I al;so would like one, please.

Roger Berg
Senior Strategic/Community Planner
Literacy Program at the Plymouth Library
Plymouth, MA 02360
nqr at mac.com
508.746.3645

On Feb 8, 2009, at 10:07 PM, dcingeorgia at aol.com wrote:


> I would also like a copy.

> Thanks,

> Donna Cutler

> Coordinator of Instruction

> Muscogee County School District Adult Education

> dcutler at mcsdga.net

>

>

> -----Original Message-----

> From: Catherine Brewer <Kitty.Brewer2 at PickawayRoss.com>

> To: The Assessment Discussion List <assessment at nifl.gov>

> Sent: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 9:16 pm

> Subject: [Assessment 1766] Re: Adult Ed Math & Accuplacer, cont.

>

> Hi Susan

>

> It appears your crosswalk is quite popular.  Please email me a copy.

>

> Thanks

>

> Kitty

>

> Catherine Brewer, Coordinator

> Academic Sussess Center and Ross

>      County ABLE/GED

> 285 W. Water Street

> Chillicothe, Ohio  45601

> Phone:  (740)779-2035

> FAX:  (740)779-9609

> email:  kitty.brewer2 at pickawayross.com

>

>                                     If you're willing, we're ABLE.

> From: assessment-bounces at nifl.gov [assessment-bounces at nifl.gov] On  

> Behalf Of Jessie Stadd [jstadd at gmail.com]

> Sent: Friday, February 06, 2009 10:03 AM

> To: The Assessment Discussion List

> Subject: [Assessment 1727] Re: Adult Ed Math & Accuplacer, cont.

>

> Hi Susan,

> I'd also like to request a copy, if I could.

> Thanks,

> Jessie

>

> On Thu, Feb 5, 2009 at 4:34 PM, Susan Kidd <SKidd at sbctc.edu> wrote:

> A couple of years ago a group of ABE math teachers from Washington  

> State looked at the content of  CASAS Life Skills and Employability,  

> the GED and both the COMPASS and ASSET Numeracy/Pre-Algebra tests.  

> If anyone would like to see the crosswalk they created, I'd be glad  

> to send you a copy.

>

>

> Susan

>

> Susan Kidd

> ABE Professional Development Coordinator

> State Board for Community & Technical Colleges

> office phone: 509-682-6968

> cell phone: 509-630-4520

> skidd at sbctc.edu

>

>

>

> From: assessment-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:assessment- 

> bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Joyce Winters

>

> Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2009 9:50 AM

> To: The Assessment Discussion List

> Subject: [Assessment 1696] Re: Adult Ed Math & Accuplacer, cont.

>

> Thanks so much for your work and offer to share it, Tom.  Has anyone  

> also done this kind of work with the Compass placement test?

>

>

> Joyce Winters,

> Professional Development Specialist

> NWRC/Owens Community College

> 2249 Tracy Road, Room 169

> Northwood, Ohio 43619

> 567-661-7675

> joyce_winters at owens.edu

>

>

> >>> "Mechem, Thompson" <tmechem at doe.mass.edu> 2/5/2009 10:35 AM >>>

> Ramsey, et al.---

>

> Well, I can tell you what in my amateurish way I have done. For a  

> number of years part of my job has been to make presentations to GED  

> teachers and program directors regarding what skill sets are needed  

> for success on the five parts of the GED tests. As you know, no one  

> can see the GED tests, so it's hard for teachers to know what to  

> teach or what it means that one of their students got a 410 on the  

> Writing test, and so on. The GED Testing Service in Washington  

> provides us with valuable information on the most-missed questions  

> (based on their analysis of every test taken world-wide since  

> January 1, 2002); we have the GED Item-Writing Manuals, which give  

> valuable insights into the philosophy of how the GED questions are  

> formulated; and we pester the GEDTS at every opportunity for more  

> info. Teachers have found this to be valuable for the most part.

>

> Lately I have focused more on the Math because it is the main reason  

> for GED failures and it is far and away the main reason that GED  

> grads end up in developmental courses.

>

> Last spring, after it finally sunk in that GED grads were not  

> getting anywhere near as far as they needed in post-secondary  

> education, that a great majority  were wallowing in (mostly math)  

> developmental courses, that poor performance on the ACCUPLACER math  

> test was one of the main reasons for that, and that there was no  

> correlation between a GED math score and an ACCUPLACER algebra  

> score, I took the ACCUPLACER Algebra test (something I recommend  

> everyone interested in this subject to do). And I almost threw up,  

> not just for myself, trying to battle through it, but for our GED  

> grads, knowing what it was going to look like to them. So I took the  

> ACCUPLACER dozens more times and I have put together another  

> presentation for teachers and program directors which talks about  

> the differences (in philosophy, in how the test is presented and  

> taken, a nd in the skills sets needed) and starts the dialogue as to  

> how we can create a GED math curriculum that prepares our students  

> to pass the GED tests, do well enough on the ACCUPLACER to avoid  

> developmental courses, and succeed in college Math classes.

>

> (Here's a brief example: if the GED test wants you to use the  

> formula for the area of a rectangle, it will create a "real-life"  

> situation in a word problem, somebody building a patio or whatever,  

> and the answer will be what our GED students consider an "answer,"  

> "460 square feet" or something like that. On the ACCUPLACER, the  

> rectangle will have a width of "x" and a length of "x + 3," so the  

> area will be (I can't type the exponent, but...) "x2 + 3x" and all  

> the multiple-choice wrong answers will be in that form, more or less.)

>

> These presentations have been great for me because of the tremendous  

> enthusiasm and input from the teachers, "Well, here's a difficulty  

> you present and here's how I address that in my class." And the  

> discussion this week has been fabulous in that respect as well: so  

> many dedicated people and so many fantastic ideas I can hardly steal  

> them all.

>

> If anyone were to e-mail me off-list, I could send you my PowerPoint  

> presentation: one man's opinion, a work in progress, but perhaps  

> food for further thought.

> Tom Mechem

> GED State Chief Examiner

> Department of Elementary & Secondary Education

> Commonwealth of Massachusetts

> 781-338-6621

> "GED to Ph.D."

> -----Original Message-----

> From: assessment-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:assessment- 

> bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Ramsey Ludlow

> Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2009 8:50 AM

> To: The Assessment Discussion List

> Subject: [Assessment 1684] Re: Adult Ed Math & Accuplacer, cont.

> Very interesting, Donna. You refer to Tom Mechem's  identification  

> of the math that is tested on the Accuplacer. What are those, and  

> how do we get that info?

>

> Thanks,

>

> Ramsey Ludlow

> Oxford / Buckfield Hills Adult Education

> South Paris, Maine 04281

>

> Donna Chambers wrote:

> Jessie,

>

> Thank you for bringing up the issue of the less rigorous current  

> NEDP math requirements.  As you mentioned, CASAS is in the process  

> of revalidating the competencies, but we cannot wait for this work  

> to be completed.  Here is how we are planning to address this in RI  

> to be fare to the NEDP graduates who are planning to move on to  

> college or other post-secondary programs through our Transitions  

> program.

>

> All NEDP candidates are informed when they first enter the program  

> that by fulfilling the national requirements they will still need  

> further work to meet the demands of most post-secondary programs.    

> Since our pilot will blend both TTC and NEDP, candidates will  

> fulfill the NEDP math requirements as a first step and a base.  This  

> math is basic arithmetic.  Our combined National External Diploma  

> Program/Transitions to College Program will have the additional  

> requirements of learning, practicing and being assessed in the math  

> that is being tested on the Accuplacer (which my good buddy, Tom  

> Mechem, has so painstakingly identified.)   This is targeted  

> scaffold instruction that requires competency-based assessment (no  

> one gets by without demonstrating understanding).  You might call  

> this NEDP Plus,  since these participants will be going beyond the  

> NEDP competencies to earn their diploma . The reading and writing  

> will also have increased rigor.  What we will be doing is adding RI  

> Transitions to College requirements to the NEDP requirements.  This  

> work does not change the existing NEDP requirements, but offers  

> additional activities beyond for our Rhode Islanders.

>

> Massachusetts Adult Diploma Program has a similar process in that  

> all diploma participants must meet the state MCAS rcompetency  

> determination before a diploma can be awarded.  In many ways, these  

> graduates are more ready academically to transition into college  

> because they are required to demonstrate understanding.

>

> I hope this helps.

> Donna Chambers

>

>

>

>   ----- Original Message -----

> From: Jessie Stadd

> To: Assessment at nifl.gov

> Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 7:13 PM

> Subject: [Assessment 1677] Adult Ed Math & Accuplacer, cont.

>

> Hi All,

> I am the Program Coordinator for Academy of Hope and Beyond Talent's  

> Pathways College Preparation Program, currently Washington D.C.'s  

> only college prep program for adult learners.  Unlike states where  

> adult ed programs are housed in community colleges or public  

> schools, the district relies on community-based non-profit  

> organizations such as ours. In addition to Pathways, Academy of Hope  

> offers ABE/GED classes and Beyond Talent offers peer-mentoring to  

> non-traditional graduates.

>

> Pathways follows the College Prep model and is comprised of three  

> month-long modules: writing, math, and college prep & career  

> development (applications, financial aid documents, etc.).  Our  

> Pathways students are primarily GED or EDP graduates, although we  

> have had several high school graduates in the program. All enter the  

> program with generally weak math skills. Most will attend our local  

> university, UDC, or neighboring community colleges in Virginia or  

> Maryland, all of which use the Accuplacer. Prior to starting, most  

> of our GED and EDP graduates placed into remedial math classes.

>

> To address your point, Donna, while all of our students need extra  

> work in math, we have found that GED graduates generally have higher  

> math skills than our EDP graduates. Our GED graduates have some  

> understanding of algebra (at least of its existence!) but that is  

> not the case for the EDP grads. EDP learners entering the program  

> scored in the 210s and 220s on the B level math CASAS. As a GED  

> instructor, I had always felt that the less rigorous math  

> requirements of EDP were a benefit and allowed students to earn a  

> credential who otherwise might not. However, as a college prep  

> program coordinator, EDP is doing a disservice to its students who  

> believe that since they earned an actual high school diploma they  

> are prepared for college. I understand that EDP is now in the  

> process of revamping their competencies to increase the amount of  

> math required. For those students who are interested in pursuing  

> higher education, I d o believe this is a positive step.

>

> Thank you,

> Jessie Stadd

> AoH Program Coordinator, Pathways College Preparation Program

> Lifelong Learning Coach, Academy of Hope/Beyond Talent

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Roger Berg
Senior Strategic/Community Planner
Literacy Program at the Plymouth Library
Plymouth, MA 02360
nqr at mac.com
508.746.3645






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