Philip,

I appreciate you taking the time to share this.  

I direct a county-wide literacy program that is totally volunteer.  I am a retired Reading Specialist with no prior knowledge of the levels of adult literacy.  While I am used to grade and month levels, it has been difficult for me to get a handle on the levels for adult literacy.  You would be amazed how many people I have asked to clarify this for me.  No one could tell me how the adult levels correlated.  I knew it had to be out there somewhere!  Finally I know how the adult levels correlate with the grade levels that are familiar to me. 

I would appreciate having a copy of the Literacy Skills for Adult ESOL course.  

My other challenge is testing students.  We have a county that is 72 miles long and divided by two rivers lengthwise.  I am the only trained TABE Administrator.  How do you suggest we test for adult literacy levels?  We get no government funding, but are trying to get more competent with data and competitive for grants.  We have been using curriculum-based testing.  I know how the curriculum levels relate to the grade-levels.  Is it honest to just translate them to  the adult literacy levels or must we use CASAS or TABE?

Thank you for any more help you can give me!

Blessings,
Margie Kinslow
Executive Director
Literacy Alliance of Brevard/
Brevard Adult Literacy Volunteers
609 Garden Street
Titusville, FL 32796
Cell:  321-917-8952
literacy at cfl.rr.com
www.brevardliteracy.org

Please use www.GoodSearch.com as your search engine and www.GoodShopping.com for your shopping searches and they will make donations to the Literacy Alliance of Brevard.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Anderson, Philip 
  To: The Assessment Discussion List 
  Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 1:01 PM
  Subject: [Assessment 1866] Re: NRS Educational Functioning Levels


  Melinda,

   

  In Florida, the state office follows the NRS Educational Functioning Levels (EFLs) for reporting the initial EFL and any subsequent gains for all students that are enrolled in classes supported with federal funds.   The 12 levels (4 ABE, 2 ASE, and 6 ESL) are established by USDOE as the levels that federally-supported grantees must use to place and report the student's initial EFL and any subsequent gains.

   

  Given that, when the highest ESL score of the NRS was lowered in 2006, it reduced the number of Florida students that would have otherwise benefitted from federally-supported ESL instruction.  In order to meet the needs of these students, Florida uses state funds to offer a course called Academic Skills for Adult ESOL.  Since this course uses state funds only, so the initial EFL and learning gains for these students are not reported to the NRS.  It can be downloaded at the FLDOE adult education Webpage for Curriculum and Standards at http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/dwdframe/ad_frame.asp.  

   

  Also, Florida has a growing number of students that have very low literacy skills in any language (their home language is not in a written form, they didn't attend school for enough time to achieve reading and writing skills, etc.).   Florida practitioners wrote a curriculum for these students called Literacy Skills for Adult ESOL.  This course uses state funds only, so the initial EFL and learning gains for these students are not reported to the NRS.  This course can also be downloaded at http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/dwdframe/ad_frame.asp, however, the curriculum has just recently been revised.  The newly revised version will be on the Website as of July 1.  I can send a copy of the newly revised standards to anyone that wants them before July 1.  Just email me at Philip.Anderson at fldoe.org and reference the Literacy Skills for Adult ESOL course.  

   

  I might be giving you information that you really didn't need, but I wanted to show how we are finding a way to use the national framework of levels as a starting point from which we as a state try to create meaningful pathways for learning to our ESL population.  

   

  Phil

   

  Contact Information

  Philip Anderson

  Adult ESOL Program Specialist

  Florida Department of Education

  325 W. Gaines St. Room 644

  Tallahassee, FL 32399

  (850) 245-9450

   

   


------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  From: Melinda Hefner [mailto:mmhefner at charter.net] 
  Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2009 7:43 PM
  To: 'The Assessment Discussion List'
  Subject: [Assessment 1864] NRS Educational Functioning Levels

   

  I'm curious if any states have added to or otherwise modified the NRS Educational Functioning Levels for NRS reporting purposes.  I'm such a literalist that the 12 levels listed in the NRS Implementation Guidelines are, in my humble opinion, the only ones that should be considered for NRS reporting purposes.  While other levels and leveling certainly can be helpful for instructional purposes, the 12 levels for accountability purposes seem to me to be sufficient.  Any thoughts or comments?

   

  Melinda

   



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