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<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>More Assessment Metaphors:</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Know which utensils serve what purposes
– knives have their uses, but so do forks, teaspoons, soup spoons, salad
forks, spatulas, etc. Some or all may be needed to follow a recipe.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>You need drawers that can hold all the
different utensils so that the correct ones are available as needed.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>You need a kitchen that can accommodate
all the drawers – remodeling might be necessary.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>-----Original Message-----<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>From:</span></b> assessment-bounces@nifl.gov
[mailto:assessment-bounces@nifl.gov] <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On
Behalf Of </span></b>David J. Rosen<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> </span></font><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>Tuesday, April
22, 2008</span></font><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma'> </span></font><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>7:29 AM</span></font><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> The Assessment Discussion List<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> [Assessment 1291]
Assessment metaphors,the state of the art of assessment,and the </span></font><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>America</span></font><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>'s Promise
Alliance study</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Assessment Colleagues,</span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>I would like to raise three (possibly inter-related)
topics for discussion: assessment metaphors, the state of the art of
assessment, and the </span></font>America's Promise Alliance study. </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>1)
Assessment Metaphors</span></font></b></p>
</div>
<div>
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style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> In 2005 there was a discussion here about
assessment metaphors. It is archived on the ALE Wiki at</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a
href="http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Assessment_Metaphors">http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Assessment_Metaphors</a></span></font></p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Here's a summary of what's on the ALE Wiki page:</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>1) Standardized testing may not always be the sharpest
knife in the drawer.</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>2) Let's use the best knives we have, but also get
some better knives.</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>3) Let's not use knives when spoons or forks are
better.</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>4) Avoid using knives to hammer nails or fasten
buttons.</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>5) Let's not use "the only knife in the
drawer" to cut the throat of learners in programs with just literacy level
one ( whom *I* believe it's unrealistic to expect will increase two grade
levels in one reporting period).</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>6) Let's train those with knives to use them properly.</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>7) Using a knife to eat peas or mashed potatoes is
inefficient and uncouth. If you don't have forks and spoons, don't settle for
using knives.</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>8) Utensils may help in cooking, but only if there's food
to cook. (A kitchen version of my favorite farming metaphor for testing,
"You don't fatten a calf by weighing it.")</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>9) We must understand the limitations of measurement,
like viewing the heavens through a bamboo tube or measuring the ocean with a
spoon</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>10) Assessment can be like a ladder, measuring upward
movement a step at a time</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Are there any other metaphors subscribers would like
to add?</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>2) State
of the Art of Adult Literacy Assessment</span></font></b></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Do some of these metaphors prompt thoughts about
assessment in adult literacy education today? For example, do you agree with
"don't settle for using knives if you don't have forks and spoons" ?
Do you see that as relevant to what you experience as you use standardized
assessments in your classroom or program? If so, what should be done about it?
What <b><i><span style='font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'>is</span></i></b>
being done about it? Are there new, better standardized assessments now than in
2005? Are we making progress? Do we have better measures? Do we have
better student performance, or are we still weighing the calf without fattening
it?</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>3) </span></font></b><b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>America</span></b><b><span style='font-weight:bold'>'s
Promise </span></b><b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Alliance</span></b><b><span
style='font-weight:bold'> Study's Findings</span></b></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>What's a good metaphor for the findings of the Gates
Foundation-funded </span></font>America's Promise Alliance study, that we now
have 30% of the nation's youth, and 50% of urban youth being "left
behind" without a high school diploma?</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Do you like</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span class=apple-tab-span><i><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-style:italic'> </span></font></i></span><i><span
style='font-style:italic'>If you want better performance, it takes more than
raising the bar </span></i> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Or are there other metaphors you would like to
suggest?</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a
href="http://www.americaspromise.org/uploadedFiles/AmericasPromiseAlliance/Dropout_Crisis/SWANSONCitiesInCrisis040108.pdf">http://www.americaspromise.org/uploadedFiles/AmericasPromiseAlliance/Dropout_Crisis/SWANSONCitiesInCrisis040108.pdf</a></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>What are the implications of the </span></font>America's
Promise Alliance study findings for adult literacy education?</p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<div><span style='border-spacing: 0px 0px;text-align:auto;-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none;
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto;orphans: 2;widows: 2;word-spacing:0px'>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=1 color=black
face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:black'>David
J. Rosen</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=1 color=black
face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:black'><a
href="mailto:djrosen@comcast.net">djrosen@comcast.net</a></span></font></p>
</div>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=1 color=black
face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:black'> </span></font></p>
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face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:black'><br>
<br>
</span></font></p>
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