Essential core skills: meeting
your LLN requirements and the
standards
Dave Tout, ACER
David.Tout@acer.edu.au
Outline
 Introductions
 Why addressing LLN is essential - some
evidence
 Understanding of the role of assessment of LLN
in VET
 Introduction to the Australian Core Skills
Framework (ACSF)
 ACER services and the CSPA
 Bridging the gap - LLN strategies for teachers
and trainers
What are L&N skills?
What are L&N skills?
Not just low level skills – a continuum from low level (beginning
primary school) through to a very high level – up to Uni levels.
Not just the 3 R’s of basic reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic
Work and life in the 21st Century demands higher level L&N skills.
Why is LLN important in VET?
Why is LLN important in VET?
There has been a lot of interest in LLN in the 21st Century. In the
2011 report, No more excuses, the Industry Skills Councils
proposed:
 better identification of the LLN skills of learners before
CSPA, FSAT
training, and targeted funding to address identified LLN skill
gaps
 the inclusion of clear advice on LLN skill requirements in
Training Packages and/or their companion volumes
Streamlining
 the implementation of a strategy to develop greater
national awareness of LLN issues, including the destigmatisation of LLN skill development
National
strategy
TAE quals
 an increased capacity in the VET system, and all
practitioners, to support the LLN skill development needs of
learners and workers
 better-targeted solutions for building the LLN skills of
workers/learners.
But why all this interest?
FSTP (FSK)
Why is LLN important in VET?
ALLS survey (and now PIAAC): background
 A household survey administered by ABS to a representative
sample of people aged 15 to 74 years of age
 The tasks are, as much as is possible in a large scale testing
situation, based on adult contexts and ‘real-life’ scenarios and
texts, and are (mainly) open ended.
 The items are based upon simulated texts such as
advertisements, newspaper articles, instructions, maps,
diagrams and plans, photos, etc.
 A ruler and calculator are provided to respondents for use in the
numeracy items
 Items go through a thorough and exhaustive process before
they get to be used
 It is the items that are being assessed, not the learners/adults
(IRT)
The results from ALLS & PIAAC?
The Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALLS) survey (2006) and the Programme for
the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in 2011-12
Number and proportion of persons(aged 15 to 74 yo) in each group with skill levels 1 or 2
ALLS (2006))
Prose literacy scale
Document literacy
scale
Numeracy scale
Health literacy scale
No.
%
No.
%
No.
%
No.
%
7,003,000
46%
7,067,000
47%
7,936,000
53%
8,980,000
60%
PIAAC (2011)
Literacy
Numeracy
No.
%
No.
%
7,261,000
44%
8,920,000
55%
But what does this mean – what skills
do the different levels describe?
If it is a specialised
context with its own
discourse and
terminology – L&N
demands become
more difficult
Background to ALLS: The items
One of the easiest prose literacy
tasks (categorised as Level 1)
directs the reader to look at a
medicine label to determine the
“maximum number of days you
should take this medicine”.
Background to
ALLS
This Level 5 document literacy
item asks the reader to identify,
from a complicated document
taken from a page in a consumer
magazine, the average advertised
price for the basic clock radio
receiving the highest overall
score.
Background to ALLS Numeracy
One of the easiest numeracy
tasks (Level 1) required adults to
look at a photograph containing
two cartons of coca cola bottles
and asked to find the total number
of bottles in the two full cases
being shown.
Background to ALLS Numeracy
Level 5 Sample numeracy item:
Respondents were asked if it is
possible to double $1000 invested at
this rate after seven years and had to
support their answer with their
calculations. A range of responses was
accepted as correct as long as a
reasonable justification was provided,
with relevant computations.
What do assessments tell us? ALLS
Education vs ALLS performance
Percentage at ALLS levels
100%
80%
Levels 4/5
60%
Level 3
Level 2
40%
Level 1
20%
Some of
0%
your
learners 10 or less
11 to 15
16 to 20
21 or more
Years of formal schooling
• Persons without a qualification who had completed school to Year 12, achieved higher
skill levels than those who had completed school to Year 11 only, and similarly those
who had completed to Year 11 achieved higher skill levels than those who had
completed school to Year 10 or below.
What do we know about L&N?
The Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey (ALLS)
Australian ALL Data:
Proportion at skill levels 3, 4 & 5 in NUMERACY, by age (%)
100%
90%
80%
Peak is from the 20s
into the 30s
So a good time to be
working with this age
group
Percentage
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
Younger learners
straight out of
school can have
lower L&N skills.
Older VET
learners
0%
15–19
20–24
25–29
30–34
35–39
40–44
45–49
Age groups
50–54
55–59
60–64
65–74
PIAAC
Literacy: % at each level by gender
45
40
30
25
20
Males
15
Females
10
5
0
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Numeracy: % at each level by gender
Level 4/5
Level
40
35
30
% at each level
% at each level
35
25
20
Males
15
Females
10
5
0
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level
Level 4/5
Implications for VET and workplaces
 What do you think this all means for you
and your RTO and your learners?
 Discuss
Why is LLN important in VET?
 Meets requirements of NVR Standards - SNR5: 5.1; 5.5
and SNR15: 15.1; 15.5
 New TAE requirements are to include:



By 2014, all new VET practitioners will be required to complete
the adult LLN unit (TAELLN401A – Address adult LLN skills) as part
of their Certificate IV in Training and Education.
From 2015, all existing VET practitioners will be required to
complete the adult LLN unit (TAELLN401A – Address adult LLN
skills).
From July 2014, all VET practitioners who undertake the Diploma
of Vocational Education and Training (TAE50111) will be required
to undertake the adult LLN units TAELLN401A - Address adult LLN
skills and TAELLN501B - Support the development of adult
language, literacy and numeracy skills.
Implications for VET and workplaces
 L&N are at the core of being able to participate
effectively in the workplace and VET training
 There WILL be significant L&N problems in learners
or workers participating education/training/work
and in undertaking higher level qualifications
 Don’t assume learners can read (and write) well nor
understand mathematics/numeracy tasks very well
 It is NOT just in the Communications (or Calculations)
units that there is an issue – it is in most units where
reading and writing (and numeracy) are integrated
parts of the teaching and learning process
Implications for VET and workplaces
 There will often be a mismatch between learners
skills and abilities in L&N and in the levels required
in course resources, materials, expectations, etc.
 For some workplaces and in VET certificates and for
Higher Ed courses the L&N requirements will be at
the higher end of the scale (ALLS/ACSF levels 4 and
5)
Why do we need to assess LLN?
For learning (and teaching) purposes
 Assessment = Feedback for Teachers = Teachers as
Evaluators = Making Learning Visible
 Evidence about what learners know and need to
know - identify gaps in knowledge
 For targetting of support in vocational and workplace
programs
 For appropriate placement in support or bridging
programs
 For success - to increase completion rates in
training/careers/etc
 Identify spiky profiles – across skills or within a skill
The Australian Core Skills Framework
The ACSF is the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). It
can be used for:
 Benchmarking an individual’s core skills performance
 Mapping core skills requirements in education and
training
 Tailoring approaches to teaching and learning
 Describing core skills relevant to the workplace and
employment
 Informing decisions regarding funding and referrals
The ACSF
The Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) provides a
detailed picture of performance in the five core skills of:
 Learning
 Reading
 Writing
 Oral Communication
 Numeracy.
Link for access to the ACSF:
http://www.innovation.gov.au/Skills/LiteracyAndNumeracy/AustralianCore
SkillsFramework/Pages/default.aspx
For ACSF workshops:
http://www.weaillawarra.com.au/acsf/
The ACSF
The ACSF describes each of the five core skills across three
interactive dimensions:
 Five levels of performance ranging from 1 (low level performance) to
5 (high level performance)
 Four performance variables that may influence a person’s
performance at any time:
•support
•context
•text complexity
•task complexity.
 Three Domains of Communication, broad contexts within which the
core skill may be used:
•personal and community
•workplace and employment
•education and training.
The ACSF
Five levels of performance
 Each level in each core skill is described in detail to enable consistent
decisions to be made about an individual’s performance at any point
in time. The five levels of performance represent milestones along a
continuum of performance.
The levels of performance are described using:




Indicators
Focus Areas
Performance Features
Sample Activities.
In determining performance, the relevant Indicators are
interpreted using the Focus Areas and Performance Features,
in conjunction with the performance variables.
ACSF 2012 – a new pre level 1
There has been significant feedback from ACSF users and
potential users about the need for descriptors of very low
level ACSF performance. In Australia, there are a number
of adults who are unable to demonstrate performance at
exit level 1 of the ACSF. Although performance at pre
level 1 is limited, it is nonetheless possible to identify skills
and progress at this level and to assess performance.
Performance Variables Grid
The key underpinnings table about support, context, text
and task complexity are elaborated in the Performance
Variables Grid
 Activity: Sort the statements into the right cells in the
PVG
Literacy and Learning Core skills
Learning, Reading and Writing:
 the first Indicator describes a person’s performance in terms
of goals/purposes, meaning-making and overall
management of the process
 the second Indicator focuses on practical strategies to assist
with achieving the desired outcomes
Literacy and Learning Core skills
 Learning .01:
• Learner identity
• Goals and pathways
• Planning and organising
 Learning .02:
• Locating, evaluating and organising information
• Using prior knowledge and scaffolding
• Learning with and from others
Literacy and Learning Core skills
 Reading .03:
• Purpose
• Complexity
• Prediction and prior knowledge
• Critical reading and text analysis
 Reading .04:
• Text navigation
• Comprehension strategies
• Decoding and fluency
• Syntax and language patterns
• Vocabulary
Literacy and Learning Core skills
 Writing .05:
• Audience and purpose
• Plan, draft, proof and review
• Range
• Register
• Structure and cohesion
 Writing.06:
• Grammar
• Legibility
• Punctuation
• Spelling
• Vocabulary
Literacy and Learning Core skills
Oral Communication (speaking and listening)
 .07 Speaking
• Range and context
• Audience and purpose
• Register
• Cohesion and structure
• Grammar
• Vocabulary
• Pronunciation and fluency
• Non-verbal communication
Literacy and Learning Core skills
Oral Communication (speaking and listening)
 .08 Listening
• Range and context
• Audience and purpose
• Structure and grammar
• Comprehension
• Vocabulary
• Rhythm, stress and intonation
• Non-verbal communication
Numeracy Core skill
 Numeracy .09:
• Explicitness of mathematical information
• Complexity of mathematical information
 Numeracy .10:
• Problem solving processes including estimating and reflecting
• Mathematical methods and use of tools
• Mathematical knowledge and skills: number and algebra
• Mathematical knowledge and skills: measurement and
geometry
• Mathematical knowledge and skills: statistics and probability
Numeracy Core skill
 Numeracy .11:
• Written mathematical language
• Oral mathematical language
• Complexity of mathematical symbolism,
representation and conventions
What do the ACSF levels mean?
If at ACSF levels 1 and 2:
 Very poor or fairly weak skills, and insufficient for a trainee or
worker/citizen in the 21st Century.
If at ACSF level 3:
 Skills are OK, but not great for a trainee or a worker/citizen in the
21st Century and could have gaps in their LLN skills and knowledge
If at ACSF level 4:
 Skills are quite strong – competent for a trainee or a worker/citizen in
the 21st Century but could have some gaps in their LLN skills and
knowledge
If at ACSF level 5:
 Skills are very strong and excellent as a basis for a trainee or a
worker/citizen in a wide range of fields in the 21st Century - would
only need specific help if required, e.g. for higher ed course/level
training.
ALLS & ACSF
Reading
ACSF
Level
1
Numeracy
ALLS Level ACSF Level
1
1
ALLS
Level
1
2
1-2
2
1-2
3
2
3
2-3
4
3
4
3-4
5
4-5
5
Uncertain
(4-5)
The ACSF
 How Dave uses the ACSF
What ACER offers to ACPET members









Assessment of LLN through the Core Skills Profile for Adults
No registration fee
Discounted logins for all 5 assessment components
Access to the CSPA administration site and test delivery
platform
Administration training
Helpdesk support
Instant access to individual student and group reports
Workshops such as this one
Annual LLN conference discount rates
The Core Skills Profile for Adults
The CSPA is an online assessment of core skills that assesses and
reports on learner skills instantly (no human marking is required).
Assessments available as options include:
• Reading
• Writing (yes, the computer assesses writing!)
• Numeracy
• Abstract reasoning
• Mechanical reasoning
 CSPA was written explicitly to, and reports against, the ACSF
for the literacy and numeracy assessments
 Mapping and alignment to the ACSF is based on a
combination of both professional judgment by experts and
detailed psychometric data about the difficulty of each item
 Approx. 20 to 40 minutes to complete each assessment
The Core Skills Profile for Adults
(CSPA)
For reading and numeracy, the CSPA screens users to
direct them to the more appropriate level:
TEST A:
ACSF levels 1 to 3.
0, 1, 2, 3 or 4
correct
10 Screening items:
ACSF levels 2, 3 and 4
only.
5, 6, 7 or 8 correct
TEST B:
ACSF levels 2 to 4.
9 or 10 correct
TEST C:
ACSF levels 3 to 5.
The Core Skills Profile for Adults
CSPA Reading
Reliability
0.91
The Core Skills Profile for Adults
CSPA Numeracy
Reliability
0.89
ACER test development processes
The Core Skills Profile for Adults
The Core Skills Profile for Adults
The Core Skills Profile for Adults
Reading
The Core Skills Profile for Adults
Reading
The Core Skills Profile for Adults
Numeracy
Writing
CSPA results/report/data
Detailed reports available – plus download csv file with raw
data
 ACSF levels
 Scale scores – can read performance more accurately
against the ACSF
 Time taken to answer the tests
 Question intents on Professional report
 Results by strands in numeracy/text types in Reading
 Comparisons can be made by various categories e.g. year,
course, gender, etc.
What does the CSPA look like?
http://acer.learnosity.com/
I will email you free logins to play with it!
Reports
Writing
Reports
Reports:
Numeracy
(&
reading)
Reports
What are ACER’s assessments telling us
about VET students?
Literacy/reading results
Percentage of students
60%
These students
are probably
pretty good –
only need
specialist help if
required
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1
2
3
4
5
ACSF level
These students have
significant problems
Note: These are working at ACSF
levels – not exit levels
These students might be OK but in some
courses this could be problematic - could
need some support depending on the course
and units. Need to do some extra checking.
What are ACER’s assessments telling us
about VET students?
Literacy results
Percentage of students
60%
50%
Numeracy %s are much higher
at lower ACSF levels
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2
3
ACSF level
Note: These are working at
ACSF levels – not exit levels
4
Numeracy results
5
45%
Percentage of students
1
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
1
2
3
ACSF level
4
5
Feedback from VET students
• Very excellent test, gained more knowledge about things I
didn't know.
• It was good doing this test. I actually learnt more from it
and it has given me ideas on what I can do if I’m having
difficulties with anything.
What can we do to further develop your
learners’ L&N skills?
Work in small groups and discuss:
 What are some L&N issues you can see that you
might need to address in your training &
teaching?
 What are some L&N issues you can see that you
might need to address in your assessment?
 What could you do about them?
What do we do with the data?
Teaching materials/manuals
Course content
Assessment requirements
You need to
bridge the skills
gap
Learner skills and
knowledge
What can we do to support learners
with low L&N skills?
 Team teach with LLN staff
 Work with LLN staff and at least get their advice and support
 Review and revise teaching and training materials – make
them more accessible
 Change classroom and training strategies – don’t rely on text
books/manual/written materials – hands on – small group
work and discussions etc.
 Revise and check assessment tasks for their LLN demands –
don't assume learners can read, write and calculate well.
What can we do to support learners
with low L&N skills?
 Scaffold and model – support the learners
 Use a variety of materials – and break them up into manageable
and accessible chunks – in differentr formats and styles
 Play to strengths – emphasise the positive
 Sometimes there is a need for unlearning too!
 Use individual, small and whole group activities
 For numeracy, make the maths skills explicit – and teach how to
excavate them from the text/context
 Connect language and maths – talk maths – crucial
 Assess appropriately using the above approaches – use
technology: blogs, digital photos, movies & stories, webpages,
posters, project materials and outcomes, journals & diaries
 Build confidence – have fun and success!
What can we do to support learners
with low L&N skills?
 Foundation Skills Training Package (FSTP) will help.
 The purpose of the Foundation Skills Training Package is to
support the achievement of vocational pathways. Specifically the
Training Package supports:
• the achievement of vocational qualifications through the
provision of foundation skills units that can be packaged with
vocational qualifications at all AQF levels
• vocational pathways through the provision of preparatory
qualifications at AQF levels 1 and 2.
 The Foundation Skills Training Package includes:
• three new Foundation Skills qualifications at AQF levels 1 and 2
• ninety three new foundation skills units of competency that
cover ACSF levels 1 through to 5.
Numeracy issues
 Numeracy is often the poor (and lost) cousin in the LLN
equation
 Numeracy may have a stronger impact than literacy
 Numeracy is not just about sums – it is about using and
applying maths in a context
 Numeracy is often invisible or not recognised
 Gender in ALLS: 47.5% of males are at levels 1 or 2; 57.6%
of females are at levels 1 or 2. A difference of over 10%!
 And is the bar set lower for maths/numeracy?
Solving a real numeracy problem
Joe measures the depth of a
road to be filled with asphalt.
It is 225 mm deep (= the
compacted thickness).
He knows that the loose
thickness needs to be 20%
more than the compacted
thickness.
How high must the “loose”
asphalt be prior to
compacting by the roller?
How did you work it out?
What did you need to do to
solve the problem?
20%
Loose
thickness
Compacted
thickness
Solving a real numeracy problem
And how did you
calculate the 20%?
20
225
X
100
1
20%
Loose
thickness
Compacted
thickness
What can we do to further develop
numeracy skills?
 Understand the question and problem - make sense of the
words in the context
 Transform or “mathematise” the situation into a
mathematical form – what maths do I need to do?
 Employ and apply mathematical skills – and help make the
maths explicit
 Re-encode the result as a
solution to the original problem
– put it back into the context
and reflect on result:
does the answer make sense?
Handout on Tips
Read and discuss
Feedback and questions