Evaluation Framework for the State Adult Education Program

2002

1999

1997

This document was developed to help adult education stakeholders involved in efforts to develop/test/implement a national reporting system of outcome measures documenting students' performance in the federally funded adult education program. The report reviews existing/planned accountability systems, examines major issues involved in developing an outcome-based reporting system, and proposes four model reporting systems. Chapter 1 presents background information on the goals of the National Outcome Reporting System Project. Examined in chapter 2 are the following: existing/planned reporting systems; demonstration projects in Illinois, Iowa, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington; implementation of the National Institute for Literacy's Performance Measurement, Reporting and Improvement System initiative in Hawaii, Kentucky, and Tennessee; and state initiatives in California, Florida, Oregon, and Texas. Seven key issues in developing a national reporting system are considered in chapter 3. Discussed in chapter 4 are the following reporting measures/methods: learning gains; credentials; further education and training; economic, family, and community impact; and customer satisfaction. The following reporting system models are detailed in chapter 5: comprehensive reporting model; follow-up survey approach; data sharing/work force model; and menu approach.

2000

1989

Adult literacy programs need reliable information about program quality and effectiveness for accountability, improvement of practice, and expansion of knowledge. Evaluation and assessmE reflect fundamental beliefs about adult learners, concepts of literacy, and educational settiigs. Resources for planning program evaluations include surveys, handbooks, instruments, and policy studies. Evaluation issues include the following: (1) program goals and mission are subject to scrutiny and change; (2) data about teaching and _earning are essential; (3) expanded outcome measures for learner progress are needed; and (4) the rples of staff, managers, learners, and external evaluators affect the evaluation proce.3s and outcomes. Four major approaches to learner assessment are considered: (1) standardized testing is norm referenced and cost effective; (2) materials-based assessment is commercially available and follows a systems management model; (3) competency-based assessment involves real-life tasks, predetermined performance standards, a continuum of difficulty, and a range of strategies; and (4) participatory assessment allows learners an active role and involves a range of texts, tasks, contexts, and strategies. Evaluation should: (1) be both external and internal; (2) be both formative and summative; (3) involve learners and staff; (4) generate design questions from theory, research, evaluation, and practice; (5) involve critical reflection on program philosophy and goals; (6) give prominence to tne processes of teaching and learning; (7) capture a range of learner and program outcomes; (8) rer7uire a '.variety of longitudinal data collection methods; (9) be integrated with program functions; and (10) be systematic and systemic. (131 references)

All state directors of adult education in the United States were asked to complete a questionnaire requiring them to consider health within the context of learning and offer priority ratings for health from the various standpoints. An 88% response rate was achieved. On a 5-point scale, the state directors' mean ratings of health from selected standpoints were as follows: health as a content area to support other curriculum goals, 3.8; health as a subject of study, 3.2; health literacy as a skill area, 3.7; and extent to which adult learners' health is a barrier to learning, 3.5. The most frequently listed barriers to addressing health in programs of adult basic education and English for speakers of other languages were as follows: lack of curriculum (resources) and teacher training; existing demands on teachers; lack of privacy needed to teach sensitive topics in mixed gender classes; lack of student interest or willingness to participate; and students' low literacy leve...

1991

A project was conducted to develop and implement a comprehensive assessment system in existing adult education programs. Weekly site visits were made to four programs as follows: a segment of a large adult program offering literacy, General Educational De-ielopment (GED), and specialized technical courses; a small community-based program with literacy and GED components; a small community-based program focusing on career development for women wishing to reenter the work force; and a career development program for women that provided training in computer and secretarial skills with an adjunct literacy component. Adult informal measures (AIM) were developed along with AIM development/use guidelines. Data from site observations and student and teacher interviews indicated that informal assessment and portfolio development can be useful to instructors for students at all ability levels in all types of adult education settings if learning outcomes are clearly defined before implementation of an instructional program; however, no relationship between alternative and standardized assessment measures could be validated because of inconsistent use of the measures and the small numbers of studentE studied. (Appended are pre-and posttest data for the programs and 13 reading, writing, and spelling AIM developed for use in peer, teacher, and self-evaluation.) (MN) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

2000

Focusing on interactions between theory and practice in adult education, this proceedings of refereed papers (45), symposia (3) and roundtable summaries (21) include the following: "Adult Literacy Classroom as a Social System" (Beder); "Documenting Outcomes for Learners and Their Communities" (Bingman, Mincey); "Essence of Leadership: Looking Through the Eyes of Black Protestant Pastors" (Brown-Haywood); "Simulating the Impact of Web-Based Learning on the University" (Carr-Chellman, et al.); "Relationship of Teaching Style, Personality Profile, and Level of Burnout with Adult Educator Effectiveness" (Cason); "Faculty Perceptions of Accelerated and ar)

SOCIETY, INTEGRATION, EDUCATION. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference, 2015

In recent years, there have been significant changes in the field of adult education. These changes have brought new opportunities for adult educators, expanding the types of programs offered to adult learners. The increasing role and spreading of adult education has given rise to the issue of adult educators' evaluation, because of overarching goal of evaluation is to improve the quality of the work of an institution. This paper focuses on EduEval (Evaluation for the Professional Development of Adult Education Staff), an EU funded project which is grounded in an action-research based on the active involvement of practitioners engaged in adult educators' evaluation. The project aims at investigating the issue of adult educators' evaluation in some European countries (which are: Latvia, Italy, Poland, Spain and Greece). Thus paper illustrates the project objectives, and reports from the scientific approach which is used by Personality Socialization Research Institute (PSRI) of Rezeknes Augstskola (Latvia) to conduct an explorative survey on evaluation practices in the specific scope of adult social educators.

2007

Part of the Adult and Continuing Education Commons, Adult and Continuing Education Administration Commons, Community College Education Administration Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Education Economics Commons, Gifted Education Commons, Higher Education Administration Commons, Humane Education Commons, Instructional Media Design Commons, Liberal Studies Commons, Online and Distance Education Commons, Other Education Commons, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons, Science and Mathematics Education Commons, Special Education Administration Commons, and the University Extension Commons

2003

Student-level data were collected in 5 states California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, and Oregon and analyzed to build understanding and improve the role of community colleges in adult education and literacy. The states illustrate the degree of diversity in governance systems and local provider systems and allow for comparative analyses by provider type. The following areas were explored: (1) the number of community colleges providing adult basic education (ABE) services and the number of students they serve; (2) how demographics of ABE learners differ among providers; (3) educational functioning levels of ABE learners at entry; (4) program service patterns of community colleges; (5) how learning gains and persistence rates compare among community colleges and other providers; (6) labor force status and public assistance status of ABE learners served in community colleges; (7) the staffing patterns of ABE classes in community colleges; and (8) the characteristics of California ABE classes in community colleges. Conclusions reached about community colleges among the states studied are as follows: (1) they are viable providers of adult education and appear to deliver ABE at least as well as other providers; (2) they appear to be serving those populations in need; (3) they use a variety of staffing personnel to deliver ABE, including volunteers; and (4) among follow-up studies needed to further analyze state delivery of ABE are those on whether economies of scale exist, how differences in state funding relate to quality of delivery systems, how state policies differ on providing ABE programs to welfare recipients, and how staffing patterns differ. (Appendices include project goals and members of the Community College Task Force.) (MO) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the ori inal document.

2006

1991

PsycEXTRA Dataset

We would like to gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the professionals who reviewed earlier drafts of this monograph and provided substantive comments on it.

1982

During the past 20 years, international and bilateral assistance and funding agencies have become increasingly involved in evaluation activities in adult and nonformal education, especially in developing countries. The adult education field pioneered many approaches now advocated by specialists in prograt rnd project evaluation. Beginning ih the 1920s and 1930s, United States agricultural extension specialists did extensive studies on farmer eitenii6E-OfidtTees. lb thii-I950s and 1960s, international effcrts began to build on some of the earlier agricultural extension concepts. Needs assessments, evaluation of adult education booklets, and evaluation of UNESCO adult education, literacy, and reading materials were all conducted. The UNESCO Experimental World Literacy Program conducted 11 projects in the late 1960s to mid-1970s that had built-in evaluation systems. During the 1970s and early 1980s, the governing bodies of most international organizations stipulated more evaluative efforts to provide data on the impact of various organizational activities. Such evaluation efforts sensitized project and program personnel in international agencies and in national governments to the need for participatory evaluation specifically to improve projects and programs. (A list of references is appended.) (YLB)