The field of Adult Literacy and Numeracy (ALN) has an evidence problem. This paper analyses that problem through the lens of three overarching types of evidence available to researchers and policymakers: Type 1 evidence, which provides descriptions of the scope of social problems; Type 2 evidence measuring the impacts of programmes addressing…

More than 5 million adults lack both functional literacy (below level 1) and numeracy (below entry level 3); an estimated 11.5 million adults do not have basic digital skills; and one in five adults do not have basic financial capabilities. Around 850,000 people have English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) needs. At the same time,…

After surveying 1,827 students in their final year at eighty randomly selected two-year and four-year public and private institutions, American Institutes for Research (2006) reported that approximately 30 percent of students in two-year institutions and nearly 20 percent of students in four-year institutions have only basic quantitative…

Recommendations are presented for the state-by-state assessment of student achievement as part of the development of educational indicators to be compared across states. The State Education Assessment Center of the Council of Chief State School Officers solicited comments from the states about developing the assessment program. Issues were…

This paper discusses the application of Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) to the evaluation of the effectiveness of Basic Skills programs in the Newark (New Jersey) school district. Whether HLM is able to handle regression effects in Basic Skills examination data is studied. The analysis uses data from the Stanford Achievement Tests for…

This publication contains the reports for six Iowa Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) pilot projects conducted at the following community colleges: Northeast Iowa Community College, Eastern Iowa Community College, Kirkwood Community College, Western Iowa Tech Community College, Indian Hills Community College, and Southeastern…

This study examines the performance of a new method for assessing and characterizing dimensionality in test data using the NOHARM model, and comparing it with DETECT. Dimensionality assessment is carried out using two goodness-of-fit statistics that are compared to reference X[2] distributions. A Monte Carlo study is used with item parameters…

An external evaluation of the Champaign County (Ohio) Workplace Literacy Project used the Triphase Evaluation process based on Stuffelbeam's decision-making model (1971). During the input phase, emphasis was on determining needs of workers and employers in order to develop a training program to meet specific identified needs. The process phase was…

A description is provided of a pilot study conducted at Butte College to develop and test evaluation procedures for the college's remedial and developmental reading, English, and math programs. Part I of the report includes five sections: (1) a description of the remedial reading, English, and mathematics programs as they existed at Butte College…

The overall purpose of the national Head Start evaluation is to assess the impact, on the children and parents being served, of: (1) the educational services component of Head Start, and (2) a new demonstration program within Head Start, Basic Educational Skills (BES). The evaluation deals with a total of 65 Head Start programs and their families.…

The Fresh Start Minischool (FSMS) program was implemented for students at Frank Ballou High School in Washington, D.C., who had mathematics and reading deficiencies that made success and staying in school unlikely possibilities. The program involved individualized student instruction in four core academic areas (social studies, communications,…

This report quantitatively shows the progress of students in the area of general education development at College of DuPage (Illinois). The aims of general education are to promote students' understanding and appreciation of their culture and environment; to develop a system of personal values based on accepted ethics that lead to civic and social…

This report presents findings of an evaluation of Project Concern, a basic skills and career development program initially undertaken to foster school desegregation by busing inner city pupils to suburban schools in the Hartford, Connecticut, metropolitan area. The report describes the outcomes of project graduates, dropouts, and nonparticipants…

The fifth in a series, this report reviews Apple microcomputer courseware--and some IBM computer courseware--authorized by Alberta Education from June 1985 to March 1986. It provides detailed evaluations of 97 authorized programs in business education (11), business education/math (1), computer literacy (4), computer literacy/math/problem solving…

This technical report details the testing results and analyses supporting the evaluation findings related to the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) minimum competency graduation requirements. The graduation competency status of all AISD students in grades 8 to 12 are documented. The report provides additional information on the data…