Colorado Adult Education Resources


	AEFLA REQUIREMENTS AND EVEN START
	http://www.cde.state.co.us/index_adult.htm http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/AdultEd/index.html Requirements, Accountability, Tests and Surveillance = RATS! How many times have you said, "My students are learning, but the reporting regs keep me from showing it!" There are ways, and the more you can report, the better the funding for your students. AEFLA (Adult Education and Family Literacy Act) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS "CDE's Center for At-Risk Education (CARE) administers both state and federal programs that provide educational opportunities to Colorado adults and their families: Colorado Refugee English as a Second Language (CRESL), Colorado GED Testing, Colorado Even Start, Colorado Migrant Education Even Start (MEES), and the federally-funded state-administered Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) program." "Adult education programs provide a range of instructional services that address the basic educational needs of Colorado adults and their families. These services are funded under Title II of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Title II of WIA is the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act of 1998 (AEFLA), which is the state-administered federal grant for adult education. Adult education programs offer opportunities for adults to improve their literacy skills in order to meet their goals and responsibilities as parents, citizens, and workers." (http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeadult/orientationindex.htm) Local AEFLA programs provide any or all of the following services: Adult Basic Education (ABE) Adult Secondary Education (ASE) English as a Second Language (ESL) English Literacy and Civics Education (EL/Civics) Family Literacy Workplace Education Workforce Education Programs funded through AEFLA are required to report on the following student outcome measures: educational gain employment postsecondary education or training receipt of secondary school high or school equivalency diploma Educational gain is measured for ALL enrolled students. Employment, postsecondary education/training, and secondary school/equivalency gains are measured only for those students who enrolled with one or more of these goals. Additional outcome measures required by CDE/CARE are as follows: (Colorado’s State Plan for Adult Education and Family Literacy requires that all programs funded by the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act implement intergenerational activities. Applicants that are not offering Family Literacy services must fulfill this requirement by including intergenerational activities or components) increased involvement in children’s education and increased involvement in children’s literacy activities. Local programs submit statistical and narrative reports annually to the state; the state reports aggregate data annually to the U.S. Dept. of Education. Operational Requirements in Adult Education Adult education programs must meet the following requirements once they are funded. For details on each of the items, open the PDF file "Grant Policy Bulletin 2" evaluation and reporting participation in the peer review process student intake process skills assessment and pre- and post testing of students maintenance and reporting of waiting lists participation in program orientation, professional development and training data reporting through the Adult Education Management Information System (MIS) e-budgeting communication with CDE Detailed information on post funding requirements is available on the CDE web site and as a document, Post Funding Requirements (Grant Policy Bulletin No. 2).§ View Post Funding Requirements on the CDE Web site: http://www.cde.state.co.us/index_adult.htm § View or download Post Funding Requirements in PDF or Word Student Intake and Skills Assessment in Adult Education The intake and skills assessment process provides essential information from which to later evaluate the progress of students. It is the basis for future funding. In a nutshell, you are required to show progress within federally-defined parameters. The intake process is often mistaken for the "lets-find-the-weaknesses-and-stress them" approach. We tend to focus on "fixing" the gaps" when we want to "strengthen the solids." How would you feel if you dragged yourself into a program and were shown how much you DIDN'T know? Yuck! The intake process is the first impression, and it often determines how well students learn in a program. In earlier segments, we discussed ways of including the student in determining activities from intake on. To review... Interview students as a means of helping them clarify real goals. Ask real questions. Don't settle for the expected "I want my GED," or "I want to learn English," or "I want to get a job." Create a relevant and inviting student contract or agreement, and have instructors work with it on a weekly basis. Design a learning plan that engages the students' intelligences and learning styles, and requires exploring and using outside resources, not to exclude technology! Evaluate, redesign, and re-evaluate in the process. As students progress, evaluate performance as well as knowledge. If the plan works, the knowledge will show in standard testing, n'est pas? Keep records, hopefully through a database system supported by project files. The secret of relaxed accountability is systematic record-keeping. Following are sites discussing the required tools to establish levels of competency and progress FOR ABE, ESL AND GED. Your task is to explore the documents below and help them work for your students instead of the other way around! You work for the student, not for the funding source (whisper). Assessment Benchmarks for ESL and ABE - PDF file AEFLA Core Indicators, NRS Core Outcome measures, and Colorado's performance standards for FY03-current year and next year-FY04 -- PDF file Word File Colorado Performance Standards - PFD file Word File Certificates of Accomplishment (Alternate Assessment in Colorado) Debra Fawcett Issued by the Colorado Dept. of Education, Certificates of Accomplishment recognize mastery of skills for adult learners at three levels of ESL and two levels of ABE below the ASE/GED level. To receive a certificate the learner must complete an Adult Learner Assessment Notebook, which is then reviewed by CDE. Certificates are awarded upon CDE approval of ALANs. The competency assessments for the CCA are performance assessments--a form of testing that requires learners to perform a task rather than select an answer from a ready-made list. Sometimes called alternative or authentic assessment, it requires performance of the skill being measured. Performance assessment can be administered by gathering data through systematic observation of students' directly observable behavior. Placement in a Colorado Certificate of Accomplishment level is determined by standardized testing on the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) and/or the Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE). Placement in English as a Second Language is determined by standardized testing on BEST (Basic English Skills Test) Oral and supplemented by CASAS. Currently, Certificates of Accomplishment may not be used by AEFLA funded programs to show level completion, but may be used to show progress within educational levels. To implement performance assessment, the following resources are available: · Skills list for Beginning ESL (SPL 0-1) · Skills lists for Beginning ABE Literacy (SPL 0-1.9), and Beginning Basic Education (SPL 2-3.9) · ESL skills lists and assessments for the Colorado Certificate of Accomplishment (CCA) at Low Beginning (SPL 2), High Beginning (SPL 3) and Low Intermediate (SPL 4) EFLs. · ABE skills lists and assessments for the CCA at Low Intermediate (SPL 4-5.9) and High Intermediate (SPL 6-8.9) EFLs. To use the skills lists identified in the first two bullets to document learner progress, programs must develop their own performance assessments. In addition to measuring progress within level, the skills provide a basis for curriculum development. Successful completion of some or all of the assessments (including receipt of a CCA) constitutes progress within level. When performance assessments are used to document progress within level, they should be kept by the program in the learner’s folder for the duration of the program year. Performances assessments may be administered at any time during the program year. They provide an ongoing measure and record of learner progress. More information about performance assessment can be found in The Handbook: a Manual for Adult Education Practitioners. More information about assessment and reporting policies, see Colorado AEFLA Assessment and Reporting Policy Guidelines (Draft FY03). Link to this document on the Definitions, Acronyms, and Links to Resources page at http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeadult/rfp03definitions.htm>. Scroll down to “Assessment policy” and click on either the PDF or the Word icon to download the document in the format of your choice. EVEN START DEFINITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdecare/evenstart.htm http://www.coloradoliteracy.net/ Colorado’s State Plan for Adult Education and Family Literacy requires that all programs funded by the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act implement family literacy or intergenerational activities. Applicants that are not offering family literacy services through Even Start must fulfill this requirement by including intergenerational activities or components. According to Frank Fielden, EVEN START State Coordinator, several local Even Start coordinators are developing a training module for adult education practitioners who want to provide quality, intergenerational activities in their programs as part of the AEFLA grant. The training module will be 'premiered' at the CAEPA Conference in Denver in April. That's next month! Hope to see you there. Even Start and Family Literacy "The Even Start Statewide Family Literacy Initiative [s] supports efforts to create new strategies to improve and expand family literacy services to economically and educationally disadvantaged families with young children. Each state has established a consortium of representatives from specified programs to work toward systems-level change in support of high quality services." (http://statewide-initiative.rmcres.com/) Even Start programs in Colorado include four components: Adult Education Parent literacy training that leads to economic self-sufficiency Early Childhood Education An age-appropriate education to prepare children for success in school and life experiences Parenting Support Training and support for parents regarding how to be the primary teacher for their children and how to be full partners in the education of their home Parent and Child Together Interactive literacy activities between parents and their children REQUIREMENTS FOR FAMILY LITERACY Family Literacy components must meet two goals: Goal 1: Program staff will provide high quality, well-integrated services designed to meet the needs of participating families in their community. Goal 2: The literacy of participating parents will improve. Performance Measures for Colorado programs are designed to verify compliance with the two goals above. Additional Information Debra Fawcett recommends, "Guidance for the Wm F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy Programs," which puts the requirements of Even Start into fairly plain English; and the MFLC's (Massachusetts Family Literacy Consortium) "Incorporation of Family Literacy Scale" - On a scale of 1 to 7, how close is your program to fully incorporating Family Literacy? Maryland Summary with good info on family literacy and Even Start - PDF file The Family Reading Plan - Also from Maryland Family Literacy Forum Links for Parents Even Start Sites

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