The Center for Literacy

Webinar:  Wednesday, February 8, 2012, 13:30 – 15:00 EST

Presenter: Professor Steve Reder, Portland State University [read bio]

How much gain in literacy skill can an adult learner be expected to make after participating in a program? What other outcomes from program participation should reasonably be expected or required?

The Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning (LSAL) followed a random sample of about 1,000 high school dropouts over nearly 10 years, focusing on changes in their literacy proficiencies, literacy practices, employment and education.  Lead researcher Professor Steve Reder will present some major findings from the study, including relationships between changes observed in assessed proficiencies and everyday literacy and numeracy practices.  He will draw implications for literacy assessment, program design and policy in adult education, paying particular attention to implications for accountability frameworks that currently often judge a program ineffective by looking at only short-term student proficiency gains or changes in employment status.

Recording of the webinar:  [Streaming]   [Download]

Presentation: Please note, this PDF file is rather large (14.45 MB)

• IALS Measurement Validity, Program Impact and Logic Models for Policy Development
• Strengths and Weaknesses of IALS as an Assessment Framework