Technical College System of Georgia
Office of Adult Education
As required by the
National Reporting System for Adult Education
Before Watching this Presentation
FY15 OAE Adult Learner Assessment
Policies and Procedures Manual
Appendix A – EFL Descriptors
Appendix B - GALIS, Goal, and EFL
Matrix
AP, page 2
2
Objectives
 Introduction and Overview
 General Assessment Requirements
 Guidelines for BEST Literacy, BEST Plus,
GAIN, TABE, and TABE CLAS-E
Assessments
3
Introduction to the
Assessment Policy Manual
AP, pages 3-5
4
Why an Assessment Policy?
 Federal requirement: Division of Adult
Education and Literacy (DAEL)
 National Reporting System for Adult
Education (NRS) Guidelines
AP, pages 3-4
5
Purposes and Uses of Assessments
 Student placement
 Develop rapport with student
 Analysis of diagnostic information
 Identify instructional strategies
 Establish student goals
 Monitor student progress
 Certify skill level and program completion
AP, page 4
6
Assessments – ESL and EL/Civics
AP, page 6
7
Assessments – ABE/ASE
AP, page 6
8
Use of Informal Assessments
 Guide Instruction
 Monitor Learning
 Types of Assessments





Teacher-made tests
Unit tests
Portfolios
Performance assessments
Observations
AP, page 4
9
Management Information System
 GALIS (Georgia Adult Learners Information System)
 Store student records
 Record assessment scale scores
 Track student progress
 Generate reports
 Document special accommodations
 Document training
10
General Assessment
Requirements
AP, page 6-10
11
Students to be Assessed
AP, page 6
12
Maintaining Assessment Records
Assessment
Documentation
BEST Literacy
BEST Plus
GAIN
TABE
TABE CLAS-E
Test book and scoring sheet
Score report
Score report
Answer sheet and score report
Answer book, writing folio, score report
AP, page 6
13
Pre-testing Students
 ALL students must be assessed within the
first 12 hours of attendance
 The lowest test level determines
placement of the student
AP, page 7
14
Post-testing Students
 All students who meet the minimum
hours of instruction for each assessment
must be post-tested
 These timeframes vary from assessment
to assessment
AP, page 7
15
GALIS enforces the following
post-testing timeframes:
Assessment
BEST Literacy
Timeframe
After 60 hours of instruction
BEST Plus
GAIN
After 60 hours of instruction
After 60 hours of instruction
After 40 hours of instruction (ABE)
After 30 hours of instruction (ASE)
TABE
TABE CLAS-E
After 60 hours of instruction
AP, page 7
16
Training Requirements
 Local providers ensure test administrators
receive proper training each fiscal year
 OAE provides training for:



Assessment Policies and NRS
General guidelines for assessments
BEST Plus and BEST Literacy
 All training documented in GALIS
AP, pages 8-9
17
Training Guidelines
CAL recommends studying the test administration
BEST Literacy
manual and 3-4 practice administrations
CAL requires a one-day training with a certified trainer
BEST Plus
and 20 practice administrations
Wonderlic requires completion of training and
GAIN
certification before permission to test
TABE and
CTB recommends that test administrators be trained
TABE CLAS-E before administering the test
AP, page 8-9
18
Pre-testing Accommodations
 Low literacy level
 Lack of English proficiency
 Attempts to assess must be documented
in student records and GALIS
AP, page 6
19
Baseline Scores
BEST Literacy
Enter form attempted/scale score of 0
BEST Plus
Enter form attempted/scale score of 88
GAIN: English
Enter form attempted/scale score of 200
GAIN: Math
Enter form attempted/scale score of 200
TABE 9&10: Level L, Reading
Enter form attempted/scale score of 160
TABE 9&10: Level L, Math
Enter form attempted/scale score of 180
TABE CLAS-E: Listening/Speaking Enter form attempted/scale score of 230
TABE CLAS-E: Reading/Writing
Enter form attempted/scale score of 225
AP, page 6
20
Accommodations for Disabilities
 Accommodations must be requested
 Student must submit documentation of
disability
Doctor’s Report
Certified Diagnostic Assessment
Individual Education Plan (IEP)
Other clinical records
AP, page 9-10
21
Forms of Accommodations
 May include, but not limited to:
 Flexible scheduling and setting
 Flexible presentation and responding
 Assistive devices
 Each assessment provides guidance on
acceptable accommodations
AP, pages 9-10
22
Guidelines for Each Assessment
AP, pages 11-25
23
BEST Literacy
 Used with:
 English as a Second Language (ESL)
 English Literacy/Civics
 Reading and writing skills test
 Administered individually or in groups
 Print-based test with three forms – B, C, D
AP, pages 11 - 13
24
BEST Literacy Pre-test
 Pre-test within first 12 hours of
instruction
 Pre-test not valid for placement into
Advanced ESL Level (ESL6)
AP, page 11-13
25
BEST Literacy – Post-test
Post-test after a minimum of 60
hours of instruction
Students pre-tested with BEST
Literacy must be post-tested with
BEST Literacy
AP, page 12
26
BEST Plus
 Used with:
 English as a second language (ESL)
 English Literacy/Civics
 Tests Listening Comprehension, Language
Complexity, and Communication
 Administered individually
 Computer-adaptive or print-based version
forms: A, B, C
AP, page 14
27
BEST Plus Pre-test
 Pre-test within first 12 hours of
instruction
 Pre-test not valid for students who score
ESL X (scale scores of 541 and above)
AP, page 14
28
BEST Plus – Post-test
Post-test after a minimum of 60
hours of instruction
Students pre-tested with BEST Plus
must be post-tested with BEST Plus
AP, page 14-15
29
TABE CLAS-E
 Used with:
 English as a second language (ESL)
 English Literacy/Civics
 Tests Listening , Speaking, Reading, and Writing
 Administered individually or in a group
 Pencil/Paper test administration
 Two forms (A, B) and Four levels (1, 2, 3, and 4)
AP, page 23
30
TABE CLAS-E Pre-test
 Pre-test within first 12 hours of
instruction
 Must administer a minimum of two skill
area tests in a particular combination:
Listening/Speaking or Reading/Writing
AP, page 23
31
TABE CLAS-E Post-test
Post-test after a minimum of 60
hours of instruction
Students pre-tested with CLAS-E
must be post-tested with CLAS-E.
AP, page 23-24
32
Transitioning from ESL to ABE
 Administer GAIN English or TABE Reading
and/or TABE Language
 Assess in math only if student has a math
improvement goal
 If ABE assessment is administered after an ESL
assessment, the student is reported as ESL for
the fiscal year
33
GAIN
 Used with:
 Adult Basic Education (ABE)
 Adult Secondary Education (ASE)
 Two subtests – English and Math
 Administered individually or in groups
 Online or paper administration
 Two forms – A & B
AP, page 17
34
GAIN – Pre-test
Pre-test within first 12 hours of
instruction
Two subtests: English and Math
Lowest score is used to determine
placement in a level
Enter combined scores into GALIS
AP, page 17
35
GAIN – Post-test
Post-test after a minimum of 60
hours of instruction
Students pre-tested with GAIN must
be post-tested with GAIN.
Progress Testing is not allowed by
local programs funded by OAE
AP, page 17-18
36
TABE
 Used with:
 Adult Basic Education (ABE)
 Adult Secondary Education (ASE)
 Tests silent reading comprehension, math
computation, applied math and language
 Administered individually or groups
 Two forms – 9 & 10; five levels – L, E, M, D, A
 Complete Battery or Survey
AP, page 20
37
TABE – Pre-test
Pre-test within first 12 hours of
instruction
Administer TABE Locator to
determine pre-test level(s)
AP, page 20
38
TABE – Post-test
 Adult Basic Education (ABE) students may
be post-tested after a minimum of 40
hours of instruction
 Beginning ABE Literacy (ABE 1)
 Beginning Basic Education (ABE 2)
 Low Intermediate Basic Education (ABE 3)
 High Intermediate Basic Education (ABE 4)
AP, page 20
39
TABE – Post-test
 Adult Secondary Education (ASE) students
may be post-tested after a minimum of
30 hours of instruction
 Low Adult Secondary Education (ASE 1)
 High Adult Secondary Education (ASE 2)
AP, pages 20-21
40
TABE – Post-test
 Post-testing requires that a different form (9&10) or
level (L, E, M, D, A) must be used.
 Same level (L, E, M, D, A) use alternate form (9&10)
Student pre-tests using 9E, post-test using 10E
 Same form (9&10) use a higher level (L, E, M, D, A)
 Student pre-tests using form 9M, post-test must be 9D or
9A.

 Students pre-tested with TABE must be post-tested
with TABE
AP, page 20-21
41
Assessment FAQ’s
 BEST Literacy – page 13
 BEST Plus – page 16
 GAIN – page 19
 TABE – page 22
 TABE CLAS-E – page 25
42
Quality Control – Local Programs
 Enter student data in GALIS by the 10th of
the following month
 Enter attendance data weekly
 Local units conduct on-going data
integrity checks
File review and data comparison
Assessment report analysis
AP, pages 26-27
43
Quality Control – System Office
OAE provides GALIS training sessions
Helpdesk and state staff provide
technical assistance
State staff provide off-site monitoring
of data
AP, pages 26-27
44
Test Security
 Handling test materials
Must be inventoried and kept in locked
storage
Must not be copied or reproduced
Must not be used for instruction
Must report missing/damaged items to
Program Administrator
AP, page 27-28
45
Test Security
 Examinee protocol
Must not be assisted with tests
Answers must not be tampered with
May not leave test site with testing materials
 Test Administrator
Must not participate in any activity resulting in
inaccurate measurement or reporting of scores
 Testing Violations - Notify Program Admin.
AP, page 28
46
Technical Assistance Team
Office of Adult Education
Instructional Services Director
Bobby Creech
rcreech@tcsg.edu
404-679-1641
Central/Southeast Georgia
Grant Program Support Coordinator
Felicia Phelps
fphelps@tcsg.edu
478-329-4720
Metro Atlanta/North Georgia
Grant Program Support Coordinator
Charita Boles
cboles@tcsg.edu
404-679-1628
Metro Atlanta/West Georgia
Grant Program Support Coordinator
Leatricia Williams
lwilliams@tcsg.edu
404-679-5234
South/Southwest Georgia
Grant Program Support Coordinator
Steve Pearce
spearce@tcsg.edu
404-679-0511
Instructional Services
Technical Coordinator
Kimberlee Bryant
kbryant@tcsg.edu
404-248-1060
GALIS Helpdesk
Data Management Assistant
Davida Shelton
datacenter@tcsg.edu
404-327-6907
47