What is this project all about?
The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU), together with the National Literacy Secretariat (NLS), have funded Community Literacy of Ontario (CLO) to conduct research into volunteer involvement in the assessment process and to share information on effective strategies.

What is this bulletin all about?
Everyone in your agency is welcome to share this bulletin, but it is written for volunteer tutors, so please make as many copies as you need and pass it on to them.

How do I find out more?
Vicki Trottier is the Project Co-Ordinator. She can be reached at 705-672-4232 or by e-mail at 628091@ican.net. If you are a volunteer involved in assessment, she’d love to hear from you!

Just what are we talking about when we say “assessment”?
MTCU defines assessment as the gathering and analysis of information about the abilities, needs, interests, learning styles and achievements of learners. Literacy practitioners (both staff and volunteers) make judgments that help them help learners to set and revise their learning goals. Assessment is a joint activity, conducted by literacy practitioners in co-operation with learners.

Assessment can occur when a learner enters a program (initial assessment), at any point during the program (ongoing assessment) or when a learner leaves the program (exit assessment). Assessment can be structured and formal (for example, demonstrations) or more informal (brief progress reports, “check-ups”).

And what is common assessment?
This refers to the use of comparable assessment tools and approaches, not to the development or use of a single assessment instrument. Common assessment uses the language of LBS (Literacy and Basic Skills) learning outcomes to measure progress. It helps ensure that LBS delivery agencies understand each other’s assessment results and enables learners to move from one literacy agency to another without needing to be re-assessed.