have thoughts on this post from the
NLA.

Thanks, 
marie cora
Assessment Discussion List Moderator

-----

Hello all,

I have been asked by a colleague if exposing students to the CASAS
tests can be considered preparation for teaching them to take the GED,
because learning to take CASAS tests involves learning to deal with
multiple
choice
questions and how to use standardized answer sheets. I don't really feel
that the CASAS provides much preparation for the GED because the kinds
of
questions that are required for the GED are far more complex and require
more academic knowledge than the CASAS, even the advanced CASAS tests.
This
is an ongoing discussion. So, I would be interested in what others
think,
including detailed explanations of why you think what you do.

Best,

Sylvie Kashdan, M.A.
Instructor/Curriculum Coordinator
KAIZEN PROGRAM for New English Learners with Visual Limitations
810-A Hiawatha Place South
Seattle, WA  98144, U.S.A.
phone:  (206) 784-5619
email:  kaizen at literacyworks.org
web:  http://www.nwlincs.org/kaizen/



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