- Read to Me!
- NETWORKS information
- Literacy for Women on the Streets
- Networks Datebook
- NALD's Software Evaluation Project launched
- Brigid Hayes receives NALD Award
- Adult Numeracy Frameworks
- The Literacy Bookshelf
- CABS Online
- Training for the Enhancement of Online Educational Resources
- Teaching Tips
- Regional Tidbits
- Calling all SARAW Programs
- Learner's Corner
- Learner's Story
- And, Among the Winners Were...
- Websites Worth Remembering
-
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| NALD Networks | Volume 9 • Issue 1 |
Literacy Link Eastern Ontario's Common Assessment of Basic Skills - (CABS) Online
By Doug Noyes, Executive Director, Literacy Link Eastern Ontario
As
part of Literacy Link Eastern Ontario’s
(LLEO’s) ongoing commitment to the adult
literacy field, the Common Assessment of
Basic Skills (CABS) Online assessment tool
has been developed. CABS Online is an innovative,
web-based assessment tool built on
the success of the CABS manual. The interactive
activities assist an assessor in determining
the appropriate placement of an adult
literacy learner in a program. The tool may
also be used for ongoing assessment.
The CABS Online assessment tool continues to be widely used in adult literacy programs in Ontario. Each program has been assigned a Centre Code and Password to ensure confidentiality and a secure database of assessment results. Some of the features of this product include reporting of results, individual training plans, a tour of the site and the Computer Skills Quick Screen (CSQS). The CSQS demonstration ensures the learner has the computer skills to be accurately assessed with the online version of CABS. The Level 1 demonstration activities and the CSQS also have the option to have the instructions read aloud to the adult, thereby ensuring accurate assessment results. To date, 79 demonstrations, across the five Ontario Literacy and Basic Skills levels, are housed at the LLEO website. The decision was made that the tool would not interpret the results so that the assessor has more control over the placement of the learner. The assessor also has control over which activities will be assigned to the individual.
To access the CABS Online Homepage:
- Go to http://www.lleo.ca.
- Select the ‘Assessment Tools’ button.
- On the next page, select the CABS Online hyperlink.
- You are now at the CABS Online Homepage.
As part of the CABS Online Phase 2 project, completed in October 2003, other provinces and the territories were approached to determine if this online assessment would be viable in other educational jurisdictions. All provinces and territories displayed interest and some participated in the field trials. As a result, Literacy Link Eastern Ontario (LLEO) approached the National Literacy Secretariat to discuss taking CABS Online nationally. LLEO is very grateful to the NLS for funding this two-year project.
CABS Online will be marketed to the other provinces and the territories through information and training events. In order for the assessment results to be aligned with the non- Ontario jurisdictions, articulation templates will be tailored, with input from these jurisdictions, to provide easy program placement of learners in their home province or territory. These templates will serve to provide a common language among literacy providers across Canada.
This spring, LLEO will begin to contact adult literacy programs throughout Canada to market CABS Online, provide information and training sessions and build a bank of field trial participants to explore the tool. These same participants will be invaluable in the formation of the articulation templates.
LLEO hopes that you will visit the CABS Online site and find it to be a valuable addition to your assessment library.
For more information:
LLEO, Bayridge Plaza, 830A Development
Drive, Kingston ON K7M 5V7
Tel. (613) 389-5307 or 1-800-465-7323
Fax (613) 389-5174
email: info@lleo.ca http://www.lleo.ca/