The following response if from Peggy McGuire.
 
 
 
Hi Val and all.
A couple thoughts:
 
If you and your volunteer tutors are required to communicate adult
learner achievement in terms of "grade level equivalency", then I am not
aware of any good reason not to use the categories that the NRS
describes (if anyone is aware of one, please chime in!). The good news
about this approach would be that at least some attempt has been made to
draw relatonships between these categories and information related to
measures designed to describe adult achievement (EFF performance levels,
TABE scores, CASAS scores, BEST scores).
 
And that brings me to my other thought: in this context it feels very
important to help tutors of adults to understand where the "grade level
equivalencies" come from, so that they have the opportunity to reflect
on what information these numbers can offer us about the adults with
whom we work. Specifically I would want to be clear that they were
designed to describe the mastery of elementary/middle/high school
academic curricula as articulated in the achievement tests taken by
students at particular grades during their K-12 careers. 
 
Personally, I think it would be a wonderful thing to then have a
conversation with the tutors about what the categories tell us about
what the adult learners they are/will be working with need to know and
be able to do in order to meet their goals in seeking tutoring -- and
about other opportunities to assess learners' needs and gather evidence
of their achievement. A pretty cool "teachable moment", maybe?
 
All the best! 
 
Peggy McGuire, M.A.
Senior Research Associate and Equipped for the Future National
Consultant
Center for Literacy Studies
The University of Tennessee
111 5th Street, PO Box 16
Mt. Gretna, PA 17064
717-964-1341 (p/f)
215-888-6507 (cell)
mcguirep555 at aol.com
 
 
 
 
Hello all,
 
I am needing to communicate "grade level equivalency" categories with
adult literacy volunteer tutors and would like to gather opinions on how
to best do this.  My first thought was to use the already established
NRS categories, which are:
 
   Beginning Literacy (0-1.9 grade level)
   Beginning ABE (2-3.9)
   Low Intermediate ABE (4-5.9)
   High Intermediate ABE (6-8.9)
   Low Advanced ASE (9-10.9)
   High Advanced ASE  (11-12.9)
 
What do you think?  Any better ideas out there???  Thanks in advance for
sharing your thoughts.
 
Val Harris
Director of Adult Education
Lewis & Clark Community College
5800 Godfrey Road
Godfrey, IL  62035
(618) 468-4100
 
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