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- Boyd Davis
- University of North Carolina – Charlotte
- Mary Smith
- Central Piedmont Community College
- Richard H. Davis
- National Kaohsiung Normal University Graduate Program
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- Need for identifying screening instrument for ESP nurse aide training
programs
- ESL nurse aides: their increased numbers, their characteristics, the=
ir
jobs
- Comparisons of student performance on CASAS, TABE, DIALANG, NETPAW: =
Is
B1 enough?
- Goals for December re-testing are curriculum improvement and rising
scores: B2 as goal
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- ‘Conventional L1/L1.5’
- ‘ESL-only’ during Project
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- Instructor/faculty dissatisfaction:=
intense needs of the educationally unprepared student were of=
ten
too great to meet during a regular class or in tutoring
- Student dissatisfaction: paid registration fees and failed the course
due to inability to meet the program requirements.
- Unacceptable program retention/pass rates
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- Instructors identified lack of reading and math skills as the primary
cause for student failure.
- Employer advisory committee identified minimum standard for reading =
and
math an individual employed as a Nurse Aide would need.
- The Department of Labor job analysis for Nurse Aide job was reviewed=
.
- National Council of Boards of Nursing Job Task Analysis was reviewed=
.
- Identified the reading skills needed for the Nurse Aide job.
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- Priority in 1990s: Find an assessment that measured the reading and =
math
skills needed by the Nurse Aide student.
- Initially used: the HOBET, which is a standard entrance test for Hea=
lth
Occupations.
- This test is a normative assessment and is widely used by academic
programs in the US.
- The test screened out =
too
many potential Nurse Aide students.
- Too expensive a test for the potential student.
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- The CASAS cutoff scores suggest the ESL students will succeed. The T=
ABE
paints a different picture. However, although our ESL applicants sco=
re
MUCH lower than our L1 applicants on the TABE, they perform as well =
by
the end of the course on state tests.
- What instrument gives us the best idea of their abilities? Which one
shows us how to help students? What instrument(s) can we recommend w=
ith
confidence to others?
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- Basic skills expert worked with the Nurse Aide program coordinator a=
nd
Nurse Aide instructors
- Analyzed the textbook and course materials
- Reviewed the lexile given by the textbook publisher
- The assessment revealed that the entering student must be able to re=
ad
on a 10th grade level and possess math skills at a 10th grade level<=
/li>
- Must be able to give and receive instructions in English.
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- September 2007
- CASAS – pencil/paper, reading
- TABE – pencil/paper, reading
- DIALANG – pencil/paper, self-assessment
- NETPAW – online, reading
- December 2007
- repeat identical NETPAW – online, reading
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- “In adult basic education, commercially available instruments =
such
as the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) and the Adult Basic Lear=
ning
Examination (ABLE) predominate as assessment tools because they have
construct validity and scoring reliability, are easy to administer to
groups, require minimal training on the part of the teacher, and are
often stipulated by funding sources….ESL tests most commonly u=
sed
in adult
education programs are the Basic
- English S=
kills
Test (BEST) and the
- CASAS ESL
Appraisal….”
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- “Results from most CASAS tests are reported on a common numeri=
cal
scale. This scale has been used with more than three million adult a=
nd
youth learners. The CASAS scale is divided into five levels, A
(Beginning Literacy) to E (Advanced Secondary), each encompassing a
range of scores. Each level is defined by a CASAS scale score range =
with
corresponding competency descriptors of performance in employment and
adult life skills contexts.
- …. an adult learner’s numerical scale score on a CASAS t=
est
in a specific skill area corresponds to the job-related and life ski=
ll
tasks this person generally can accomplish”.
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- “DIALANG is the first major language assess-ment system to be
based on the Council of Europe's "Common European Framework of
reference", which has become established throughout Europe as t=
he
most widely recognized frame of reference in the field of language
learning.”
- The self-assessment statements are like the descriptors for the Coun=
cil
of Europe scales
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- NETPAW is based on the Common European framework developed by the
Council of Europe, as is DIALANG. It also offers automated testing t=
hat
provides feedback; instead of down-loading the software, the user si=
gns
onto the website.
- We found our students are *really* not used to keyboard testing, or =
to
testing at all, despite earlier claims.
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- Everyone scored as advanced ESL (235 and up) and ready for certifica=
tion
courses on CASAS
- However, the mean score for the TABE was grade 4, the range was from=
2nd
grade through senior year – and students in Conventional class=
es
enter at 10th grade on TABE
- This suggests a disconnect somewhere!
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- Students self-reported with DIALANG as able to do all B1 tasks and m=
any
B2 tasks
- They showed a range of grades on the TABE, with quite a few that sho=
uld
match B2
- Therefore, we tested at the top of the window, using NETPAW’s =
B2
test. Scores were Not Very Good – but we see some interesting
tendencies which we will check in December.
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- We begin with an emphasis on reading and move to interactional skill=
s:
our materials emphasize communication with persons who have dementia=
.
- We introduce cultural aspects of dementia care that they will face on
the job
- And we work to build their confidence.
- We can design
materials to scaffold their learning, as shown in the next 3 example=
s
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- Intensive daily classes, Internet-based reinforcement, and interacti=
ve
multimedia will all use corpus-based materials for vocabulary enrich=
ment
- Role-playing, daily writings, and daily feedback should help as well=
- We are identifying language areas where the students will need
additional materials and support. Screening helps there, too.
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- Here are our goals for retesting in December:
- On TABE, we want to see an increase of 25 points to the total score<=
/li>
- On NETPAW, we want to see the middle column move to 55 and up on B2,=
the
higher column move to 70 and up, and the lowest column… well, =
we
aren’t sure of our goal there.
- Wish us luck– and keep in touch
- bdavis@uncc.edu mar=
y.smith@cpcc.edu
richardhilldavis@gmail.com
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