Displaying results 1 - 7 of 7
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Working Bibliography of Culturally Sustaining and Anti-Racist Assessment Resources
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Consistent with ASAP’s assessment principles of offering a justice-oriented, antiracist approach, we prepared a working bibliography of culturally sustaining and anti-racist assessment resources. We plan to periodically update this bibliography, so feedback on the structure, content, and organization of the bibliography is welcome, as are suggestions for resources not yet included (asap@umass.edu).
(January 2023)
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Current Assessment Needs in Adult Education and Workforce Development
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The present report summarizes the research conducted through focus groups, literature reviews, and listening sessions to understand and document the specific assessment needs in adult education and workforce development.
From: The Adult Skills Assessment Program (ASAP) Research Team
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Subject Area Frameworks for Adult Learners
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Description
These aggregate frameworks provide a structure to support learning in five subjects relevant to adult learners: Civics Education, Digital Literacy, Financial Literacy, Health Literacy, and Workforce Preparation. They include domains, topics, and subtopics in each subject. The frameworks were developed by aggregating existing curricula, assessments, and frameworks used in adult education and compiling insights from organizations and individual instructors. Use them to support Teaching Skills That Matter-aligned instruction, to locate and use resources in SkillBlox, or as a checklist for planning instruction and assessment.
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Building Knowledge and Evidence About Using Digital Technologies in Adult Foundational Skills Programs
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Description
Recent activities and events spurred adult educators’ interest in digital technologies, including the Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE competition; the development of digital products by adult education publishers; and the COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted adult foundational skills programs to shift from in-person classes to virtual instruction. As interest in digital technologies grows, the need for information about how to implement these technologies and what works for whom under what conditions also grows.
Although some form of technology has been used to teach adult foundational skills for at least 3 decades, the knowledge base about the implementation and effectiveness of technology with adult learners is limited. The recent expansion of technology use in adult foundational skills programs suggests the need for increased efforts to develop knowledge and evidence about the types of technologies and tools that can be used effectively to assist adult learners in enhancing their foundational skills and facilitating their lifelong learning.
Author: Judith A. Alamprese, Principal Scientist, Abt Associates
Read the attached article below for the full paper.
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The Rapid Response, Innovation, and Challenges of Sustainability in the Time of COVID-19: Reports from the Field
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A new report that explores how adult education programs have adapted over time to the constantly changing conditions in programs caused by ongoing but inconsistent and sporadic COVID-19 infections and local policies governing public health. The report also looks at lessons learned after more than a year of remote teaching.
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Researcher Guide on Interpreting Impacts
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Description
IES released a guide to help researchers avoid common misinterpretations of statistical significance and report study impacts that are more actionable for end users. Improving the quality and relevance of education studies is IES Director Mark Schneider’s central goal for the Standards for Excellence in Education (SEER).
The guide introduces BASIE (Bayesian Interpretation of Estimates), an alternative framework to null hypothesis significance testing, and walks researchers through the key steps of applying BASIE:
Select prior evidence based on the distribution of intervention effects from existing impact studies (e.g., IES’ What Works Clearinghouse database).
Report traditional (based only on study data) and shrunken (based on both study data and prior evidence) impact estimates.
Interpret impact estimates using Bayesian posterior probabilities (or credible intervals).
Examine the sensitivity of shrunken impact estimates and posterior probabilities to what prior evidence is used.
The guide includes “express stops” and a simple Excel tool so that researchers can quickly start using BASIE. Detailed “local stops,” technical appendices, and programming code are also provided for evaluation methodologists.
View the guide by clicking here.
This guide is one of a series that helps researchers implement SEER. Guides on generalizability and sharing study data were recently released, and a guide on implementation research is in development and will be announced on https://www.ies.ed.gov.
The Institute of Education Sciences, a part of the U.S. Department of Education, is the nation's leading source for rigorous, independent education research, evaluation, statistics, and assessment.
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Guidelines for Technology-Based Assessment
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The Association of Test Publishers and the International Test Commission have collaborated to develop Guidelines for Technology-Based Assessment to promote best practices and ensure fair and valid assessment in a digital environment. These Guidelines are now in draft form and are available for public comment through May 15, 2022. The draft Guidelines are the product of a multiyear effort that involved dozens of invited authors, ad hoc technical reviewers, and extensive review by ten advisory groups representing practice areas and regions of the world.