Return-Path: <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.9.0.Beta5/8.9.0.Beta5/980425bjb) with SMTP id HAA00548; Wed, 2 Dec 1998 07:33:07 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 07:33:07 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <366543EF.924@vnet.net> Errors-To: lmann@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: Loren McGrail <lmcgrail@vnet.net> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:2681] Re: $ 7 million X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Mailer: Mozilla 2.02 (Macintosh; I; 68K) To the Department of Education and Fran, Here is my laundry list of how I think the money should be spent. I agree with Gayle that assessment is an on-going important issue to the field especially how to measure non paper and pencil skills and skills that relate to real life tasks or realities. Therfore, I would like to encourage the Department to encourage a practitioner inquiry project that examines the effective uses of a variety of assessment measures that includes standardized tests but also includes portfolios or other authentic measures. I know that many states are using the spls from the BEST test as appropriate benchmarks. If they are not using the BEST test to determine the levels, what are they using as measures or evidence? I'd like to see funds go to support programs that are trying to implement standards whether they be EFF or something else. We need some concrete evidence to show whether or not all this time and energy that went into development really is useful or helpful to practitioners in practice. I would also like to see demonstration projects that show how regular ESOL programs are going to address the issue of family literacy as described in the recently passed act. I'm not talking about family literacy programs per se but how your everday ESOL program can address the needs of its learners as parents or family memmbers. I believe, based on my own experience, that immigrant parents face some unique challenges that are different from native speakers.I would also like to see funds go to support projects that address issues parents face with older children-- how to continue to support their school progress beyond teaching them to read or how to address issues like sexuality etc. I'd alos like to see funds earmarked for investigating how immigrant women learn best. I'd like to see funds support projects that are addressing citizenship education in ways that include civic participation. I believe we also need to have projects that are dedicated to investiagating how immigrants and refugees view or understand the concept of community or participation. Ethnographic or oral history approaches might work best here. I would also like to see funds go to support innovative ways to use the internet not just software programs. Lastly, I would like to see some practitioner inquiry projects that examine the effectiveness of bilingual or biliteracy approaches. With that we need to have more information on effective ways to measure these approaches. Finally, I would like to see these demonstration projects well coordinated into some kind of network so that what is being learned can be communicated across projects and programs. In other works I would like to see the whole effort coordinated perhaps with its own Institutes and supported my a coalition of staff developers and others who could provide skills and facilitation in pulling the whole thing together. I could go on but these are the most important.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Jan 11 2000 - 13:27:26 EST